Networks, fairs, festivals and directories for LGBTIQA+ business owners in Australia
The networks, fairs, festivals and directories available to LGBTIQA+ business owners in Australia are spread across states, organisations and formats. This explainer sets out what each type of channel offers, which kinds of business each is likely to suit, and the other certifications and mainstream support that LGBTIQA+ owners can use.
Topic
Published
Sources checked
19 September 2026
Reading time
4 minutes
Published by
Pride in Business, a Just Gold publication. Disclosures and editorial principles
Disclosure. Just Gold, which funds and publishes Pride in Business, has been a Social Traders certified social enterprise since 2019. It has also worked with Social Traders as a client, including producing its digital awards and providing photography and video for Convene 2026.
How LGBTIQA+ owned businesses find work
Much of what Pride in Business publishes concerns the systems that large buyers use, although most LGBTIQA+ owned businesses find their work in the same way as most small businesses, through people they know, events they attend and directories that customers search. Channels of this kind exist for LGBTIQA+ owners, but they are spread across states, organisations and formats and are rarely described together.
Business and professional networks
In Victoria, GLOBE describes itself as being for "LGBTIQA+ communities, small businesses and professionals who want to be seen, connected and nurtured." It runs events, including national small business networking sessions and regional events held with local Pride festivals, maintains a member business directory and presents the Victorian Pride Awards. For an owner seeking peers, referrals or an initial customer base, a network of this kind is often the most direct place to start.
In Sydney, the Pride Business Association, formerly the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Business Association, runs Buy Rainbow, an annual LGBTIQA+ small business fair. The 2026 fair was held on 17 October at Rydges World Square, with a pop up market during Pride Fest in May. A fair operates differently from a network, because it places businesses directly in front of buyers on a single day, which suits retail, food, creative and service businesses that sell to the public.
In Queensland, the Pride Business Network, which is based in Brisbane and focused on South East Queensland, states that it has supported LGBTIQA+ businesses and employees for more than 40 years. It runs networking events, including board room dinners, and membership starts at $99 a year.
Out for Australia is a charity that provides mentoring, career support, events and community for LGBTIQA+ young people. Although it is not a business network as such, it offers a channel for established owners who wish to mentor and for young LGBTIQA+ people considering whether to start a business of their own.
Pride festivals as marketplaces
Pride festivals draw large audiences with an interest in LGBTIQA+ communities. Midsumma in Victoria, Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, Brisbane Pride, Feast in Adelaide, Pride WA, SpringOUT in Canberra, TasPride and Top End Pride in Darwin all run annual programs, alongside regional festivals such as ChillOut in Daylesford and Bendigo Pride. For a business, a festival can provide an event slot, a stall or a venue partnership, or simply a period in which customers are actively looking for LGBTIQA+ businesses. Article 8 in this series examines the evidence on who benefits.
Business directories and referral directories
The directories available to LGBTIQA+ owners fall into two types that serve different purposes. A business directory run by an LGBTIQA+ network, such as GLOBE’s member directory, helps customers and buyers find businesses within that community. A directory of inclusive services is a referral tool. QLife’s QDirectory is a national referral resource for LGBTIQA+ inclusive services, searchable by location, and does not record who owns a business. Rainbow Cultures lists organisations and services for multicultural LGBTIQA+ people, and the Victorian Pride Centre maintains a resource directory of LGBTIQA+ organisations and services in Victoria. Health, legal, counselling and community service businesses benefit from being listed in these referral directories, while for most other businesses the networks and their member directories are the more useful channel.
Other certifications LGBTIQA+ owners may hold
We have found no Australian certifier that assesses LGBTIQA+ ownership in the way that Supply Nation assesses Indigenous ownership. An LGBTIQA+ owner may nonetheless qualify for another certification. A business that trades for a social purpose may be eligible for Social Traders certification as a social enterprise, an Indigenous owned business may be verified by Supply Nation, and a business majority owned, managed and controlled by women may be certified by WEConnect International. Each of these certifications gives access to buyers who are actively seeking suppliers in that category.
Mainstream small business support
LGBTIQA+ owners are entitled to all the support available to other small businesses. business.gov.au is the Australian Government’s central source of information, grants and support, and the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman helps small businesses resolve disputes.
The Pride in Business Resources page lists all of these organisations, along with others, by state and territory, so that owners can begin with those closest to them.
Sources
- GLOBE Victoria
- Buy Rainbow
- Star Observer, Buy Rainbow returns to Sydney CBD with new venue for 2026, 16 May 2026
- Pride Business Network
- Out for Australia
- QLife, QDirectory
- Rainbow Cultures
- Victorian Pride Centre, Resource directory
- Social Traders
- Supply Nation
- WEConnect International
- business.gov.au
- Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman
- 14. Pride in Business, Resources (resources page on this site)
Source pages last checked 19 October 2026. Festival websites are listed on the Resources page.
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