Social enterprise verification
There are two organisations that formally verify social enterprises in Australia: People and Planet First and Social Traders
Both now use the following five global standards to determine whether an organisation is a social enterprise:
Purpose: Exists to solve a social and/or environmental problem
Operations: Prioritises purpose, people, and planet over profit in operational decisions
Revenue: Has a self-sustaining revenue model
Use of Surplus: Reinvests the majority of any surplus towards its purpose
Structure: Chooses legal structures and financing that protect and lock-in purpose long term.
People and Planet First
People and Planet First is a global participatory verification system for social enterprises, launched by the Social Enterprise World Forum (SEWF) in 2023. SEWF is a global not-for-profit organisation that operates out of Scotland, established in 2008. They have more than 80 verified social enterprises in Australia. Verification costs $85 USD (approximately $130 AUD) per year.
Learn more about verification with People and Planet First
Explore the database of People and Planet First Verified Enterprises
Social Traders
Social Traders is an Australian not-for-profit organisation, established in 2008, that provides verification of social enterprises as well as social procurement services and advice to government and corporate buyers. They have over 500 certified social enterprises in Australia. Verification is free and membership of Social Traders starts at $700 per year.
Learn more about verification with Social Traders
Explore the database of Social Traders Verified Enterprises
Certification vs verification
There are some minor differences between certification and verification but for all intents and purposes they deliver the same benefit - third-party scrutiny of a social enterprise behind-the-scenes and a stamp of approval that it is a genuine social enterprise.
We encourage social enterprises in NSW and ACT to be verified by one or both of these organisations, and we encourage governments and corporations to introduce weightings for verified social enterprises in their procurement practices, to enable verified social enterprises to apply for grants that might otherwise be restricted to not-for-profit organisations only (noting that some genuine social enterprises have for-profit legal structures but if verified then stakeholders can trust that they are reinvesting at least 50% of profits in their purpose, either internally or by donating to charity).
SECNA membership
The SECNA Board look at every application for industry (social enterprise) membership and judge whether each one is a social enterprise, with reference to the same five global standards, but we do not conduct the same robust checks that Social Traders and People and Planet First do.
The benefit of being a SECNA member is to stay informed, to connect and engage with others in the social enterprise sector in NSW/ACT, and to be represented by SECNA in government advocacy, feedback to funders, and other forums where SECNA acts as a voice for social enterprises.
Become a SECNA member here.
Other certifications and verifications for purposeful organisations
B Corp is a global certification of organisations that are being socially and environmentally responsible.
Our CEO, Kylie Flament, often talks about how social enterprises do good (they exist specifically to make the world a better place) while B Corps be good (they are responsible in the way that they run their business). For example, Nespresso is B Corp certified which means we can trust that they are being good/responsible, but they would not be classed as a social enterprise as they are not doing good/making the world a better place. An organisation can also do both, which is even better. B Corp certification is managed in Australia and New Zealand by B Lab.
Supply Nation is a register of verified Indigenous businesses. They list registered Indigenous businesses based on business information, and also undertake certification of Indigenous businesses where they check behind the scenes in the same way that Social Traders and People and Planet First do for social enterprises. Many Indigenous businesses are also social enterprises. See the Supply Nation website for more information.
Fairtrade is a certification (with regular audits) that checks that farmers and producers in a product's supply chain are being paid and treated fairly. The largest Fairtrade certifier is FLOCERT.
Last updated 18 May 2026
