What is a co-operative?

A co-operative is an enterprise run according to principles of autonomous and voluntary association. Co-operatives can be formed to provide a product or service to members as consumers or to allow workers to run a business democratically.
In our case, our studio is a worker co-op that’s managed and owned by the developers who work in it. Beyond the benefits of fostering a truly collaborative dynamic in the workplace, a co-operative is able to embed the needs of its workers into its very goals.
In an industry notorious for exploitation and alienation of its workforce, co-operatives give a voice to developers about how they work and how they’d like to see the business develop. We benefit from the experience and input each of our co-operators brings. We believe that we should all have a say in the direction of our studio as well as how to divvy up the profits of our shared success.

The Co-operative Federation

The Cooperative Federation is an industry body representing and servicing co-operative enterprises in Australia. We are a proud member of the federation and they assisted with our formation.
Their manual on cooperatives is particularly useful to anyone interested in learning more to start their own co-op.