Any adviser · Low-cost advice
Where can a small business get advice for little or nothing?
The free and low-cost advice in this guide comes from government-supported services on official pages, not from private firms. The entry point is business.gov.au’s adviser finder: use this search to find a business adviser or expert relevant to your interests and location, and chat to a business adviser or expert online, over the phone or face-to-face, with some mobile advisers able to visit your business.
This guide answers which services exist, who each one is for, and where the line sits between advice and money help. Every entry in the table below keeps the eligibility words and the limits of the official page it comes from, and the official sources are listed at the foot of each page.
Any adviserThe adviser finder, and the government-supported services on it
Licensed, registered, or a director
- 1 TaxApplies tax law to your own circumstances, and you rely on it, for a feeTax agent or BAS agent, registered with the Tax Practitioners Board
- 2 Financial productsRecommends which financial product to buy: shares, super and insurance among themAFS licensee, or an authorised representative of one
- 3 CreditSuggests or assists with a specific contract from a specific credit providerCredit licensee, or a credit representative of one
- 4 Legal workAdvises on, or drafts, the terms of a contractAustralian legal practitioner, holding a current practising certificate
- 5 The companyThe directors are accustomed to act in accordance with the adviser’s instructions or wishesA director in law, with no appointment needed
General information about how Australian law treats business advice. It is not tax, financial or legal advice. Check an adviser on the official register, where a line names one.
The adviser finder, and who is on it
The finder lists advisers by topic and provider. The topics on the page: Business planning; General business advice; Taxation and record keeping; Meeting legal requirements; Dispute resolution; Employing people; and Government grant information.
The four provider types it names: Local government; State or territory government; Australian Government; and Non-government (government supported).
Choosing between them is the same question the rest of this site asks of any adviser. Business Queensland’s advice for the choice: when deciding, you should consider the adviser’s level of experience and qualifications, checking that your adviser has the relevant certification and accreditation to give you reliable advice, and check business adviser credentials by consulting the list of professional registers available from ASIC.
The services, side by side
How to read the table below: every entry keeps the eligibility words and the limits of the page it came from. Where a page does not give a number, the row says so rather than guessing.
| Who it is for | What it costs | How much of it | |
|---|---|---|---|
Digital Solutions (Australian Small Business Advisory Services) | Small businesses with fewer than 20 full-time (or equivalent) employees, as well as sole traders. | Workshops and webinars at no cost; a small fee is charged for one-on-one advisory services. | Up to 5 hours of one-on-one digital advice from a qualified and experienced business adviser, available across all metropolitan and regional areas in Australia, on business.gov.au’s program page. |
Business advisory service, Small Business Development Corporation (WA) | Small business owners in Western Australia. | Free: the SBDC describes the advisory service as free business advice. | Advice through a regional network of local business advisers across Western Australia. |
Small Business Mentoring Service | For medium, small and micro business operators. | Low cost: the ASBFEO describes it as a low-cost program, set up to help operators define and achieve their goals. | No number of sessions is given on the page that describes it. |
New Business Support Service (NBS), Tasmania | Tasmanian businesses with no more than 19 full-time equivalent employees, for general advice on dispute resolution. | Free, with the service funded by the Tasmanian Government. | Up to two hours of advice each financial year, on Business Tasmania’s page. |
Tasmanian Business Advice Service (TBAS) | Eligible Tasmanian businesses, with advice across all stages of the business lifecycle. | Free, with the service funded by the Tasmanian Government. | Up to five hours of advice each financial year, on Business Tasmania’s page. |
Small Business Debt Helpline | Owners of small businesses and family enterprises in financial hardship, run by Financial Counselling Australia. | Free and confidential advice: the ASBFEO page calls it a free service, and ASIC describes it as free, confidential advice. | A team of qualified financial counsellors, answering calls directly or through web chat. |
The services with a limit of hours
Tasmania’s two services are the pair with a stated limit. Business Tasmania’s dispute support page describes free general advice for businesses in that state with no more than 19 full-time equivalent employees, offered through the New Business Support Service and, alongside it, the Tasmanian Business Advice Service. Both are funded by the Tasmanian Government; NBS allows up to two hours of advice and TBAS up to five hours, each financial year.
Where the hours run out is not stated on that page, so this guide does not say what happens next.
Free and confidential: help with debt
The Small Business Debt Helpline is free, and it is for the owners of small businesses and family enterprises in financial hardship. It is operated by Financial Counselling Australia, and calls are answered by qualified financial counsellors directly or through a web chat function. ASIC’s page lists the number as 1800 413 828, Monday to Friday.
The person carrying the worry has a separate service. ASIC’s page for directors in difficulty gives one example: NewAccess for Small Business, a coaching program run by Beyond Blue that is free and helps small business owners manage stress and anxiety. The ASBFEO describes it as a mental health service, free and confidential, developed by Beyond Blue, with one-on-one telehealth sessions tailored to small business owners.
What the Helpline’s counsellors do, in ASIC’s description: they can help a caller understand their financial position, look at options for managing debts, negotiate with creditors, work out whether the business is viable, and find other support services.
Where to start
Start with the finder: use this search to find a business adviser or expert relevant to your interests and location. Then the low-cost programs: Digital Solutions covers advice on digital matters up to 5 hours at a small fee, and the two Tasmanian services carry their own hour limits.
When the problem is money already owed, the route is the Helpline: for free and confidential advice when debt is the problem, contact the Small Business Debt Helpline on 1800 413 828, as ASIC’s page gives it.