Government News

Please join the Moreton Bay Regional Council and our invited guests for an opportunity to connect, share stories and intel, build your business networks, and learn about the array of business resources and support services being offered across the Moreton Bay region. For this upcoming event, we are delighted to welcome special guest the Hon. Glenn Butcher, Queensland Minister of Regional Development, Manufacturing and Water to meet with our manufacturers. Learn about: What's happening across the manufacturing sector for the Moreton Bay region and beyond; Various business development workshops and training courses; Upcoming networking events to leverage your business opportunities and connections; The team at Elexon Electronics will be hosting interactive tours of their Advanced Manufacturing facility and showcasing their ability to design, develop, and manufacture a diverse range of world-class electronic products for local and export markets. Moreton Bay Regional Council is committed to supporting the growth and development of local businesses and growing our region’s economy by delivering on the Regional Economic Development Strategy (REDS). This event aims to connect you with other individuals in the region in order to strengthen our…

Tonsley Innovation District has surged into its second decade of operation, continuing its laser-focused commitment to driving innovation and energising South Australia’s economy. This industry district is located 12km south of Adelaide and has made dramatic strides since opening in 2012. From its initial remit to re-ignite a stalling manufacturing sector in Adelaide’s southern suburbs following the closure of the Mitsubishi plant in 2008, to now solving some of the world’s most complex problems through creative innovation. As a hub for cutting-edge research and development, Tonsley has driven Adelaide’s transition from traditional to high-value manufacturing and with it, built out the state’s sovereign capability. Around 2,000 people across 140 companies are now employed at Tonsley – more than double that when Mitsubishi closed. 8,500 students study alongside this highly skilled and specialised workforce each year at anchor academic institution Flinders University, and TAFE SA. And more than 500 residents call Tonsley home as part of its growing community. These statistics reflect the substantial increase in scale, productivity, output, and economic impact of Tonsley in its first ten years. What was once a 61-hectare industrial wasteland has…

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has confirmed that Australia will export 100 Boxer armoured fighting vehicles to Germany, according to reports. The value to the economy is more than $1bn, making it one of the largest defence export deals in history. The vehicles, to be manufactured by Rheinmetall Defence Australia at its Military Vehicle Centre of Excellence in Brisbane, are eight-by-eight-wheeled, all-terrain, Combat Reconnaissance Vehicles (CRV). The Minister for Defence Industry, Pat Conroy and his German counterpart, the Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister of Defence Thomas Hitschler signed a Letter of Cooperation in March this year and began formal negotiations to manufacture and export the vehicles. Delivery is scheduled to begin in 2025. The sale was confirmed as Albanese landed in Europe enroute to the NATO summit as reported by AP. “This will increase our defence capability and boost our economy, this is a great outcome,” Albanese is quoted when asked during a brief doorstop. “And it’s the first outcome of quite a few that we have ready to announce tomorrow with our friends here in Germany.” The “schwerer Waffenträger Infanterie” (sWaTrInf, for…

Hosted by Weld Australia in collaboration with the Australia Institute’s Centre for Future Work, the theme of the National Manufacturing Summit is 'Manufacturing the Energy Revolution: Industrial Opportunities from Renewable Energy'. International expert, Adam Hersh, will address the opportunities and challenges presented by Australia’s renewable energy revolution at the National Manufacturing Summit in Canberra on 2 and 3 August. Adam Hersh is a Senior Economist at the Economic Policy Institute in Washington, DC, one of Washington’s most influential think tanks. Adam’s work focuses on international trade, industrial, climate, China, and macroeconomic policies. He is currently leading a major research project on the industrial opportunities associated with new green energy policies. Adam will be the keynote speaker at the Summit dinner on 2 August, and a panelist at the Summit on 3 August. With an impressive line-up of international and Australian experts, just some of the other confirmed speakers include: Jim Stanford, Economist and Director, The Australian Institute & Centre for Future Work Michele O’Neil, President, Australian Council of Trade Unions Emily Scivetti, Chief Operating Officer, Oceanex Ben Oquist, Climate…

