business

Sydney small business funding and insolvency trends

NSW small businesses face changes in advisory support alongside national insolvency rises.

By The Daily Sydney · Published 20 July 2026

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Sydney small business funding and insolvency trends — AI-generated illustration

The NSW government cut funding for the Business Connect program, ending the state's only free business advisory service for SMEs as of 30 September 2025.

National business insolvencies rose 33% last financial year to 14,722, with construction and hospitality sectors experiencing the most collapses.

A March 2026 NSW Small Business Momentum Survey shows confidence levels fell 9 percentage points to 22%, with 42% of businesses reporting customers are buying less frequently.

Small businesses in Sydney received approximately $2 billion in compensation after a court found the NSW government liable for financial losses caused by the light rail construction trade disruption.

Sources: perplexity-sonar.

This article was generated by AI from the linked sources and was not reviewed by a human editor before publishing. See our editorial standards.

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