Open Source Industry Australia, Ltd

What Open Source Industry Australia, Ltd does

Open Source Industry Australia, Ltd (OSIA) is a private, non-profit industry advocacy body established in 2004 (ACN 109 097 234) and headquartered in Marden, South Australia. Operating as Australia's national open source industry association, OSIA exists to advance Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) in Australia and to support its members in growing their businesses within the global ICT market. The organisation serves Australian open source businesses, individual practitioners, and federal and state government agencies, functioning as the recognised policy voice for the domestic FOSS sector.

OSIA generates revenue through annual membership subscriptions from individuals and organisations, supplemented by corporate sponsorships. It is not registered for GST and does not typically issue tax invoices, indicating a small-scale operating base. Its product surface is non-technological: it delivers membership services (a referral system, teaching/help service, tendering/bid service, and recruitment service), public policy advocacy on copyright, procurement, and trade agreements (notably TPP/CPTPP), and community engagement through regular forums in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, and the Gold Coast, an AGM co-located with OSDC and Linux.conf.au, and dedicated mailing lists (osia-members and osia-fin).

The organisation is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors with portfolio areas including Government Relations, Alliances, Education, Events, Infrastructure, and Membership. It engages directly with Australian government bodies — including the Department of Communications and the Arts, the Digital Transformation Agency, JSCOT, and Senate Committees — through formal policy submissions, and participates in international advocacy through the Fair Deal Alliance and exploratory engagement with VFOSSA in Vietnam. Strategic partners include Red Hat as a major sponsor, Open Source Law for policy analysis, and several Australian cloud and infrastructure sponsors (Joviam, Panubo, iseek, Redback Conferencing, Anchor).

Name

Open Source Industry Australia, Ltd

Legal name

Open Source Industry Limited

Website

https://osia.com.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Open Source Industry Australia (OSIA) is Australia's national non-profit industry body for Free and Open Source Software, founded in 2004, that advocates for open source policy, supports its members, and engages with federal and state government agencies on copyright, procurement, and trade matters.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Marden, SA

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership subscriptions: Annual membership fees collected from individuals and organizations in the Australian open source industry. OSIA is not registered for GST and does not typically issue tax invoices. Payments accepted via PayPal (credit card) or bank transfer.
2. Corporate sponsorships: Corporate sponsors provide financial support in exchange for recognition and association with OSIA's advocacy mission. Red Hat was noted as a major sponsor for the 2012/13 financial year. The sponsorship programme funds OSIA's initiatives on behalf of its membership.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

OSIA is Australia's national open source industry body, providing membership services and public policy advocacy to support the Australian Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) sector. Its core offerings include (1) Membership Services encompassing a referral system, teaching/help service, tendering/bid service, and recruitment service for member businesses and practitioners, and (2) Public Policy Advocacy focused on intellectual property, copyright, and procurement frameworks that affect the FOSS industry in Australia. The organization is registered as a non-profit industry association, not a software product company.

Product overview

Open Source Industry Australia (OSIA) is Australia's national open source industry body that exists to further the cause of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) in Australia and to support its members to improve their business success. OSIA operates as a membership organization providing advocacy, referral services, and policy support rather than a software product company. The organization offers Membership Services (referral system, teaching/help service, tendering/bid service, recruitment service) and Public Policy Advocacy to promote open source adoption in government and business.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Membership Services OSIA provides membership services to support Australian open source businesses and practitioners, including a membership referral system, teaching/help service, tendering/bid service, and recruitment service. Membership is processed through osia.com.au via the Join tab with annual subscription payments via PayPal or bank transfer.
• Public Policy Advocacy OSIA helps Australian Governments achieve leadership in providing policy frameworks supportive of open standards and the growth and success of the Australian open source industry, ensuring Australia's global standing as the preferred location from which to procure open source services and products. The advocacy covers intellectual property, copyright, and procurement policy areas.

