{"id":871768,"date":"2026-08-28T18:48:19","date_gmt":"2026-08-28T18:48:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/871768\/"},"modified":"2026-08-28T18:48:19","modified_gmt":"2026-08-28T18:48:19","slug":"nsw-rolls-out-37-million-business-connect-replacement-with-ai-focus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/871768\/","title":{"rendered":"NSW rolls out $37 million Business Connect replacement with AI focus"},"content":{"rendered":"

The NSW government\u2019s $37 million Business Connect replacement will begin rolling out next month, before commencing its full suite of business support activities in February 2027. <\/p>\n

More than a year after quietly ending funding for Business Connect \u2013 a program connecting small businesses to specialist advisory services \u2013 the state government has formally unveiled its successor.<\/p>\n

Dubbed Small Business Advisory, the scheme will offer NSW business owners face-to-face meetings, phone calls, and digital sessions with expert advisors.<\/p>\n

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When the full fee-free program commences in February, it will offer specialist, practical guidance to business owners in fields like hospitality and construction.<\/p>\n

Targeted regional programs will support businesses outside the major city centres, with a focus on women-led and Indigenous-led enterprises.<\/p>\n

The state government says it will also hold local workshops and events, creating networking opportunities for local businesses.<\/p>\n

And the Small Business Advisory will offer tailored support to businesses looking to implement new and emerging artificial intelligence tools in their day-to-day operations.<\/p>\n

Small Business Advisory to start within weeks<\/p>\n

Businesses in NSW will not need to wait until next year for support.<\/p>\n

From September 10, an initial Small Business Advisory roll-out will provide one-on-one advisory services, support for multicultural businesses, and networking opportunities.<\/p>\n

That limited roll-out will revive some of the services offered by Business Connect, which was effectively stripped of funding in the 2025-26 state budget.<\/p>\n

The new-look program will run through the Services NSW Business Bureau, with information available on its website.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are ensuring our small business sector has access to high-quality, fee-free support to grow and truly thrive in today\u2019s changing economic landscape,\u201d said Treasurer Daniel Mookhey in a statement.<\/p>\n

Minister for Small Business Janelle Saffin called small business owners \u201csome of the hardest working people in NSW,\u201d who face the \u201cperennial challenges\u201d of regulation, disruptive technology, and sustained growth.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhether you\u2019re a tradie in Dubbo, a cafe owner in Parramatta, or a tech startup in Tamworth, expert help is now just a phone call, click, or quick visit away,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

The path to Small Business Advisory<\/p>\n

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The Minns Labor government faced stiff criticism from both business advocacy groups and the Opposition for its decision not to extend further Business Connect funding in the 2025-26 budget<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In August, Premier Chris Minns said cuts to continued funding were a consequence of necessary government spending on the state\u2019s workers compensation scheme<\/a>.<\/p>\n

After months of tense debate, the state government brokered a compromise with crossbenchers in February to reform that compensation model.<\/p>\n

Mookhey said that deal would stabilise its financial security, while preventing a 36% jump in workplace insurance premiums over three years.<\/p>\n

At the same time, the state government also pledged to fund a replacement for the Business Connect program.<\/p>\n

In March, it tapped notable Australian entrepreneur Mark Bouris to undertake a 90-day review.<\/p>\n

Bouris handed his report to the government in May, weeks before the 2026-27 state budget devoted $37 million in funding over four years<\/a> to the replacement project.<\/p>\n

The budget provided few other details about the shape of that new-look support service, but Bouris publicly stated it should focus on emerging AI tools.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to see the same thing, Business Connect, but it now needs to be digital and AI-based,\u201d he told SmartCompany<\/a> in July.<\/p>\n

The Wizard Home Loans founder welcomed Business Advisory Service\u2019s new AI focus on Friday.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt drops the bureaucracy and delivers real-world strategies \u2014 from mastering financial literacy and
cash flow to harnessing AI \u2014 giving Aussie business owners the competitive edge they deserve,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The September extension<\/p>\n

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Although the full suite of advisory services will not come online until early next year, the Minns government may be warding off a political headache by introducing limited support services from September 10.<\/p>\n

Were it not for that early-access program, the state would have gone a full year, from announcement to launch, without the dedicated, government-backed business advisory service in place.<\/p>\n

With a state election slated for March 2027 \u2013 and an Opposition itself keen on doubling funding for the Business Connect program \u2013 that gap may have posed a problem for Labor and its business outreach plans.<\/p>\n

In the Friday statement, Saffin said the measure, including its September start date, \u201crecognises the contribution\u201d small businesses make to the state economy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The NSW government\u2019s $37 million Business Connect replacement will begin rolling out next month, before commencing its full…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":871769,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[256,254,255,64,63,440257,2733,440258,105],"class_list":["post-871768","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-artificial-intelligence","tag-ai","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-artificialintelligence","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-business-connect","tag-nsw","tag-small-business-advisory","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/871768","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=871768"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/871768\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/871769"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=871768"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=871768"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=871768"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}