11 Most Profitable Industries in Australia

If you want to start a business in Australia, then our list of most profitable industries in Australia will sure come in handy. The key point is that money lies in services industry with manufacturing industry slowly declining.

According to the Industry Report made by Australian government,” in 2014–15, the Australian economy produced goods and services valued at $1.6 trillion, was home to more than 2.1 million actively trading businesses and employed over 11.7 million people”.

The backbone of country’s economy is made of the service sector. Service industry accounts for 60% of the GDP. There is, however, one interesting fact related to this. Only one-third of these services is provided to households. Other two-thirds of the services are provided to other businesses in order to improve their productivity.

The most important industries for Australia’s economy lay in Business Services. They make almost 20% of all country’s GDP.  Social and Distribution Services, Mining and Construction also play an important part in country’s GDP.

To find out the 11 most profitable industries in Australia, we consulted IBISWorld’s (Australian research company) report on the profitability of industries in Australia for 2015-2016. Industries are ranked according to their Profit Margin.

To get an idea about the profitability of the industries around the world, check out our list of the most profitable industries in the world.

11. Online Recruitment Services

Profit Margin: 38.4%

It shouldn’t seem surprising that this kind of services is profitable. They basically do a simple thing, connect employers and employees. Doesn’t look too complicated, right? This industry had a rise in profitability of 3.3% since 2010.

10. Funds Management Services

Profit Margin: 39.1%

This industry is all about money, so making a profit is a primary goal. This industry had one of the largest revenue growths of 10.5%, with revenue being $7196.6 million.

9. Criminal Lawyers and Attorneys

Profit Margin: 40%

Looking at this, one would think that there is a lot of crime in Australia. There must be, since the country is so profitable for lawyers and attorneys specialized for crime law. For Australia’s safety, we hope that lawyers tend to have high wages and not lot of work.

8. Toll Road Operators

Profit Margin: 41.1%

When you have a country as big as Australia, people tend to use toll road lots. The main factor for industry’s rise was the fact that there were higher rates of usage in the past couple of years, while fees also increased.

7. Intellectual Property Leasing

Profit Margin: 42%

Although this profit margin represents an overall estimation in the industry, the actual profit margin largely depends on the idea and its use. However, this could be a turning point for the industry since there are some indicators that the profitability will decline in the next couple years.

6. Oil and Gas Extraction

Profit Margin: 42.2%

As we said in the intro, mining is one of the important makers of Australia’s GDP, and Oil and Gas Extraction is the most lucrative form. This industry was even more profitable 5 years ago, when profit margin was above 49%.

5. Wind and Other Electricity Generation

Profit Margin: 43%

Since electricity prices have risen, the renewable energy industry has skyrocketed in profit margins. Thanks to the cheap costs of materials, and high revenues, this industry is aiming for even bigger profitability and the higher place on our list of most profitable industries in Australia.

4. Tradesman and Handyman Franchises

Profit Margin: 46.9%

This may seem strange, but obviously, gardening, building maintenance, plumbing, fencing, and painting is big business in Australia. The industry had $911 revenue in 2015 with an increase of profit margin by 3.0%.

3. Airport Operations

Profit Margin: 48.2%

Due to the domination of large airports and low competition, there is a certain monopoly that causes this industry to be so profitable. With the increase of the air traffic, the prices also increase leading up to $4850.8 million of revenue.

2. Pipeline Transport

Profit Margin: 49.3%

With the growth of domestic market usage of natural gas and large Asian consumers, Australia’s pipeline industry is on the rise. It is a $2 billion industry with few companies that control the market and dictate the prices.

1. Litigation Funding

Profit Margin: 58%

This is the industry with the smallest revenue from all of other most profitable industries in Australia on this list but the profit is the highest, and that is all that counts. There is an estimation that the industry will be even more profitable in the years to come since companies have control on choosing the most profitable cases.