The 2026 COSBOA Small Business Perspectives Report confirms a worrying a trend for our regional small business sector, with owners operating on tighter margins, with fewer services, and at growing personal cost.
Nationals Leader and Shadow Minister for Small Business, Gurmesh Singh, said the report confirms what business owners across regional NSW have been telling us for months – costs are up, and profits are down.
"The results also highlight other failures of the Minns Labor Government, with housing, childcare and connectivity gaps becoming increasingly impactful on regional businesses," Mr Singh said.
The 2026 Small Business Perspectives Report focuses solely on regional, rural, and remote small businesses. Key findings include;
* 87 per cent of businesses reported rising expenses over the past year, while 73 per cent say profit has fallen;
• 87 per cent of owners looking to recruit had difficulty filling roles;
• 37 per cent of respondent said fuel costs are a significant or critical financial pressure;
• 52 per cent of participants lamented poor housing access in their region; and,
• 77 per cent of owners experienced business-related stress or anxiety in the past year.
Mr Singh said stress, sleep disruption, burnout, and isolation have become defining features of running a small business in regional NSW.
The report comes a week after the Minns Labor Government's own Small Business Commissioner delivered a damning verdict on the state of small business in NSW, with the June Momentum Survey showing confidence spiralling, momentum falling, and profitability expectations collapsing.
"This is the Minns Labor Government's own agency telling them that for every small business expecting to make more money, ten expect to go backwards. You can't get a clearer warning than that," Mr Singh said.
