Linux Australia
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1999
- HeadquartersSydney, Australia
- Headcount1,001–5,000
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
Linux Australia firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Linux Australia
- Legal name
- Linux Australia Inc.
- Website
- https://linux.org.au
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1999
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1,001–5,000 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where Linux Australia is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Sydney
- HQ country
- Australia
- HQ region
- Oceania
Offices1 record
Markets served
Linux Australia business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Membership Fees: Entrance fee of $1 and annual subscription fee of $2 per member. Limited but provides baseline revenue.
- Event Revenue: Events run under Linux Australia's auspice are expected to provide small profits that contribute to running costs including insurance, banking, merchant costs and accounting. Turnover nearly $AUD 1 million annually according to council position descriptions.
- Grants Program: Provides project and community grants to support open source and open technology communities. Total funding available across all grants and sponsorships in 2026 is $30,000.
- Donations: Linux Australia's funds may be derived from donations as well as membership fees.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Individual Membership |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels10 records
Linux Australia product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Linux Australia is the peak body for Open Source communities in Australasia, facilitating internationally-renowned events such as Everything Open, PyCon AU, linux.conf.au, DrupalSouth, WordCamps, JoomlaDay, and HealthHack. It provides event auspicing services (legal entity status, insurance coverage, banking, and merchant payment facilities) to community-organized open source events, and runs a membership program, an annual grants program ($30,000 in 2026), a jobs board, mailing lists/chat infrastructure, and a FOSS mirror service.
Product overview
Linux Australia is a not-for-profit peak body organization (not a single product company) that facilitates open source communities across Australasia. The organization's offerings consist of event facilitation (linux.conf.au, Everything Open, PyCon AU, DrupalSouth, WordPress WordCamps, JoomlaDay, HealthHack), membership services (managed via CiviCRM), a grants program ($30k annual funding), a jobs board, mailing lists and communication channels (Matrix, IRC, Mailman), event auspicing services, and infrastructure services including mirror hosting. There is no unified software product platform; instead, Linux Australia provides organizational, financial, and community support services to the open source ecosystem.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- linux.conf.au The premier annual Linux and open source conference for Australia and New Zealand, held over five days including miniconfs and main conference talks, attracting over 600 delegates and leading industry figures from around the world. Currently on hiatus following the pandemic.
- Everything Open Australasia's grassroots Free and Open Source Software conference covering Linux, open source software, open hardware, open data, and community topics. Launched as a successor event to linux.conf.au following the pandemic.
- PyCon AU The national conference for the Python programming community in Australia, bringing together professional, student, and enthusiast developers, sysadmins, educators, scientists, and statisticians.
- DrupalSouth and DrupalGov
Companies that use Linux Australia
Customer profileNamed customers2 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Linux Australia technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature1 record
Linux Australia partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
13 partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.
- WordPress Community Support PBCcoreLinux Australia and WordPress Community Support PBC have a Memorandum of Understanding allowing Linux Australia to auspice WordPress events in Australia, providing insurance coverage and banking access for WordCamps and WordPress user groups.
- Python Software FoundationcorePyCon AU 2026 has been accepted into the Python Software Foundation's new Community Partner program, providing additional visibility and support for the Australian Python conference.
- Everything Open ConferenceflagshipEverything Open is a flagship conference sub-committee of Linux Australia focused on open technologies including Linux, open source software, open hardware and open data. The Linux Australia Council oversees Everything Open as its primary conference.
- PyCon AUflagshipPyCon AU is a national conference sub-committee for the Python programming community. Linux Australia provides organizational support and auspice for the conference.
- DrupalSouth Steering CommitteecoreA standing sub-committee of Linux Australia formed for selection and mentoring of local organizing teams for the annual DrupalSouth conference. Supports local event teams with established processes and tools.
- Linux Users Victoria (LUV)coreSubcommittee to run Linux Users of Victoria (LUV). With membership in excess of 1100, regular monthly meetings and several active mailing lists, LUV is an essential part of the Victorian Linux community.
- Python New ZealandcoreActive sub-committee supporting and promoting the use of Python in New Zealand. Runs Kiwi PyCon, the annual Python conference in New Zealand.
- JoomlaDay AustraliacoreSub-committee managing JoomlaDay events in Australia. Team includes Patrick Jackson, Stuart Robertson, Tim Plummer, Nathan Morrow, Nicky Veitch, and Shayne Bartlett.
- WordPress Steering CommitteecoreOversees WordPress meetups and WordCamps in Australia. Works with organizers of each event to ensure success under the WordPress MOU.
