The Business Council of Australia (BCA) is an

industry association A trade association, also known as an industry trade group, business association, sector association or industry body, is an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry. An industry trade association partici ...

that comprises the

chief executive A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

s of more than 100 of Australia's biggest corporations. It was formed in 1983 by the merger of the Business Roundtable – a spin-off of the

Committee for Economic Development of Australia The Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) is a bipartisan, non-profit organisation providing thought leadership and policy perspectives on the economic and social issues affecting Australia. Its expressed aim is to "promote nat ...

– and the Australian Industry Development Association. The organisation is headquartered in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

with offices in Sydney and Canberra. Its stated goal is to give the business community a greater voice in public policy debates about the direction of Australian society.

History

AIPL/AIDA

The Australian Industries Protection League (AIPL) was established in

in January 1919 as a successor to the Protectionist Association of Victoria.

James Hume Cook James Newton Haxton Hume Cook CMG (23 September 1866 – 8 August 1942) was an Australian politician. He was a member of the House of Representatives from 1901 to 1910, after previously serving in the Victorian Legislative Assembly from 1894 t ...

, a former federal MP and ally of

Nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

leader

Billy Hughes William Morris Hughes (25 September 1862 – 28 October 1952) was an Australian politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Australia, in office from 1915 to 1923. He is best known for leading the country during World War I, but ...

, was appointed secretary of the organisation in 1922 and held the position until his death in 1942. He represented the league at the

British Empire Economic Conference The British Empire Economic Conference (also known as the Imperial Economic Conference or Ottawa Conference) was a 1932 conference of British colonies and dominions held to discuss the Great Depression. It was held between 21 July and 20 Augus ...

in Ottawa in 1932. According to Peter Cochrane, its members were "first and foremost, advocates of high, even prohibitive, protection; they possessed a profound belief in the virtuosity of the small business enterprise and the necessity to furnish it with a financial and political superstructure". In June 1951, the AIPL was renamed as the Australian Industries Development Association (AIDA). Hosiery manufacturer George Foletta served as the organisation's president from 1951 to 1956.

Post-merger

The Business Council of Australia was formed in 1983 from a merger of AIDA and the Business Roundtable.

Structure

Board

The board oversees the council's secretariat, committees and task forces, makes recommendations about membership and appointments, and proposes policies. Board members, as of March 2021, were: * President: Tim Reed, joint managing director, Potentia Capital; director,

Transurban Transurban is a road operator company that manages and develops urban toll road networks in Australia, Canada and the United States. It is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX). Transurban is the full owner of CityLink in Melbour ...

* Chief executive:

Jennifer Westacott Jennifer Westacott is an Australian business executive. She has been chief executive of the Business Council of Australia (BCA) since 2011. On 1 January 2023 she will become chancellor of Western Sydney University, while continuing in her role wi ...

* Karen Dobson, managing director,

Dow Chemical Company The Dow Chemical Company, officially Dow Inc., is an American multinational chemical corporation headquartered in Midland, Michigan, United States. The company is among the three largest chemical producers in the world. Dow manufactures plastic ...

*Danny Gilbert AM, managing partner,

Gilbert + Tobin Gilbert may refer to: People and fictional characters *Gilbert (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Gilbert (surname), including a list of people Places Australia * Gilbert River (Queensland) * Gilbert River (South A ...

Alan Joyce Alan Joyce (born 21 October 1942) is a former Australian rules footballer who after playing 49 games for Hawthorn became a premiership winning coach for the club. Originally from Glen Iris, Joyce played in the ruck for Hawthorn, and ultimate ...

, chief executive officer,

Qantas Qantas Airways Limited ( ) is the flag carrier of Australia and the country's largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations. It is the world's third-oldest airline still in operation, having been founded ...

*Alison Kitchen, national chairman,

KPMG KPMG International Limited (or simply KPMG) is a multinational professional services network, and one of the Big Four accounting organizations. Headquartered in Amstelveen, Netherlands, although incorporated in London, England, KPMG is a net ...

Susan Lloyd-Hurwitz Susan Lloyd-Hurwitz is an Australian businesswoman and chief executive working in real estate funds management and property development. In 2014 she was named New South Wales Business Woman of the Year as well as Telstra Business Woman of the Yea ...

, chief executive officer and managing director,

Mirvac Mirvac is an Australian property group with operations across property investment, development, and retail services. This entity now broadens their clientele and shareholder return on investment by venturing across multiple development sectors, ...

* Alison Watkins; director,

Centre for Independent Studies The Centre for Independent Studies (CIS) is an Australian libertarian think tank founded in 1976 which specialises in public policy research. It is based in Sydney and focuses on classical liberal issues such as free markets and limited gover ...

; former group managing director,

Coca-Cola Amatil Coca-Cola Amatil Limited (CCA) was an Australian bottler of non-alcoholic beverages that existed from 1904 to 2021, when it merged with Coca-Cola European Partners to form Coca-Cola Europacific Partners. It was one of the largest bottlers of no ...

. Former presidents include

Catherine Livingstone Catherine Brighid Livingstone, , (born 17 September 1955) is an Australian businesswoman who has held positions in the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, CSIRO, Macquarie Bank and Telstra. Professional After finishing her degree in 1977, Livingsto ...

Tony Shepherd Anthony Shepherd (born 16 November 1966) is a Scottish former footballer. He was a midfielder coming from the Celtic Boys Club. Shepherd signed with the senior Celtic side in August 1983 and debuted at Parkhead in a 2-1 Scottish Cup victory ...

Michael Chaney Michael Alfred Chaney (born 15 April 1950) is an Australian businessman and former chancellor of the University of Western Australia. Early life Chaney was born in Perth on 15 April 1950. He was the third-youngest of seven children born to F ...

, Hugh Morgan,

Roderick Carnegie Sir Roderick Howard Carnegie AC (born 27 November 1932) is a prominent Australian businessman, primarily working in the coal industry. Carnegie was born in November 1932 in Melbourne, eldest child and only son of Douglas and Margaret Carnegie ( ...

and

Arvi Parbo Sir Arvi Hillar Parbo (10 February 1926 – 1 May 2019) was a business executive who was concurrently chairman of three of Australia's largest companies, Alcoa World Alumina & Chemicals, Munich Re, and Zurich Australian Insurance. Early lif ...

. The secretariat works on policy, research, communications and administrative support. The Strong Australia Network was established to lobby for regional businesses, and BizRebuild to help businesses damaged by floods or bushfires.

Policy

The council's policy agenda has included plans to reform post-secondary education, cut rates of personal and company tax, and strengthen

enterprise bargaining Enterprise bargaining is an Australian term for a form of collective bargaining, in which wages and working conditions are negotiated at the level of the individual organisations, as distinct from sectoral collective bargaining across whole industr ...

. Members help develop policy through committees and special-issue task forces.

Membership

, members of the council were:

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Business Council Of Australia Business organisations based in Australia Organizations established in 1983 1983 establishments in Australia