Brisbane

Why it matters: opened in 2003, this is Australia’s longest-running social enterprise cafe, run by the Nundah Community Enterprises Co-operative that eight people with intellectual disability and mental illness founded in 1998 to create their own jobs. It now generates thousands of hours of paid, supported employment each year for people locked out of the regular workforce. The food is honest cafe fare – breakfasts, burgers, sandwiches, cakes and smoothies – and the place runs on solar power and backs the reusable-cup movement. Local tip: it’s a short train ride from the CBD to Nundah station, so pair it with a wander down the Nundah village strip.