The "Dirty" Economy Of Australia
🇦🇺 Australia · Sydney
Secondaries in Australia
Australia pairs one of the world’s largest pools of institutional retirement capital with a dedicated, regulated platform for trading unlisted shares — a combination few APAC markets have.
A$2.5M / A$250KNet-asset or income thresholds to qualify as a sophisticated investor
~A$500BSuperannuation assets held in private markets as of mid-2025
110,000+Registered investors on PrimaryMarkets, Australia’s unlisted-share platform
Regulatory and market figures per ASIC, the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) s708, PrimaryMarkets, and the Australian Private Capital 2025 Yearbook.
Superannuation is the demand engine
Australia’s compulsory superannuation system has built one of the world’s largest pools of long-duration capital — APRA-regulated super assets passed A$3 trillion in mid-2025, with roughly 16.6%, or around A$500 billion, held in private markets. Private equity accounts for the largest share of that unlisted exposure, and funds such as AustralianSuper have flagged plans to grow their PE allocations and external-manager rosters further.
As those PE and venture vintages mature, the funds and their managers increasingly transact in the secondary market on both sides — selling ageing fund stakes via GP-led continuation vehicles, and buying into names nearing exit. That institutional weight is what makes Australia’s secondary market comparatively deep for a market its size.
A dedicated platform for unlisted-share trading
Unlike most of the region, Australia has a purpose-built venue for this: PrimaryMarkets, an ASIC-aware trading platform used by more than 110,000 registered investors to buy and sell shares in unlisted companies, including structured secondary sales of employee share scheme (ESS) stock. Companies set their own trading windows and eligibility rules; the platform handles KYC/AML, escrow, and settlement.
Access is gated by the same test used across Australian private markets: to qualify as a sophisticated or wholesale investor under s708 of the Corporations Act, an individual needs either A$250,000 in income in each of the prior two financial years or A$2.5 million in net assets (the family home and superannuation can count), certified by a qualified accountant. Those thresholds haven’t moved since 2001, and a growing share of Australians now clear them. Separately, since October 2022 ASIC’s employee-share-scheme regime has let unlisted companies run structured ESS plans, and a subsequent exemption now lets an ESS participant who bought unquoted shares on-sell them to another ESS participant — a narrow but real secondary-liquidity channel for startup employees.
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Curated from regional investors, platforms, and financial media
Frequently asked questions
Who qualifies as a sophisticated or wholesale investor in Australia?
Under s708 of the Corporations Act, an individual generally qualifies with A$250,000 or more in gross income in each of the two prior financial years, or A$2.5 million or more in net assets (including the family home and super), certified by a qualified accountant within the preceding six months.
Is there a dedicated platform for trading unlisted Australian shares?
Yes — PrimaryMarkets is a purpose-built secondary trading venue for unlisted companies, used by more than 110,000 registered wholesale, sophisticated, and institutional investors, including for structured employee-share-scheme secondary sales.
Can startup employees sell their shares before an IPO?
It depends on the employee share scheme rules and company consent, but it has become more feasible since ASIC’s October 2022 regime for unlisted-entity ESS plans, which was later extended to allow an ESS participant to on-sell unquoted shares to another ESS participant.
Start with the basics
New to buying and selling existing startup stakes?Secondaries Explained walks through the mechanics, pricing, and pitfalls of secondary transactions in plain language — and it applies across every market on this site, Australia included.