Australia's Leading Co-operative and Mutual Enterprises in 2020: CEMI Discussion Paper Series 2001

This paper reports on a research study that maps the size and structure of the Co-operative and Mutual enterprise (CME) sector in Australia. The Australian CME Index (ACMEI) is a longitudinal study that can provide a better understanding of these firms and their economic and social contribution to the national economy. This year the study found a total of 2,040 active CMEs of which 81% were co-operatives, 15% mutual enterprises, 2.1% were friendly societies and 2% were member-owned superannuation funds. These firms had a combined active membership base of more than 28.7 million memberships1, generated around $100 billion in revenue, managed over $1,067 billion in assets, and employed at least 69,839 people. They encompassed a wide range of industry sectors and provided significant economic and social benefits to their members. The report outlines these contributions and offers a case study of a selected CME to illustrate them.