ABV came into existence in 1981 when the Australian Government sought to ensure the business skills and experience of newly-retired Australian executives were not wasted. Inspired by the success of a model created in the US, a similar scheme was soon developed here.

Small and medium-sized businesses in our closest developing countries became our clients, and retired Australian executives agreed to visit these countries and provide practical business advice and guidance. This cost effective form of skills transfer was initially known as the Australian Executive Service Overseas Program (AESOP). The program quickly grew and before long, it was clear there was also a great need for trade skills. Soon newly-retired tradespeople were donating their time and knowledge. This change prompted the first of many transformations, with AESOP now standing for the Australian Expert Service Overseas Program.

AESOP continued to grow in size and reputation. To reflect our focus on assisting the private sector, our name changed to AESOP Business Volunteers before morphing to Australian Business Volunteers in 2003. Since then we have become a dynamic organisation with extensive international networks and are widely recognised as a preferred provider of expert volunteers. While our name has not formally changed, today we are simply known as ABV.