The Centre for Autistic Social Entrepreneurship has established an Autistic Owned & Led Social Enterprise Directory & Marketplace on the Good Market community platform.  Autistic owned and led social enterprises can apply to be listed on the Directory & Marketplace if they are:

1. autistic owned & led
2. a social enterprise, and
3. a member of the Good Market

1.  Autistic Owned & Led 

The 2022 Senate Select Committee on Autism Inquiry identified the opportunity of addressing the very high autistic unemployment rate through the creation of autistic owned and led social enterprises.  For an enterprise to be autistic owned and led, it needs to be at least 50% autistic owned and led.  

2.  Social Enterprise

The definition of social enterprise that has predominantly been used in Australian public policy comes from the 2010 Finding Australia’s Social Enterprise Sector (FASES) research project.  This definition specifies four criteria organisations needs to satisfy in order to be considered a social enterprise: organisations need to:

• be led by an economic, social, cultural, or environmental mission that is consistent with a  public or community benefit, 
• trade to fulfil their mission,
• derive a substantial portion of their income from trade (>50%), and 
• reinvest the majority of their profit/surplus (>50%) in the fulfilment of their mission (Barraket et al., 2010). ​ ​

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​The mission and public/community benefit of an autistic owned and led social enterprise can be:

• related to autism, or
• can focus on a mission and public/community benefit not related to autism.

Missions related to autism that have a public/community benefit include:

• supporting the economic self-determination of autistic individuals, and
• supporting the cultural transition from a deficit to a neurodiversity-affirming understanding of autism. ​​

3.  Good Market Membership

The Good Market is a curated community of social enterprises, responsible businesses, voluntary initiatives, and changemakers. To become a member of the Good Market your organisation needs to meet the following criteria:

• Prioritise people and the planet over short-term profit maximisation
• Have a purpose that includes social or environmental goals
• Communicate about how they are good for people and planet
• Meet Minimum Sector Standards
• Have a sustainability strategy that goes beyond a one-time project or event

Further information on the Good Market's application process, and a link to the Good Market application form can be accessed here.