Unlocked potential of family businesses key to Australia's productivity challenge: PwC Australia Family Business Survey

Tuesday, 17 March 2026

Family businesses may hold a key to Australia's productivity challenge, as new PwC analysis reveals the segment that employs half the workforce has the capital and agility to drive growth, but is impaired by poor governance, risk aversion and lack of digital investment.

PwC Australia's 12th Family Business Survey has found Australian family businesses possess key ingredients for productive investment, with 70 per cent rating themselves as highly agile, and 93 per cent able to fund innovation from their own profits.

Yet only 30 per cent achieved double-digit growth in the past year, down from 47 per cent in 2023. Nearly half cite financial risk aversion as their biggest barrier to innovation, significantly above the global average, and only 30 per cent are prioritising AI and digital investment.

The findings come as the RBA has reported increased business investment and called on Australian businesses to be less risk averse and more innovative. Major banks have also increased their business lending, up from 3.5 per cent June 2023 to 8.6 per cent last December. 

The survey suggests the barriers are largely internal, with poor governance and succession planning. Eight in ten family business boards have no director under 40, and 70 per cent have just one woman or none in director roles. A third have no succession plan, with 73 per cent saying upskilling the next generation is their biggest barrier.

PwC Australia private markets leader Samantha Vidler said family businesses have structural advantages that should translate into faster decision-making and productive risk-taking, yet the survey had found businesses were struggling to harness their competitive edge.

"A sector that employs half the workforce reaching its full potential isn't a marginal issue for the Australian economy, it's a material one," she said.

"Our economy needs business dynamism more than ever, and family businesses are historic sources of innovation. Rather than waiting for policy settings or macroeconomic levers, there's a huge opportunity for businesses that can modernise their governance, invest in innovation and get succession right to guarantee their future prosperity.” 

PwC's 2025 Family Business Survey can be viewed here.