IPA

The IPA has a passion for small business. More than 75 per cent of our members are either servicing small business or are small businesses in their own right.

We constantly challenge ourselves to ensure we are delivering the best service possible to our members while maintaining our small business focus. As such, we have articulated our reason for being as:

To improve the quality of life of small business.

We recognise the vital contribution that small business makes to the economy globally. As trusted advisers, IPA members play a pivotal role in the lives of their small business clients and are in an ideal position to support the productivity, growth and prosperity of small business; thus making a genuine economic contribution.

For this reason we have established our vision as:

For every small business to have one of our members by their side

Advocating for the small business and SME sectors is at the core of what we do. In 2015, this advocacy work led to the landmark Australian Small Business White Paper, developed in conjunction with our dedicated IPA – Deakin University SME Research Centre. In 2017, we commenced, through our research centre and appointment of academics in the UK, the development of the UK version of the White Paper.

We have also partnered with a Shanghai-based consultancy to develop a small business policy platform in China which shares the universality of the White Paper model. Concurrently, we are working on the second edition of the Australian version with expanded research on additional factors including mental health and wellbeing of small business.