Australia’s Leading Co-operative and Mutual Enterprises in 2025: CEMI Discussion Paper Series, DP 2501

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 1,834 active CMEs of which 79.8% were co-operatives, 16.7% mutual enterprises, 2.1% were friendly societies and 1.4% were member-owned superannuation funds. These firms had a combined active membership base of more than 37.32 million memberships1, managed over $1,846.5 billion in assets, and employed at least 94,421 people. They encompassed a wide range of industry sectors and provided significant economic and social benefits to their members.