“Think Big Act Local”: Community urged to support small businesses during Main Streets of Australia Week 2023

With Main Streets of Australia Week kicking off on Monday, this year’s national campaign from Mainstreet Australia features an even greater call to the Australian community to shop local and support small business owners who are facing the pressures associated with the rising cost of living and those who are doing it tough.

Main Streets of Australia Week had a successful inaugural year in 2022 showcasing the small business owners, retailers and entrepreneurs that keep Australia’s main streets alive and make them vibrant and thriving places.

The week-long celebration runs from May 15 to May 21 this year and highlights the importance of supporting local high streets, strip shopping centres and town centres, as well as the role they play in the community and Australia’s economy. The 2023 theme is ‘Think Big Act Local’.

A range of events and activations at local retail and business precincts across the country will be featured during Main Streets of Australia Week. 

Mainstreet Australia executive officer Liz Joldeski said this week is a time for the community to come together to support local businesses.

“We are proud to represent the retailers, small businesses and service providers who are the backbone of our communities, and we encourage everyone to shop local and support these businesses during this week and all year round,” she said. 

“Mainstreet Australia is committed to making a positive impact on our communities and providing support to the businesses who need it most, by working closely with trader groups and business associations to revitalise and keep foot traffic up on our main streets.”

According to its website, Mainstreet Australia is the successor organisation to Community Business Centres Victoria (CBCV), which was formed as a not-for-profit, membership-based association in Melbourne in 1996 by a group of Victorian participants following the first National Mainstreet Conference held in Maryborough, Queensland, the year before.

In 2007, CBCV changed its name to Mainstreet Australia in order to promote a more nationalised approach to the management and promotion of Australia’s main streets.

In a video shared on LinkedIn on Monday, Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Bruce Billson said the national campaign celebrates all that main streets and town centres provide to their local communities and economies.

“These are the vibrant areas in our community where there’s enterprise, community connections and so many small and family businesses,” he said in the 2022 clip. 

“Get behind these main streets as they add so much to our community and to our economy.”

Speaking to SmartCompany, Billson added that main streets are more than a place of commerce. 

“Our main streets are the front line where small and family business showcase their goods and services and seek to delight their customer,” he says.

“More than a place of commerce, main streets often showcase who we are, our stories, our livelihoods and bring people together, provide the vitality, connectedness and economic energy that takes place and makes it a community. 

“If we value this contribution, we can show our appreciation by putting some of our ‘hard-earned’ into these businesses and time into the event and experiences that make engaging Main Streets so special and worth celebrating.”

More information about Main Streets of Australia Week is available here.