The case for co-ops: how entrepreneurship and mutuality can coexist

Business News Australia | David Simmons 10 July 2018

Without realising, most of us are already part of a co-op. Whether it be a credit union, a mutual health fund, or one of the automotive associations, co-ops hover on the periphery of the Australian business landscape just out of sight.

The unusual structure of the co-op, being neither private or public companies (utilising membership models instead of shareholdings), has pushed the structure out of popular use and reserved commonly for farming co-ops and workers unions.

However, with the business landscape in Australia dramatically changing since the last financial crisis, cooperative models are becoming more attractive as time goes by.