Although self-employment represents a small (10%; ABS) portion of the Australian workforce, there is reason to believe that its importance in the labour market will increase over the coming years. The key reason relates to the impact of population ageing (driven largely by declining fertility rates, increased life expectancy and the ageing of the large ‘baby boomer’cohort) on Australian society. With the population increasingly skewed towards the older age groups (50 plus) many Australians have become concerned about the stress this may place on the welfare system and the burden it may place on a considerably smaller post baby boomer generation. In addition, the federal, state and local governments are concerned that a declining rate of labour force growth may impede productivity and economic growth, which would inevitably impact negatively on the standard of living currently enjoyed by Australians. In this context, the Australian Government is increasing its focus on stimulating the labour force participation and employment of older workers and other disadvantaged groups (such as the long-term unemployed) via self-employment.