Briefcase: SA business confidence in freefall and energy leaders honoured
In this week’s Briefcase, an $88 million AUKUS investment and food and beverage exports to China surge.
- Surveys find SA business confidence in freefall
- SA energy and mining leaders honoured
- Govt welcomes $88 million AUKUS investment
- New visual identity gives the Fringe new spark
- Local businesses named finalists in national export awards
- SA food and beverage exports to China surge
- YHA Australia unveils multimillion-dollar refurbishment
Surveys find SA business confidence in freefall
SA trails the rest of the nation in business confidence, according to multiple recent business surveys.
The October 2026 edition of the Roy Morgan Business Confidence survey shows that business confidence in the state was at 73.2 points in October, down by 24.4 points a year ago.
Meanwhile, the latest BankSA State Monitor survey found that business confidence dropped for the sixth consecutive quarter and is now at its lowest level since 2017.
The October 2026 NAB Monthly Business Survey also has SA trailing the rest of the nation with a seasonally adjusted confidence rating of -36 — twice as bad as the next lowest state. SA has trailed the nation eight times in the past nine surveys.
The previous lowest NAB Monthly Business Survey figures in the state were recorded during the COVID pandemic and shortly after the US attacked Iran earlier this year.
“The cost-of-living crisis is hitting businesses just as badly as households and they’re being let down by a government that fundamentally doesn’t understand what it takes to support private enterprise,” Shadow Minister for Small and Family Business Ben Hood said.
SA energy and mining leaders honoured
The state’s top energy and mining industries have been honoured at the 2026 Premier’s Awards in Energy and Mining.
There were a record 75 nominations across 10 award categories showcasing innovation, leadership and collaboration in the industries.
Santos took home the most awards with four, while BHP took home three awards on the night.
Community and Collaboration
- Energy Winner: Santos Indigenous Advisory Panel – Santos
- Resource Winner: A Pathway to Prosperity: Traditional Owners leading mining on their own lands – BHP
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Environment
- Energy Winner: Delorean SA1 Salisbury – Australia’s first mains-grade biomethane and biogenic CO₂ project – Delorean Corporation
- Resources Winner: Progressive rehabilitation at Jacinth-Ambrosia – Iluka Resources
Health and Safety, Inclusion and Wellbeing
- Energy Winner: Eliminating line-of-fire hazards through design – Santos
- Resources Winner: Changing the chemistry of safety: eliminating xanthate without compromising performance – BHP
Productivity Improvement
- Energy Winner: Autonomous production optimisation in the Cooper Basin – Santos
- Resources Winner: Kanmantoo Grade Control: combining AI with traditional geological practices – Kantra Copper
Young Achievers
- Young Achiever Winner: Aboud Babaa – Santos; Emily Palmer – BHP
- Young Indigenous Achiever Winner: Jumeka Saunders – Nipapanha Community Aboriginal Corporation
Govt welcomes $88 million AUKUS investment
The Federal Government will invest an additional $88 million towards building the AUKUS workforce.
The additional funding will aid in the creation of new programmes, as well as the expansion of existing ones to provide more opportunities for people to pursue careers across the defence and maritime sectors.
The two new programmes include Tradie2Trainer, which will help experienced tradespeople transition into training roles in “critical disciplines” such as welding and fabrication.
The other is the Professional Submarine Pathways Programme: a two-year training programme for early-career participants across SA and Western Australia.
“AUKUS is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for our state so it’s critical we grow, train and retain the workforce needed to deliver these submarines,” Minister for State Development Chris Picton said.
New visual identity gives the Fringe new spark
The Adelaide Fringe has received a refreshed identity for its 2027 edition. Created by independent creative agency KWP+ Partners the new designs keep the Fringe’s iconic star — now known as ‘the Neuron’ — at its heart and bring in a wide array of fresh colours like neon lime and rich black to support the classic Fringe pink.
The new design includes a “simplified logo” and a more “flexible graphic system”. It will create “a more candid, confident tone of voice designed to reflect the Fringe’s personality” and “establish a consistent foundation that can adapt to each year’s festival”, according to KWP+Partners.
The new identity was developed in collaboration with Adelaide Fringe’s in-house team and digital partners and was previewed at the festival’s First Look Event on October 27 and unveiled publicly alongside the official 2027 poster on November 4.
“Our brief to KWP+ Partners was to evolve the brand, not start again, and they really ran with it. We didn’t want to throw away anything we’d built up over the years,” Head of Marketing at Adelaide Fringe, Jennette Plooij, said.
“Everyone in South Australia feels like Fringe is theirs, and it is, so we had to respect that. It was time for Fringe to grow up without losing its playful soul,” Executive Director of Advertising at KWP+ Partners, Sam Talbot, said.
Local businesses named finalists in national export awards
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South Australian businesses have been named finalists in 12 of the 13 categories in the 64th annual Australian Exports Awards.
The Australian Export Awards are one of Australia’s most prestigious and longest-running export awards programs. Hosted by the Australian Trade and Investment Commission, the awards recognise outstanding, innovative, and inspiring exporters
The 12 SA businesses join the 88 nationally named as finalists across the Australian Export Awards, with the winner of each category to be announced at the national awards ceremony on 18 November in Canberra.
“This year’s finalists demonstrate the ingenuity and determination that continue to strengthen Australia’s international reputation,” Minister for Trade and Tourism Don Farrell said.
2026 Australian Export Awards SA finalists
- Agribusiness, Food and Beverages – Balco Australia
- Creative, Lifestyle and Design – Honey Pot (Adelaide Fringe)
- Digital and Smart Technologies – MyVenue
- Emerging Exporter – Consunet
- First Nations Exporter – Seven Seasons Spirits
- International Health – Mayne Pharma
- Manufacturing and Advanced Materials – Icsion
- Professional Services – RDI Partners
- Resources and Energy – Wilco Technologies
- Sustainability and Green Economy – Blue Lake Milling
- Small Business – Apxium
- Regional Exporter – Dinko Tuna Farmers
SA food and beverage exports to China surge
SA’s food and beverage exports to China have risen by 32.4 per cent to $1.84 billion in the past year, an increase of more than $450 million.
Among the SA products leading the surge in exports are wine, barley, almonds, lobster and sheep meat.
The news comes after SA took the stage at the China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai, with the Federal Government providing SA a 1500 square metre pavilion at the event with nearly 40 wine, spirits, seafood, meat, honey and other producers on showcase.
“China remains our largest trading partner, and this impressive growth in exports demonstrates the strength of that relationship and the opportunities it presents for South Australian businesses,” SA Minister for State Development Chris Picton said.
YHA Australia unveils multimillion-dollar refurbishment
YHA Australia has unveiled a $3 million refurbishment of YHA Adelaide Central hostel.
The 246-bed property now features 59 renovated private rooms, 22 renovated guest bathrooms and an open plan ground floor, and the 24 private rooms have also received upgrades.
YHA Australia said the update has a clear focus on people in the market looking for affordability and value with more than 50 per cent of guests at the property in the past 12 months being aged between 20 to 35.
YHA Adelaide Central has some of the largest rooms in the YHA Australia network at up to 27 square metres.
“Working holiday makers are facing real uncertainty right now. This investment reflects our ongoing commitment to young travellers, who remain central to how we think about Australia’s visitor economy. It’s just as much about Australians, too, who are feeling the cost of living and still want to travel and find an affordable base to do it,” YHA Australia CEO Paul McGrath said.
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