About SECNA

Why we exist

The Social Enterprise Council for NSW and ACT was formed in 2020 from the passion and determination of its members to build community and advocate for and represent the social enterprise sector.

SECNA is a sector-led peak body that represents the interests of social entrepreneurs and social enterprises across NSW & ACT and exists to:

  • Engage and connect the social enterprise sector in NSW and ACT

  • Secure investment and policy change for the sector

  • Be an organisation that can sustain and grow our impact

Read our FY25 Strategic Plan and our Constitution for more information

Vision

A just, inclusive and sustainable society

Mission

To build a thriving social enterprise sector in NSW and the ACT

Values

  • Authenticity

  • Creativity

  • Justice

  • Collaboration

  • Diversity

Principles

  • An independent, sector-led council

  • We collaborate in and build the social impact ecosystem

  • Optimistic, energetic, and entrepreneurial

  • Open and responsive to the needs of the social enterprise sector

  • We understand social enterprises to:

    • Have a clear and primary social or environmental mission

    • Generate revenue from trade

    • See profit as a means, not an end goal

    • Be transparent about how they operate and the impact they make

Towards a national Social Enterprise strategy

Social Enterprise Council Network Tasmania (SENTAS)

We are working with our national peak body, Social Enterprise Australia and the broader social enterprise sector in Australia to develop a national strategy.

Social Enterprise Australia and the national strategy will build momentum and infrastructure for:

  • It will provide pathways for people to engage and co-create around place, mission and sector development. It will connect existing collaborations and activities and facilitate new ones that the sector sees as critical, including cross-sector and global initiatives. These will inform shared direction and action.

  • It will provide ways to share and learn about social enterprise and evolve to meet the interests and needs of the sector. This will include capturing data and knowledge from the sector and shared evaluation. It will be done to enable real-time understanding of practice and impact and to support decision-making.

  • It will lead a national strategy and work with others to build public will, advance policy, grow markets, and mobilise resources. These functions will be co-owned and shaped by all who support the vision, mission, values and principles of the sector.

“It is absolutely time that we start recognising that businesses are great tools for getting things done but that the measure of success is not how much money one organisation or person can keep for themselves, but how much they can do for the world”
— Kylie Flament, CEO SECNA

The Australian Social Enterprise landscape

There are an estimated 12,000 social enterprises in Australia, operating in a wide range of industries making an important contribution to creating a more diverse and inclusive economy, including providing employment and access to services for disadvantaged Australians.

To support this growth sustainably, and the development of a more diverse and inclusive economy overall, a range of support mechanisms are required, including, but not limited to, national and State based strategies for social enterprise, appropriate legal structure and access to finance and markets.

To build these support mechanisms, several State based Councils and Networks have formed:

Queensland Social Enterprise Council (QSEC)

The South Australian Social Enterprise Council (SASEC)

The Western Australia Social Enterprise Council (WASEC)

The Social Enterprise Network Victoria (SENVIC)