Vaxxas, a clinical-stage biotechnology company commercialising a needle-free vaccine patch platform, in partnership with the Queensland Government, today announced the opening of its global headquarters and state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Brisbane. The custom-built 5,500m² Vaxxas Biomedical Facility is a first-of-its-kind manufacturing site designed to support the scale-up of Vaxxas’ needle-free vaccine technology platform, the high-density microarray patch (HD-MAP), for late-stage clinical trials and first commercial products. The Vaxxas Biomedical Facility is expected to support up to 200 local, skilled jobs and produce millions of vaccine patches per year once fully operational, contributing to Queensland’s local economy. The Queensland Government provided funding and operational support to Vaxxas in developing the site. Additional funding has been provided by the Australian Federal Government through its Modern Manufacturing Initiative to support the installation of specialised manufacturing infrastructure. Deputy Premier, Minister for State Development, Infrastructure, Local Government and Planning and Minister Assisting the Premier on Olympic and Paralympic Games Infrastructure, The Honourable Dr Steven Miles officiated the opening. “Queensland is fast shaping up as a global research and innovation hub thanks to the Palaszczuk Government’s investment in…

Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, is boosting Australia’s advanced manufacturing capability by providing free research and development (R&D) support to businesses to help them develop new products or services. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) working on new advanced manufacturing solutions can sign up for the free, 10-week online Innovate to Grow program, to support their idea by building their R&D knowledge. Upon completion of the program, eligible participants may have the opportunity to access facilitation support, through CSIRO, to connect to research expertise nationally, along with dollar-matched R&D funding. CSIRO’s Director of Manufacturing, Dr Marcus Zipper, explained how CSIRO’s unique position in the research ecosystem drives innovation to advance Australian manufacturing. “Manufacturing is a vitally important sector, employing over 800,000 people across Australia,” Dr Zipper said. “At CSIRO, we work collaboratively with SMEs on research and development to find new and improved technologies and processes that enable great ideas to see success locally and internationally. “We translate research into products and processes that businesses want to adopt because what we’ve created is economically viable, more efficient and effective, and sustainable,” he said. Connop Metal…

The Victorian Circular Economy Recycling Modernisation Fund aims to build the capacity, capability, and resilience of Victoria’s resource recovery sector, support businesses to respond to the national regulation of waste exports, increase the quality of materials for manufacturing and create jobs in the circular economy. Projects should be focused on the purchase, installation, and commission of new equipment or technology or upgrade of existing facilities to increase domestic reprocessing capacity and/or improve the quality of material and/or increase the use of recycled content in manufacturing. What are the eligibility criteria? Applicants must be Australian businesses that have been operating for a minimum of two years. Projects must be located in Victoria and source 50% or more of the project materials from Victorian sources. What funding is available? Successful projects could receive a grant between $50,000 and $1m on a $1: $2 (Sustainability Vic: Applicant) basis. What activities are eligible for funding? Eligible projects should: — Improve the recovery and local reprocessing of priority materials. This round includes mixed paper and cardboard, plastics wastes, tyres and glass. — Improve recycling outcomes by addressing critical infrastructure gaps in…

The Queensland Government launched the State’s first Biofutures Roadmap and Action Plan back in 2016 to help establish Queensland as a world-leading and sustainable region for the Biofutures industry. Queensland has now signed an MoU with airline giant Qantas and Airbus to unlock the state’s potential to manufacture SAF in the local area of Gladstone, as part of that Roadmap. Qantas and Airbus have committed to investing a combined $307m to develop a local SAF industry and have lobbied the federal government to do more to create the necessary policy framework and incentives needed to properly boost investment. The Queensland biofuel refinery will be the first project funded under the joint partnership.  It is not lost on the QLD or Federal Government that Australia needs to substitute ethanol in fuel and offer significant tax breaks to renewable fuels if it wants to reach its international climate targets. Queensland has attracted Oceania Biofuels to Gladstone to establish Australia’s first commercial sustainable aviation fuel biorefinery. The $500m facility, is a significant step in growing the emerging biofutures industry and,…

