Business loan rejection rates in Australia: how many businesses do not obtain finance?

Businesses that sought debt or equity finance and did not obtain it made up 1.9% of all employing businesses in Australia in 2024-25, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)¹. Businesses that sought finance made up 18.3% of all employing businesses, and businesses that obtained finance made up 15.9%. A further 1.0% of employing businesses had finance in progress at the end of the year.

Among businesses that sought finance, 10.4% did not obtain it, 86.9% obtained it and 5.5% had finance in progress¹.

The three outcome shares add to 18.8% of employing businesses, above the 18.3% that sought finance¹. As the published figures do not reconcile, the outcome shares are separate estimates rather than components that add to the total share seeking finance.

Debt finance is any finance the business must repay, and equity finance is finance provided in exchange for a share in the ownership of the business². The ABS collects the data from employing businesses and excludes public administration and safety, education and training, superannuation funds and general government.

No official statistic counts business loan applications or rejections, and the ABS measure covers debt or equity finance of any kind rather than loans alone².

Information media and telecommunications recorded the highest share of finance seekers that did not obtain finance in 2024-25, at 20.0%¹. The ranking covers the 15 industry divisions with a published value. Professional, scientific and technical services was second at 18.5%, followed by arts and recreation services at 16.9%.

Agriculture, forestry and fishing recorded the lowest share of finance seekers that did not obtain finance among the 15 divisions, at 1.8%¹.

Mining recorded the highest share of businesses that sought finance among the 17 industry divisions, at 35.1% of all employing businesses in the division¹. Agriculture, forestry and fishing was second at 33.1%, while professional, scientific and technical services recorded the lowest share, at 10.8%.

Rental, hiring and real estate services recorded the highest share of businesses that did not obtain finance among the 15 divisions with a published value, at 3.3% of all employing businesses in the division¹. Mining was next at 2.8%.

Uncertainty about economic conditions was the most commonly reported factor limiting or preventing access to finance in 2024-25¹, reported by 11.0% of employing businesses.

Insufficient sales or cash flow was next at 9.4%, followed by insufficient collateral or security at 3.7%¹.

High levels of business debt were reported by 3.5% of employing businesses¹. Financial regulations and compliance were reported by 2.4%, and 1.8% reported that the business or project was considered high risk.

Overall, 18.9% of employing businesses reported at least one factor limiting or preventing access to finance¹. A further 15.1% reported no limiting factors, while the remaining 66.0% were recorded as not applicable.

By employment size, businesses with 20 to 199 persons recorded the highest share reporting at least one limiting factor, at 20.9%¹. Businesses with 200 or more persons recorded the lowest share at 14.1%.

By industry, accommodation and food services recorded the highest share reporting at least one limiting factor, at 29.6%¹. Professional, scientific and technical services recorded the lowest share at 12.5%.

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) reported $208.0 billion of small business loans outstanding at 30 June 2026, with $100.4 billion, or 48.3%, secured by residential property³.

The RBA's business-size classifications are based on lending definitions and differ from the ABS employment size groups³. Since June 2024, all reporting lenders have classified business size under APRA's prudential standards APS 112 and APS 113.

The average rate on outstanding small business loans was 7.46% in July 2026⁴. For loans secured by residential property, the average rate was lower, at 6.98%.

The RBA reported in October 2025 that less than 5% of credit to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) was unsecured⁵. Around half of small-sized SME loans were secured by other assets, including vehicles and equipment, while a little under half were secured by residential property. New loans secured by residential property were on average 4.5 times as large as loans secured by other assets.

Lender liaison indicated that lending standards remained prudent in the year before October 2025⁵. Some lenders had eased standards incrementally, including more willingness to lend with little or no security and a higher share of new SME loans approved through automated processes.

In a few cases, lenders lowered the benchmarks used in their serviceability assessments⁵. The RBA assessed that access to finance for small businesses had improved over the period, although small businesses continued to report challenges in obtaining finance on terms that suited their needs.