Quantifiable outcome

• OSIA has engaged in all Australian stakeholder fora on TPP since the 11th round (Feb 2012) and formed a 7-member TPP Committee for policy analysis
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• VFOSSA (Vietnam Free and Open Source Software Association)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2012OSIA engaged in preliminary discussions with VFOSSA (the Vietnamese equivalent to OSIA) and Vietnam's Ministry of Science & Technology in October 2012 to explore a formal framework for collaboration. Talks were facilitated by OTF and continued into 2013.
• Fair Deal AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2012OSIA joined the Fair Deal Alliance (fairdeal.net.nz) in 2012 and committed to increasing participation in 2013. The alliance coordinates advocacy on trade agreements including TPP/CPTPP that affect the FOSS industry across multiple countries.
• Open Source Law (Brendan Scott)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOpen Source Law, operated by Brendan Scott (OSIA co-founder and longest-serving past Chairman), was engaged to develop legal and policy analyses and draft generic position papers on IPR issues affecting the Australian FOSS industry arising in trade treaties. This partnership was intended to support OSIA's advocacy work on TPP/CPTPP.
• JoviamminorOthersJoviam is listed as an OSIA sponsor on the sponsors page. Joviam provides a cloud solution for technically-minded consumers and professionals including independent developers, system administrators, and SMBs up to 200 seats.
• PanubominorOthersPanubo is listed as an OSIA sponsor. The company helps organisations embrace container technology.
• iseekminorOthersiseek is listed as an OSIA sponsor. iseek is an Australian owned cloud, data centre, and connectivity provider with points of presence in five states across Australia.
• Redback ConferencingminorOthersRedback Conferencing is listed as an OSIA sponsor, providing webinars, web conferencing, and video conferencing services.
• AnchorminorOthersAnchor is listed as an OSIA sponsor, providing agile-friendly managed hosting services.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• OpenForum Europe: OpenForum Europe is a Brussels-based not-for-profit that advocates for open source adoption and policy frameworks across the EU. It is a direct functional analogue to OSIA, focused on government engagement and policy shaping, just in a different jurisdiction.
• Linux Australia: Linux Australia is Australia's peak body for open source communities, running events like linux.conf.au. It is a direct domestic peer that OSIA co-hosts its AGM with and that addresses an overlapping Australian open source constituency.
• Free Software Foundation Europe: FSFE is the European sister organization of the FSF, focused on policy advocacy for free software in EU jurisdictions. It is structurally analogous to OSIA — member-funded, policy-active — and serves as a comparable European open source advocacy body.
• Open Source Initiative (OSI): OSI is the global steward of the Open Source Definition and a non-profit advocacy organization for open source software. Like OSIA, it is a membership-supported body focused on education, advocacy, and policy — but operating at a global rather than national level.
• Software Freedom Conservancy: Software Freedom Conservancy provides fiscal and legal infrastructure for Free Software projects and engages in FOSS advocacy. Its combination of legal/policy support and non-profit member-style funding closely mirrors OSIA's Brendan Scott/Open Source Law partnership model.
• Free Software Foundation: The Free Software Foundation is a long-standing US non-profit advocating for free software through education, licensing, and policy. It overlaps OSIA in its FOSS-first ideological stance and advocacy function, though with global rather than national scope.

Broad incumbents

• Apache Software Foundation: The Apache Software Foundation is a major US-based open source foundation stewarding a portfolio of widely-used projects. While focused on project governance rather than national policy, it is a broader-incumbent open source umbrella organization that OSIA's corporate sponsors (Red Hat, etc.) typically also engage with.
• Linux Foundation: The Linux Foundation is the largest open source foundation, hosting hundreds of projects and driving industry-wide standards. It dwarfs OSIA in scale but shares the open source ecosystem-building mission, making it an incumbent reference point for OSIA's positioning.

Regional players

• Electronic Frontiers Australia: EFA is an Australian non-profit advocating for digital rights, internet freedom, and related policy matters. It operates in the same Australian advocacy ecosystem as OSIA with overlapping government engagement but focuses on broader civil liberties rather than FOSS specifically.
• NZ Open Source Society: NZOSS is the closest functional equivalent to OSIA in New Zealand — a national body advocating for open source adoption and policy. It is a regional peer that OSIA occasionally coordinates with via channels like the Fair Deal Alliance.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/osia
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/open-source-industry-australia

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Open Source Industry Australia, Ltd