Government News

The Western Australian Government has today announced plans for a proposed large-scale defence manufacturing hub aimed at strengthening sovereign industrial capability and attracting international investment. The announcement was made today at IODS 2026 by Premier Roger Cook with Minister for Defence Industries Paul Papalia and Manufacturing Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson, and outlined the Government’s call for industry participation in shaping the proposed precinct. Expressions of interest (EOI) are now open to local, national and international companies to help shape the proposed hub, which would focus on advanced defence manufacturing and supporting technologies. Areas identified as part of the opportunity include aerospace, autonomous systems, advanced materials, precision manufacturing, energetics and space technologies. AMTIL strongly supports this initiative as it aligns with our commitment to championing advanced manufacturing growth, fostering industry collaboration, and ensuring Australian manufacturers remain globally competitive. The Western Australian Government said the initiative was intended to support Australia’s sovereign defence capability while contributing to allied supply chains and growing global demand for advanced defence manufacturing. “This is a call out to our…

**This story originally appeared in the April 2026 edition of AMT Magazine** With changes to the Corporations Act enforcing mandatory sustainability reporting coming into effect last year, the question for many is how to build a report that stands up to stakeholder scrutiny and actually improves the business. That’s the focus of William Buck principal, business advisory, Samantha Zebrowski, who will lead a session at Australian Manufacturing Week session titled Navigating Mandatory Climate Reporting and Your First Sustainability Report. The rollout of the new sustainability reporting framework began on January 1, 2025, affecting companies with two of three of either a consolidated revenue of $500 million, consolidated gross assets of over $1 billion or over 500 employees. The second stage of the rollout – to companies with two of three of either $200 million in revenue, $500 million in assets or 250+ employees – is set to start from 1 July this year. A third group, earning $50 million or more, with assets of $25 million or…

**This story originally appeared in the April 2026 edition of AMT Magazine** Australian manufacturing is a sector built for this moment. The challenges are real, the pressures are well documented, but so is the opportunity, and it is bigger than many people recognise. Let’s start with the fundamentals. Australian manufacturing is our sixth-largest industry, contributing $137 billion in value-added output and employing 930,000 people. It generates 12.4% of our exports and accounts for 7.9% of national capital expenditure – outsized contributions for a sector representing just 5.1% of GDP. Critically, it is also Australia's most R&D-intensive industry, reinvesting 4.1% of value-added back into research and development. These are the numbers of a sector with genuine strength, deep capability, and a proven capacity to innovate. Yes, 2024 was a difficult year. After a strong post-pandemic rebound, conditions tightened as a sluggish domestic economy weighed on demand and global supply chains normalised. But the sector has navigated far harder periods than this, and the transformation underway is one we…

Australian Manufacturing Week (AMW), hosted by AMTIL, will be held in Brisbane for the first time in 2026. As the nation’s premier showcase for advanced manufacturing, AMW brings together the latest technologies, processes and ideas shaping the future of Australian industry. Running from Tuesday 12 to Thursday 14 May, AMW 2026 will feature a wide range of precision engineering and smart manufacturing solutions. The exhibition will highlight technologies including CNC machining, robotics, additive manufacturing, software, and more. It is designed to connect professionals, promote innovation and support industry growth. The event will include six dedicated product zones: Machine Tools, Additive Manufacturing, Robotics and Automation, Welding and Air Technology, the Australian Manufacturers’ Pavilion, and Manufacturing Solutions. A comprehensive speaker program will run alongside the exhibition, offering insights into emerging technologies, industry trends and practical strategies for business development. “Manufacturing is evolving rapidly across Australia, and Queensland is no exception,” said Lorraine Maxwell, CEO of AMTIL. “Queensland is home to a growing number of innovative manufacturers. AMW 2026 will highlight the strength of this local industry while…

Marrickville-based packaging machinery manufacturer Packserv has won the Best Small Business Award at the Australian Manufacturing Awards. The company designs and builds machines for volumetric filling, capping and container handling functions including conveyors in-feed and out-feed tables. Packserv also specialises in providing rentals for on-demand packaging equipment for filling, capping, labelling, printing and sealing packages of fast-moving consumer goods, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. The company was one of a series of winners of the awards, organised by manufacturing magazine Industry Update, named last night at a gala event in Sydney. The AMTIL Advanced Manufacturing Award was won by Queensland-based textile recovery technology developer BlockTexx among a solid field of nominees, including Industrial Machinery Sales and PPC Moulding Services. Victorian crane manufacturer Eilbeck Cranes picked up the St George Bank Manufacturer of the Year prize, while Dave Vinther of Australian playground equipment manufacturer Moduplay won the individual Gold Award for Excellence in Manufacturing, sponsored by Investment NSW. John Notaras of Atom Industries received with the Lifetime Acheivement Award for his decades of service to the industry. Industry Update publisher Scott Filby said…

Bringing together 13 Australian universities, CSIRO and over 60 industry and membership organisations, Australia’s new Additive Manufacturing Cooperative Research Centre was officially launched yesterday. Established with $57.5 million in Commonwealth Government funding from the Department of Industry, Science and Resources, the AMCRC aims to help industry unlock the potential of additive manufacturing, helping to fast-track products to commercialisation and building sovereign capability. The AMCRC partner base expects to invest an additional $200 million in the organisation over the next seven years to help develop a world-class additive manufacturing ecosystem that enhances industry capacity across the country. AMCRC chair Susan Jeanes says the AMCRC represents a unique opportunity for Australia to position itself as a global leader in the sector. “By uniting industry, researchers and government behind a shared agenda, we will drive research, fast-track commercialisation, and build sovereign capability - delivering new materials, technologies and production solutions that improve productivity, efficiency and local capacity,” she says. The official launch was held in partnership with Boeing Aerostructures Australia – a major contributor to the CRC…

