If you run a social enterprise in Australia, you’ve probably been asked whether you’re “certified” or “accredited.” Procurement officers want to know. Grant assessors want to know. Customers increasingly want to know. But what does social enterprise accreditation actually mean in Australia, and is it worth pursuing?

The short answer is: it depends on who you’re trying to reach and what you’re trying to achieve. The longer answer requires understanding the current landscape.

The main options

Australia doesn’t have a single, universally recognised social enterprise accreditation system. Instead, there are several frameworks that serve different purposes.

Social Traders certification is probably the most widely recognised in Australia. Social Traders maintains a directory of certified social enterprises, and their certification is increasingly accepted by government and corporate procurement programs as evidence of social enterprise status. The certification process involves demonstrating that your organisation meets criteria around social mission, trading revenue, and reinvestment of profit.

B Corporation certification is an international framework that assesses companies against standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. B Corp certification is well-recognised internationally and carries significant brand value, particularly with ethically minded consumers. However, it’s designed for all businesses committed to social and environmental good, not specifically for social enterprises, so the fit isn’t always perfect.

Supply Nation verification is specifically for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses. While not social enterprise accreditation per se, it’s a critical credential for Indigenous enterprises seeking government and corporate procurement opportunities.

ACNC registration as a charity is relevant for social enterprises structured as not-for-profits. While it’s a regulatory requirement rather than an accreditation, ACNC registration provides credibility and access to certain benefits (tax concessions, eligibility for some funding programs).

The costs

Accreditation isn’t free, and for small social enterprises, the costs can be significant relative to revenue.

B Corp certification involves an assessment fee that varies by company size, plus the time investment of completing the B Impact Assessment (which is substantial). Annual certification fees apply.

Social Traders certification involves an application process and annual membership fees. The fees are scaled based on organisation size, but still represent a real cost for small enterprises.

The indirect costs are often larger than the direct fees. The time spent gathering documentation, completing assessments, and managing the certification process can consume weeks of staff time. For a small social enterprise, that’s time not spent on operations, sales, or service delivery.

The benefits

Accreditation can open doors. Here’s where I’ve seen it make a real difference.

Government procurement. Several state and federal government procurement policies reference social enterprise certification. Having recognised accreditation can make you eligible for set-aside contracts or weighted scoring in tender evaluations. In Victoria, Social Traders certification is particularly useful for accessing the Social Procurement Framework.

Corporate partnerships. Companies with social procurement commitments often look for certified social enterprises to include in their supply chains. B Corp certification in particular carries weight with corporates who are building ethical supply chains.

Consumer trust. For consumer-facing social enterprises, certification provides a form of third-party validation that builds trust. Consumers are increasingly sceptical of self-declared social enterprises, and accreditation addresses that scepticism.

Community and networking. Both B Corp and Social Traders provide access to communities of practice, events, and networking opportunities that can be valuable for learning and partnership development.

When it’s not worth it

Accreditation isn’t right for every social enterprise.

If your primary revenue comes from direct service delivery to communities rather than from procurement contracts or consumer sales, the procurement benefits of certification may be irrelevant.

If you’re very early-stage and still developing your business model, the time and cost of certification might be better invested in product development or market testing.

If your social enterprise model is unconventional and doesn’t fit neatly into certification criteria, the process can be frustrating and the outcome uncertain.

And if your customers and funders don’t ask for it, the return on investment may be low. Certification matters most in contexts where it opens specific doors or addresses specific trust barriers.

My recommendation

For social enterprises that sell to government or large corporates, Social Traders certification is worth pursuing. The procurement access it provides can be significant.

For consumer-facing businesses that want to signal their social and environmental commitment to ethically minded customers, B Corp certification is powerful.

For organisations that are small, early-stage, or serving local communities through direct service delivery, formal accreditation may not be the best use of limited resources. Focus on building your business, measuring your impact, and communicating it clearly to your stakeholders. You can always get certified later when the benefits outweigh the costs.

The most important thing isn’t the certificate on the wall. It’s whether your organisation is genuinely creating the social value it claims to create. Accreditation can signal that. It can’t replace it.