ABSTRACT
Social enterprises are becoming a popular way that socially conscious individuals can operate businesses in an ethical or environmentally friendly manner. Social entrepreneurs are persons who want to conduct for-profit businesses but in a socially conscious manner. They combine commercial activity and social objectives, for example, ensuring that their supply chain is free of slave/indentured labour even if this means that the cost of supplies is higher than otherwise. There is no separate legal structure for social enterprises in Australia, and such enterprises are commonly either operated by charities which have the added advantage of being income tax exempt or for-profit companies limited by shares. There are currently over 57,000 charities in Australia, and they employ 1.26 million staff. This chapter analyses the overlap, limitations, and advantages of carrying on a social enterprise through a charity and uses three case studies to demonstrate the advantages and disadvantages of this approach in Australia.