Harrison SPARC will receive $1.9m from the Federal Government to value-add to Australia’s critical mineral capabilities. Harrison SPARC is the R&D arm of The Harrison Group, an Australian manufacturing stalwart that helps turn the wheels of the automotive, agricultural, manufacturing, logistics and mining industries at home and globally. The funding was announced very recently by Resources Minister Madeline King as part of the Critical Minerals Development Program. A $50m grant scheme designed to accelerate the development of Australia’s critical minerals sector, it will also support downstream value-add process as outlined in the Federal Government’s Critical Minerals Strategy 2022. The grant will enable Harrison SPARC (Strategic Projects and Advanced Research Centre) to expand the group’s chemical manufacturing capabilities. Harrison SPARC was started in 2021 to innovate and expand The Harrison Group’s capabilities and offering in the critical infrastructure industries. Sydney-based sister company, Harrison Manufacturing produces high-performance grease, lubricants, oils and imports specialty chemical additives, supplying approximately 50% of domestic market usage. It also exports its know-how and tailor-made lubricant applications to industries such as mining across…

Day Three of AMW2023 showcases a range of manufacturing successes and advances happening here at home, some of these exporting out into the world market. Today, the show floor is pumping, chock-full of immense displays of machine tooling outfits, CNC cutting tools, and grinders. From where I stand, I see sales managers, CEOs, and business managers meeting as many people as possible. What an incredible, active industry. Some of the bigger companies from Europe are now making their moves to establish Australian headquarters. They have the confidence of a big market here. Schunk, Trumpf, Bonfiglioli and Trotec, ASA, SWI Engineering, and others, are all-powerful suppliers of many international tool brands. This year, AMW has a lot of enticing displays with extra focus. The SAVIC electric motorcycle is here.  The Applied EV Blanc robot vehicle is also here, which makes me happy.  Altair Software and Applied EV got together and made this entirely new sector of transport a future possibility. The Future Solutions Speaker program, proudly supported by Autodesk, spans the wide brown land of Australian Manufacturing. David…

From down on the show floor, as the clock whizzed past 10am on Wednesday, the hall was swamped, and the pressure didn’t stop all day. Exhibitors I managed to speak to were impressed by the numbers in the aisles as well as the quality of their visitors. Walking from one end of the show floor took about an hour if I tried hard to not talk to anyone. And for me, that’s not easy to do. There was quite a thorough assessment of the Federal Budget on offer by the crew at William Buck with an online meeting that covered many areas of business. Click through HERE to access the recording of the presentation if you have time later. Today’s theme in the Future Solutions Featured Speaker Sessions involved the industry women in Australia and their place in manufacturing. The CEO of SEMMA (South East Melbourne Manufacturing Association) dismissed the label of ‘Pale, Male and Stale’, and introduced two women working and succeeding in the field of manufacturing, one an Apprentice of the Year. Their…

The Hon Ben Carroll MP, Victorian Minister for Industry and Innovation opened AMW2023 at 10:10am this morning at the Future Solutions Speakers Stage. AMTIL was also honoured to have Tony Garvey, a celebrated Elder from the local Wurundjeri mob invite them to proceed, with a Welcome to Country for AMW 2023. Doors are open!  Held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC) from 9-12 May 2023, Australian Manufacturing gets to show off a little for the whole week. Organised by the Australian Manufacturing Technology Institute Limited (AMTIL), AMW2023 will fill ‘Jeff’s Shed’ almost to bursting, with 346 companies showing off the latest manufacturing tech, processes, and support services. Some of the biggest machine tool systems in the world will be there, in operation! The Future Solutions Speakers Stage at 10:10 AM on Tuesday 9th May. There is so much to see, with Seven Zones in the biggest room in Australia. Manufacturing presentations and attractions are the name of the show from Additive Manufacturing, to Machine Tools, Robotics and Automation. There’s also a bunch of manufacturing solution, supporting the industry, including legal, accounting and investment.…