What is the South Australian Business Chamber?
SA’s largest membership-based employer organisation.
With over 3,000 members, we represent businesses across 19 different industry sectors.
Our purpose
Our purpose is clear and unequivocal: we exist to create a stronger South Australia by supporting the business community and helping businesses to grow.
We believe in the important role that business and commerce play in creating a vibrant, dynamic and sustainable society.
We believe that businesses are the engine room of our economy. Businesses generate new ideas, deliver new services and propel us forward. Businesses create jobs, attract new investment and pay taxes. Businesses put food on tables and create wealth for many.
We back the job makers and risk takers. We back the creators, the innovators and the entrepreneurs. We back the people who chase their dreams, follow their passions and put it on the line.
Our mission is to create the best possible environment for businesses to succeed.
We do this by providing businesses with knowledge, advice, connection and advocacy. We have been doing this for over 180 years, without fear or favour.
We are proud of our long history, but we are unequivocally focused on the future. We are constantly seeking to answer that enduring question: ‘what’s next for business in South Australia?’
Become a member of the South Australian Business Chamber today and help us to make South Australia the best place in the world to do business.
History of South Australian Business Chamber
Historically, employer organisations in Australia were established to counter the union movement’s growing industrial relations influence. This became more important over time as union tactics became increasingly aggressive, making it harder for individual employers to deal with their employees in good faith.
The South Australian Business Chamber can trace its origins back to 1839. Just three years after the state’s proclamation, the Adelaide Chamber of Commerce was formed on 7 January 1839.
This was followed by the South Australian Chamber of Manufacturers in 1869 as a lobby and support group for manufacturers, and the South Australian Employers’ Federation in 1889.
In 1972, the Adelaide Chamber of Commerce and the South Australian Chamber of Manufacturers merged to form the Chamber of Commerce and Industry SA, Inc.
In 1993, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the South Australian Employers’ Federation merged to form the South Australian Employers’ Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc.
The new entity was officially launched in 2000 with a new trading name, Business SA.
You can read the Constitution of the South Australian Employers’ Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc here (last updated November 2023).
Recent annual reports:
The South Australian Business Chamber Today
The modern-day the South Australian Business Chamber continues to ensure employers receive fair outcomes on industrial relations matters. However, we also work to ensure the broader economic environment is conducive to successful business in an increasingly-globalised economy, which requires local businesses to be highly cost-competitive.
While the South Australian Business Chamber is principally a state-based organisation, we recognise the need to work at a broader level to progress policy issues of national significance. Accordingly, we are a foundation member of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the nation’s peak business advocacy body.
Just as our our forebears did back in the 19th century, we continue to advocate on behalf of our members — without fear or favour — to local, state and federal governments and their stakeholders, to ensure the collective voice of business is both heard and understood.
In addition to our advocacy, we offer a range of services, products, advice and training to help businesses achieve their potential locally, domestically and internationally. Our busy events calendar provides excellent networking opportunities with the South Australian Business Chamber’s membership spanning every sector of commerce and industry.
Funded by member subscriptions and our suite of products and services, the South Australian Business Chamber is proud to be independent of any government or political party. This enables us to take long-term positions on policy issues in the interest of business and not just align with the political cycle. We’re here to help businesses raise concerns without fear of being targeted by unions or unfairly treated by governments.
You can read the Constitution of the South Australian Employers’ Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc here (last updated November 2023).
Become a member of the South Australian Business Chamber today and help us to make South Australia the best place in the world to do business.
Our Principles
#1: For the many, not the few
The central tenet of the South Australian Business Chamber’s charter is an unwavering commitment to champion an environment that provides all South Australian employers and business owners with the opportunity to thrive. Our commitment goes beyond just the service of our members. And our commitment is not restricted to industry-specific requirements. We are industry-agnostic. Our commitment is for the many, not the few. Our commitment is to create the best possible environment for all South Australian businesses to prosper.
A rising tide lifts all boats.
John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) , 35th President of the United States
#2: Without fear or favour
As the peak body representing the interests of employers and business owners in SA, our position is fiercely independent and apolitical. We are independent and impartial. And our focus is pure. We support the risk takers, the innovators, the entrepreneurs and the job makers. We support them with knowledge and advice; we support them with service; we advocate on their behalf. And we do so without fear or favour.
It is the business of the very few to be independent; it is a privilege of the strong. And whoever attempts it, even with the best right, but without being obliged to do so, proves that he is probably not only strong, but also daring beyond measure.
Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) , German philosopher
#3: Genuine connection
The South Australian Business Chamber is a very personal organisation. We care for our members, our colleagues and our community. We represent the human face of business: individuals, families, friends who have taken the chance to follow their dreams, their passion and their calling. Our community is the job makers who create prosperity and opportunity. We support them, and in turn provide opportunities for true connection and belonging. A genuine organisation creating long-lasting and fruitful connections.
In a world of algorithms, hashtags and followers, know the true importance of human connection.
Anonymous
#4: Future-focused
For more than 182 years, the South Australian Business Chamber has been providing advocacy, education and advice to the South Australian business community. Knowledge is our critical currency, and our sustainability is due to our capacity to lead and stay ahead of the pack. We are a future-focused organisation. Employers and business owners trust in our expertise and advice. Our community and stakeholders can look to us to provide opinion on the critical issues facing business, and to answer that enduring question: “what’s next?”
There’s a reason why the rear-view mirror is so small and the windshield is so big. Because where you are headed is much more important than where you’ve been.
Anonymous
Contact us
Submit the enquiry form and one of our staff will get in touch with you.