Automation has helped to open doors for women to move into manufacturing roles, according to new research prepared by the Australian Industry Group (AIGroup). AIGroup measured the number of hours worked by women in various industries using newly available microdata from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The research found that while industrial sectors such as manufacturing, mining and construction had the lowest share of hours worked by women, they were also leading the national effort in closing the gap. AIGroup research manager Colleen Dowling writes in a research note that most industrial sectors had seen an increase in the proportion of hours worked by women in the last 20 years. The number of hours worked by women in manufacturing rose from 21.2% in 2006 to 25.2% in 2025, as did those in mining, from 12.6% to 17.7%, and construction – from 7.8% to 11%. Dowling writes that little had changed in industries where most hours are worked by women, such as healthcare and social work, where about 75% of hours are…

Federal Industry minister Tim Ayres has announced up to $600 million will be invested over three years to sustain Glencore’s Mount Isa Copper Smelter and Townsville Refinery in Queensland, while work on an $80 million investment program to upgrade the Nyrstar’s Port Pirie multi-metals facility in South Australia has also begun. Funded jointly by the Australian and Queensland Governments, the Mount Isa and Townsville package will see three tranches of $200 million delivered over the next three years – dependent on facility owner Glencore completing a transformation study focusing on driving sustainable and long-term industrial capability in Mount Isa. “It will evaluate the end-to-end copper value chain in the region and seek to understand the long-term opportunity for the facilities, industry and Mount Isa workers beyond the support period, positioning the region for a more diverse and resilient future,” a joint government announcement says. Governments have identified maintaining Australia’s domestic metals processing capability as “fundamental” to Australian economic resilience, and the Mount Isa Copper Smelter provides…

The Future Made in Australia Production Tax incentives constitute a significant step toward boosting the production of renewable green hydrogen and critical minerals in this country. The Federal Government's Future Made in Australia (Production Tax Credit and Other Measures) Bill 2024 passed to Parliament in February this year, a big step in making Australia indispensable to the global net zero transformation. The legislation provides tax offsets for producing renewable hydrogen and critical minerals and expands Indigenous Business Australia’s role and scope. Jointly announced by the Treasurer, Jim Chalmers, Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Chris Bowen, Minister for Resources, Madeline King; and Assistant Minister for a Future Made in Australia, Senator Tim Ayres, the legislation establishes two tax incentives: A Hydrogen Production Tax Incentive worth two dollars per kilogram of renewable hydrogen produced between 2027–2028 and 2039–40 for up to ten years per project. A Critical Minerals Production Tax Incentive worth 10% of relevant processing and refining costs for Australia’s 31 critical minerals, for critical minerals…

Although US President Donald Trump had previously indicated he might exempt Australia from steel and aluminium tariffs, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt confirmed that the president has finalised his decision, stating, “There will be no exemptions.” During Trump's first term, Australian steel and aluminium were exempt from these tariffs, and BlueScope was hoping for similar treatment this time. “A tariff exemption was negotiated in President Trump's first term,” stated a BlueScope Steel representative. In reaction to the tariff announcement, the steel manufacturer pointed out its $5bn investment in US operations, which currently employ over 4,000 steelworkers. BlueScope Steel serves as Australia's primary steel exporter to the US, delivering approximately 300,000 tonnes of semi-processed steel annually. This steel is utilised by its US operations to manufacture flat products such as roofs and fencing. BlueScope ranks as the fifth largest steel manufacturer in America. Its North Star mill in Ohio produces three million tonnes of steel each year, matching Port Kembla's output and proving significantly more profitable. Following the rapid…

The Albanese Government has taken another step towards rapidly establishing domestic manufacturing of missiles and munitions at scale under a plan that bolsters Australia’s defence capabilities while creating hundreds of jobs. The government has announced that Thales has been selected as the preferred tenderer to build a new domestic forging capability for 155mm M795 artillery ammunition. Australia, the United States, and other international partners use the 155mm M795 artillery ammunition for the M777A2 Light Towed Howitzer, which is critical for close-fire capability. Defence will work with Thales, the preferred company, to build, establish, and commission the forge at the Commonwealth-owned Benalla Munitions Facility. This project is expected to support at least 550 jobs. The forge will produce 15,000 rounds each year by 2028, with the capacity to produce up to 100,000 for global consumption. It will also be the first dedicated forge outside of the United States to manufacture 155mm M795 artillery ammunition. “Today’s announcement is another example of the Albanese Government’s commitment to developing a more capable military force while also supporting a future made in Australia,” said the Deputy Prime…

The Albanese and Minns Labor Governments are jointly investing more than $60m over five years to establish the Hunter Net Zero Manufacturing Centre of Excellence at TAFE NSW’s Tighes Hill campus in Newcastle. Both the Albanese Government and Minns Labor Governments are investing $28.1m, with a further $5.27m in federal funding to support the centre. This will accelerate the development of a Higher Apprenticeship model focused on the advanced skills required for net zero manufacturing. The upgraded Centre will play a pivotal role in building up new skills for workers across the Hunter, investing in their future. “The Hunter region is a powerhouse for energy and manufacturing,” said Premier of NSW, Chris Minns. “We are proud to partner with the Albanese Government to deliver this training centre, so the local community and industry have the skills needed to benefit from the energy transition. “We are getting on with the job of delivering three TAFE Centres of Excellence in NSW, a key part of our commitment to provide fully subsidised training to an additional 1,000 apprenticeships a year in advanced…