NSW Business Chamber
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Business NSW is an
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independent, not-for-profit membership organisation that identifies the key issues impacting business and finds practical policy solutions to ensure businesses across New South Wales prosper and grow. The organisation has been operating since 1826. It was formerly known as the NSW Business Chamber.


Purpose and role

Business NSW works directly with businesses and local chambers of commerce to represent business interests with decision makers at local, state and federal government levels. The issues it advocates on include
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reduction, business taxation, workforce skills, infrastructure, workplace
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, and workplace relations. There are 10 regional offices across New South Wales.


History

Business NSW has undergone a number of name changes and mergers with other business organisations since its founding in 1826, when it was known as the Sydney Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber of
Manufactures Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to a rang ...
of
New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...
was then established with the inaugural meeting in August 1885 at
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in which the rules and regulations were adopted and
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was elected its first president. The Chamber got off to an initial slow start with its primary supporters focusing most of their efforts on
tariff A tariff is a tax imposed by the government of a country or by a supranational union on imports or exports of goods. Besides being a source of revenue for the government, import duties can also be a form of regulation of foreign trade and p ...
policy lobbying, especially in setting up a "Protection Union", in direct opposition to the "Free Traders" led by
Sir Henry Parkes Sir Henry Parkes, (27 May 1815 – 27 April 1896) was a colonial Australian politician and longest non-consecutive Premier of the Colony of New South Wales, the present-day state of New South Wales in the Commonwealth of Australia. He has be ...
. The Chamber was finally re-constituted in June 1895 at a meeting at the
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. The Chamber abandoned the idea of partisan political lobbying and adopted a position of a
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organisation which has continued to the present day. In 1914, the Chamber of Manufactures of NSW set up the Manufacturers Mutual Insurance Company (now MMI). The insurance company arm was established primarily to indemnify employers against claims that might be made by their employees who were injured at work, and was in direct response to the new Workmen's Compensation Act of 1910. The Chamber continued to expand in NSW over the following years opening offices in
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, Lismore,
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and Ballina while pursuing possible amalgamations with other business organisations, such as the Australian Chamber of Manufactures and Employer's Federation, most of these options were explored but not acted upon. In 1995, the Chamber of Manufactures of NSW broke its tie with MMI, selling its shares of the company and changing its name to Australian Business Limited. The sale of MMI shares made Australia Business Limited one of the most well funded business organisations in
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...
. In 2006 the State Chamber of Commerce (NSW) changed its name to the
Sydney Business Chamber The Sydney Business Chamber was established in 1825 as the Sydney Chamber of Commerce and is the second oldest business entity in New South Wales. Today it is a division of the NSW Business Chamber. The Chamber's mission is to represent leadin ...
of Commerce, echoing the original concept of the chamber of Commerce that applied when it started in 1826. In December 2006, Australian Business Limited changed its name to NSW Business Chamber Limited to reflect the new entity emerging from this union. Following the transfer of all members into NSW Business Chamber Limited, the Sydney Chamber activities continued as the Sydney Business chamber, a division of the NSW Business Chamber. In 2020, the NSW Business Chamber rebrandedhttps://www.businessnsw.com/content/dam/nswbc/businessnsw/pdf/250220%20New%20name%20for%20State%27s%20peak%20business%20group%20Media%20Release.pdf its advocacy arm to Business NSW. As the State's peak business organization, Business NSW is the authoritative voice representing businesses across NSW, challenging governments and decision-makers to create the economic conditions that enable businesses to do better.


See also

*
Economy of New South Wales The economy of New South Wales represents a significant proportion of the Australian economy. The economy was valued at $557.9 billion in 2016–17, representing 33.0% of Australia's total GDP. Economic history Aboriginal Australians gener ...
*
Economy of Australia Australia is a highly developed country with a mixed-market economy. As of 2022, Australia was the 14th-largest national economy by nominal GDP ( Gross Domestic Product), the 20th-largest by PPP-adjusted GDP, and was the 22nd-largest goods ...


References

{{Authority control Chambers of commerce in Australia Economy of New South Wales