The seven-pointed Federation star on the Australian flag – depicting the unification of Australia’s States and Territories – is immediately recognisable.

So it was an inspired choice by distinguished brand designer, Ken Cato, to incorporate the star into the visual identity and new branding of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry movement of which Business SA is an integral part.

We were delighted with the positive response to Business SA’s new identity which we unveiled on 10 March 2016 in front of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and around 1200 guests at our Back to Business event.

Within the star sits a two-tone arrow pointing upwards to the future. Each of the State Chambers are uniquely identified by a different coloured arrow - with South Australia’s colour being red, which aligns with the colour of Brand SA’s state logo that designer Ken Cato also penned. The ‘star arrow’ represents leadership, purpose and targeted action as South Australia’s largest membership-based business and employer organisation.

The national chamber movement gains much of its strength and influence from the collaboration of its individual State and Territory Chambers and the central Australian Chamber office based in Canberra.

An excellent example of this collaboration was the establishment in 2015 of Apprenticeship Support Australia (ASA) which delivers contractual support, mentoring and other services to both apprentices and employers on behalf of the Federal Government.

Business SA and its chamber counterparts in NSW, Victoria and Western Australia are all stakeholders in ASA and are playing a vital role in encouraging the uptake and retention of apprentices at a time when SA’s unemployment rate remains unacceptably high.

Our relationship with the Australian Chamber also strengthens Business SA’s advocacy on such issues as changes to national competition laws where we have both strongly supported the inclusion of a so-called ‘effects test’. The change to the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 would prohibit a business with substantial market power from engaging in conduct “which has the purpose, effect or likely effect, of substantially lessening competition” in a market.

The change was strongly opposed by a number of big businesses but Business SA and the Australian Chamber maintained a strong stand on behalf of small businesses and we were delighted with the news last week that the Turnbull Government intends introducing the ‘effects test’.

At a time where South Australia is reinventing itself, Business SA’s new brand is not just a logo. It’s an identity of reinvention. An identity that says what we stand for: tirelessly working for business and, through the success of business, employers and the private sector, creating a sustainable prosperity for future generations of South Australians.