- Mirror TeamcoreProvides an Australian mirror of both local and international Free and Open Source software and related multimedia content at mirror.linux.org.au. Maintains mirror server hardware and software.
- Admin TeamcoreSystem administrators who manage the Linux Australia infrastructure including servers, websites, and services. Members include Steve Walsh, Julian De Marchi, and Mike Beattie.
- Media and Communications SubcommitteeminorAssists the Council and Linux Australia in producing and managing social media collateral, and with communications activities such as press releases and reports.
- linux.conf.auflagshipPremier Linux and open source conference for Australia and New Zealand, held nearly annually from 1999-2020. Previously volunteer-run with teams spending 18-24 months in preparation. Currently on hiatus following the pandemic.
Scale indicators3 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Linux Australia competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Mozilla Foundation: A larger non-profit supporting a major open source browser project and broader internet health initiatives. Comparable in non-profit, mission-driven operating model, but with global scope and significantly larger program endowment.
- Linux Foundation: The largest global non-profit organization dedicated to open source ecosystem support, with extensive events, training, and project hosting. Linux Australia operates as a regional analogue with a much smaller footprint in Australasia.
- Apache Software Foundation (ASF): A volunteer-led non-profit stewarding Apache open source projects. Similar in foundational structure (volunteer non-profit, governance by members, project/community focus), but with a much broader project portfolio and international reach.
- Python Software Foundation (PSF): US-based non-profit that governs Python and runs PyCon globally; the direct upstream partner of Linux Australia's PyCon AU conference. Highly comparable operating model (volunteer-run, conferences, grants) but at a much larger international scale.
- Free Software Foundation (FSF): A US-based non-profit advocating for free software principles with which Linux Australia closely aligns ideologically. They share the volunteer-driven non-profit operating model but with a worldwide remit rather than Australasia.
Direct peers
- Software Freedom Conservancy: A US-based non-profit that provides fiscal sponsorship and legal services to free software projects, mirroring Linux Australia's auspicing model for community projects. They share a similar operational philosophy (fiscal/legal support for volunteer-driven OSS) but operate on a global scale.
- Open Knowledge Foundation: A UK-headquartered non-profit promoting open knowledge, open data, and open source. Operates with a similar small volunteer non-profit model aligned with broader open movements and community advocacy.
- NZ Open Source Society (NZOSS): New Zealand's national open source community organization. It is the closest geographic peer to Linux Australia, serving a similar trans-Tasman developer audience with community advocacy, events, and member services. Both organizations operate as volunteer-run non-profits advancing FOSS in Australasia.
- Open Source Initiative (OSI): A non-profit advocacy body dedicated to promoting open source software and maintaining the Open Source Definition. Similar in non-profit, advocacy-led operating model to Linux Australia, but with a global rather than Australasian remit.
Regional players
- InternetNZ: A New Zealand non-profit focused on internet policy, governance, and community development with similar small non-profit, member-driven, regional remit to Linux Australia but operating in adjacent rather than directly overlapping open source software territory.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Linux Australia social profiles
Digital presenceLinux Australia financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Linux Australia leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles7 records
Linux Australia subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries10 records
Linux Australia funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Linux Australia M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Linux Australia
What does Linux Australia do?
Linux Australia is the peak body for Open Source communities in Australasia, facilitating internationally-renowned events such as Everything Open, PyCon AU, linux.conf.au, DrupalSouth, WordCamps, JoomlaDay, and HealthHack. It provides event auspicing services (legal entity status, insurance coverage, banking, and merchant payment facilities) to community-organized open source events, and runs a membership program, an annual grants program ($30,000 in 2026), a jobs board, mailing lists/chat infrastructure, and a FOSS mirror service.
Is Linux Australia a public or private company?
Linux Australia is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Linux Australia founded?
Linux Australia was founded in 1999. It employs 1,001 to 5,000 people.
Where is Linux Australia based?
Linux Australia is headquartered in Sydney, Australia, in the Oceania region.
How does Linux Australia make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Membership Fees are the primary driver. The others are event Revenue, grants Program and donations.
Who are Linux Australia's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Mozilla Foundation, Linux Foundation, Apache Software Foundation (ASF), Python Software Foundation (PSF) and Free Software Foundation (FSF). Direct peers are Software Freedom Conservancy, Open Knowledge Foundation, NZ Open Source Society (NZOSS) and Open Source Initiative (OSI). InternetNZ is listed as a regional player.
Does Linux Australia have an API?
No public API is recorded for Linux Australia.