Specialist accounting firm SV Partners drew upon millions of records and data assets to create comprehensive profiles of more than half a million businesses across Australia.

It concluded that 17 businesses in the city were at risk, a total of 2 per cent, compared to a national average of 2.7 per cent.

Approximately 3 per cent of businesses within Sydney were deemed to be high risk.

SV Partners executive director Ian Purchas said the result for the region demonstrated economic strength and that Dubbo’s business owners are prudent operators.

“There are many industries in Dubbo with no businesses in the high risk category, including manufacturing, agriculture, forestry and fishing and rental, hiring and real estate services,” he said.

“Workers from these industries can be comfortable spending their money, knowing their employer is reasonably secure.

“This has flow-on effects to industries like accommodation and food services and retail, which rely on the discretionary expenditure of local residents.”

Dubbo Business Chamber president Matt Wright said the report was a reflection of the strong local economy and the resilience of businesses and business people.

“I think when people start up a business in Dubbo they realise you can’t just kick the doors open and expect it to be a success. They do their due diligence to make sure it can work,” he said.

“There is also a push for diversification and not just focusing on one area, which is essential in a smaller market.

“That is an important key to their growth and success.”

SV Partners’ report showed that the hospitality industry in Dubbo was also far more stable than Sydney, with just 3.8 per cent of hospitality at risk in the regional centre, compared to 9.5 per cent in the state capital.

Mr Wright said a large number of the businesses that had closed down in the city were part of nationwide chains that had gone into financial difficulty, not because of failures at a local level.

“You look at Payless Shoes, Eagle Boys, Dick Smith, Sam’s Warehouse, these were all national chains that didn’t fail because of what was happening in Dubbo,” he said. 

“If you took those out, the number of locally-owned businesses that had closed in Dubbo would be quite small.”