Frequently Asked Questions

Australian Centre for Business Growth

FAQs

What does the Australian Centre for Business Growth do?

The  Australian Centre for Business Growth provides high-value, world-class programs that enable business owners, CEOs, Managing Directors and their executives to learn what to do, what to stop doing, and how and when to make the changes necessary for growth. Our programs provide participants with the knowledge and skills they need to develop as leaders, accelerate company growth and compete in a global marketplace. Programs combine diagnostics, expert presentations, facilitated group discussions, peer-to-peer learning and action planning.

Since launching in 2014, the Centre has worked with many companies through its business growth programs and many of whom have experienced sustained growth since participating in a program.

What programs do you offer?

  • Assessment Clinic: A one-day clinic for CEOs/owners ready to grow their business

  • Growth Ramp: Six-month Zoom program for companies with 5-11 employees

  • Growth Modules: Three intensive team-based modules designed for CEOs plus their executives

  • Execute & Grow: Advanced two-module program for alumni to implement learning and achieve growth goals

Who are the programs designed for?

Leaders of SMEs with 5-199 full-time employees focused on scaling their company and leadership capacity.

What qualifications are required?

  • Assessment Clinic: CEO/owner of a business with 5-199 FTEs, established products/services/revenue

  • Growth Ramp: Clinic completion + company with 5-11 FTEs + commitment to participation

  • Growth Modules: Clinic completed + CEO + executive team members + commitment to pre‑work and attendance

  • Execute & Grow: Graduates of Growth Modules with intent to execute strategic plans

What format and structure do programs follow?

  • Assessment Clinic: One-day session (face-to-face, Zoom or self‑paced online) with 4-6 participants; includes pre‑work and coaching

  • Growth Ramp: Six full-day Zoom or in-person sessions once a month for 6 months + 1-hour coaching calls between sessions, small cohort model

  • Growth Modules: Three, 3 day modules over 9 months; CEO + executive team members; prep work, between‑module tasks & peer accountability

  • Execute & Grow: Two 2 day modules six months apart, coaching, continuing learning management system access and peer support

What topics do the programs cover?

  • Business growth stages, scaling mindsets & leadership role shifts

  • Growth barriers including product‑market fit, finance, marketing, innovation, team building & governance

  • Customised business growth plans, operational execution plans and leadership development plans

  • Peer-to-peer learning and Growth Expert coaching at each stage

What outcomes can participants expect?

  • Clear identification of growth inhibitors and next‑step strategies to grow 

  • Tailored strategic growth and operational growth plans (ranging from 1 year to 3 year horizons)

  • Leadership growth & ongoing peer and expert accountability

  • Longitudinal resources, refresher content, learning management system access & ability to measure growth impact

Who are your Growth Experts?

Growth Experts are former and current CEOs, Managing Directors or business owners who have started, scaled and exited companies. They facilitate sessions, mentor participants, and bring real-world insights to each cohort.

Have you won any awards:

Yes, the Australian Centre for Business Growth is globally-recognised with awards for its business growth programs:

Where are you based?

The Australian Centre for Business Growth is part of Adelaide University located on North Terrace, Adelaide SA 5005.

What is the investment and are subsidies available?

  • Assessment Clinic: A$5,000 + GST (virtual option priced separately)

  • Growth Ramp: A$13,500 + GST

  • Growth Modules: A$40,500 + GST (for CEO + 2 executives)

  • Execute & Grow: A$20,000 + GST (for CEO + 2 executives)

  • Subsidies/scholarships available (e.g. NT, SA, ANZ‑funded) are tailored to program and region

How do I apply or learn more?

Visit the Program Schedule to view upcoming dates, availability, and apply online. For questions on eligibility, dates, locations or funding, reach out via our contact form.

Participant presenting at a business growth program by the Australian Centre for Business Growth

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What are the eligibility requirements for your business growth programs?

The business owners, CEOs and MDs who benefit the most from our programs:

  • Have the willingness to make changes and to grow their companies.
  • Have developed products, services and have customers.
  • Have at least 5* – 199 full-time employees.
  • Come to programs with an open mind and want to identify what is inhibiting growth.

*The programs currently offered by the Australian Centre for Business Growth have been designed for small (5*-19 employees) and medium sized companies (20-199 employees). If you fall outside of this eligibility criteria but want to apply, please contact us to discuss eligibility.

Are Not-For-Profits (NFP) eligible?

The Programs developed by the Australian Centre for Business Growth have been designed for profit companies. Whilst we have had a few NFP companies attend , these NFPs did so because they wanted to develop new initiatives to grow their NFP and wanted to gain the skills required to look at these initiatives from a business perspective. We are not currently delivering programs designed for Not-for-Profit Companies, but will consider accepting NFPs on a case-by-case basis. Please contact us to discuss your eligibility.

What companies have attended your business growth programs

The Australian Centre for Business Growth team has worked with thousands of growth companies from a range of industries and jurisdictions since June 2014. Find out more about some of our alumni companies in our case studies.

What do you do for privacy and confidentiality?

The Australian Centre for Business Growth recognises that your privacy and data security is important to you – and it is important to us as well. We are committed to respecting and protecting the privacy of the individuals and companies that we deal with and the security of their information. For more information about how we collect and store company information, please refer to our Privacy Information.

All participants, Centre staff and Growth Experts sign the AUCBG Confidentiality Undertaking before participating. Our programs have been designed to enable business owners, CEOs, MDs and their executives to freely share experiences with one another, as well as our Growth Experts. All discussions are confidential, and all participants agree not to share or divulge information about each other’s companies.

The data collected from every company that participates in any of our programs is added to a secure database. Each year we will be asking you to provide updates on revenue, profits, jobs, export, growth strategies, and other topics that will enable us to identify the accelerants and barriers or inhibitors of growth. Companies that participate in all our programs will automatically be enrolled in this study and will be required to provide updated information each year. The Centre will be reporting aggregate increases/decreases in revenue, employment, and exports, based on data collected from all the companies who have participated in our programs. See our Growth Tracker research.

Thank you in advance for sharing your data, lessons learned, and strategies for growth so we can help other CEOs quickly learn to recognise growth problems and opportunities, develop appropriate strategies, and accelerate growth.