"Everybody is skint": How regional Victorian businesses are fighting to stay alive

Almost half of regional Victorian business owners are not paying themselves a living wage as costs continue to put significant stress on rural and regional enterprises, a new report has found. 

❓What happened: On May 26, the Victorian Regional Chamber Alliance (VRCA) released the 2026 Business Health Survey Report. 

What is the VRCA? The VRCA is an advocacy organisation formed by chambers of commerce throughout Victoria, acting as a collective voice for regional and rural businesses. 

What the report found: 

• Businesses feel they are working harder than ever, with minimal signs their efforts will pay off. 

• 65 percent of business owners said they sometimes or never have work life balance.

• 44 percent of business owners said they are not drawing a living wage.

• Nearly 25 percent of businesses surveyed said they may not survive beyond 12 months in the current environment. 

• Most regional businesses have never fully recovered from the post-Covid economic environment, worsened by geopolitical crises, increasing regulatory and tax burdens and prolonged cost-of-living pressures, tightening consumer spending.

👥What people said: Jodie Gillett, the chair of the VRCA and CEO of Commerce Ballarat, told the Brolga the results of the survey should be alarming to all tiers of government. 

🗣️ “Business has been negotiating a difficult environment since the pandemic and the level of exhaustion is high,” Gillett said. “Forty-four percent of businesses surveyed said they either never or only sometimes give themselves a wage. Both of these statistics place a significant strain on the personal relationships and mental health of people who own small to medium businesses.

“Business owners are exhausted, not entitled. They are being squeezed systemically. They’re being crushed by cumulative cost pressure rather than one single issue.” 

On the ground: Jacqui Haylett, the sales and marketing manager for Alevo, a custom treatment table manufacturer, said imported goods are putting a strain on Australian-made products and factories. 

🗣️ “They’re not necessarily of better quality, and they don’t last long and they become landfill. It’s hard to maintain Australian manufacturing,” Haylett said. “It’s frustrating, we fight but how do we compete against global companies giving these huge discounts?

“We can’t compete, it’s not apples with apples. We need some kind of support and government to incentivise construction. We actually want to see action delivered.” 

Haylett said the plight of individual businesses easily ripples out to the entire community. 

🗣️ “It’s like that ecosystem thing you learn at school. It impacts on the longevity of each business, then of course the community, and then jobs.” 

Leah Moorehouse, the owner of retail craft and gift business Mia + Talbot, said consumers are spending less in a tight economy. 

🗣️ “Everybody is skint, aren’t they. There’s no pattern to anything anymore, we have no idea when we are going to be busy and when we’re not,” Moorehouse said. “It used to be quiet during the week, and then busy Friday and Saturday. Now we can’t predict it at all.”

⌚ What next: The report will be used as an important advocacy tool for the VRCA, and pushed to different levels of government to inform future policy.