Australia's largest 500 private companies accounted for $220 billion in revenue in 2017-18, or 4.3 per cent of the $5.1 trillion total earned by all businesses.

IBISWorld's Top 500 privates accounted for an estimated 4.6 per cent of the nation's total employment, up from 4.4 per cent in the previous survey. Revenue growth among the Top 500 privates averaged a healthy 6.9 per cent, compared with the nation's total revenue growth of 5.8 per cent.