Business loans in Melbourne

Does it matter to a lender which city you’re in?

Less than you’d think. Lenders assess cash flow, trading history and industry, not the suburb. What Melbourne changes is the mix: tunnel contractors on one side, new venues on the other, and each reads very differently on a bank statement.

What’s driving finance demand in Melbourne right now?

Civil construction has been a hot sector across Australia for a while, and Melbourne is a clear example of why: tunnelling for the Suburban Rail Loop East is now underway, a 26-kilometre underground line expected to take an estimated 600,000 cars off Melbourne’s roads daily once it opens, and creating up to 8,000 direct construction jobs, with more than 3,000 people already on site, along the way. Projects of that scale don’t just employ the head contractor, they move through subcontractors, plant hire, trades and suppliers who all need working capital and equipment finance to keep pace with the work in front of them.

If your business sits in or around that supply chain, trades, civil, plant and equipment, logistics into the site, that’s the context a lender is reading when they look at your application, more than the fact that you’re Melbourne-based.

What about Melbourne’s retail and hospitality businesses?

The City of Melbourne’s own March 2026 Economy Snapshot tells a positive story here: 4,570 retail and hospitality businesses were operating across the municipality in 2024, up 273 (8%) in two years, with 167 new cafes, bars and restaurants and 77 new retail businesses opening. That growth created nearly 4,000 new food and beverage jobs and almost 2,400 new retail jobs between 2022 and 2024, and shopfront activity is following the same trend: 13.5% of vacant shopfronts across the municipality were reactivated in the six months to November 2025.

New openings like this usually need capital before they need customers, fit-out and equipment finance to get the space ready, then a business overdraft or merchant cash advance to carry stock and staff through the first few months of trading before spending catches up. More on what fits which stage on our hospitality and retail finance page. December 2025 was the highest-spending month the City of Melbourne has ever recorded, even adjusted for inflation, which is the kind of demand that rewards a business ready to open on time rather than one still waiting on finance to clear.

What do the numbers say about running a business in Melbourne?

Before you borrow in Melbourne, two numbers matter. The first is survival.

Figures from the ABS counts of Australian businesses, released August 2026. Nationally, of the 2,539,724 businesses operating in June 2022, 968,275 (38.1%) had closed by June 2026. Victoria is weaker: 60.1% of its businesses trading in June 2022 were still going four years later, the lowest of the mainland states. That’s the base rate a lender prices a Victorian application against, which is why trading history counts for more than a forecast.

The second is payroll tax, and Victoria starts charging earlier than most. In Victoria it starts once Australian wages pass $1,000,000, at 4.85%. On a $1.5 million wage bill that is roughly $24,250 a year, against about $9,500 for the same payroll in Brisbane, where the threshold is $1.3 million and the rate is lower. Regional Victorian employers pay a much reduced 1.2125%.

A third number comes from ASIC, and it points the same way. ASIC insolvency statistics recorded 4,100 companies entering external administration for the first time in Victoria in 2025-26. Set against the number of Victorian businesses, that’s 5.30 per 1,000 businesses, above the national rate of 5.03. Victoria sits above the national rate despite having fewer businesses than New South Wales, and it also records the weakest four-year survival of the mainland states.

Here’s where Victoria’s administrations fell among the six industries we finance most, ranked by first-time appointments in 2025-26.

ASIC counts companies entering external administration, so it excludes sole traders and partnerships, which are most Australian businesses. Treat the rate as a comparison between states rather than the odds for any one business. ASIC insolvency statistics released 14 September 2026; complete financial years only, because the August 2026 month includes 542 related companies from a single corporate group.

Payroll tax thresholds and rates are as published by the relevant state revenue office and were checked on 20 September 2026. They change at 1 July, so confirm the current figure before relying on it.

Frequently asked questions