The review of the National Freight and Supply Chain Strategy has commenced, following agreement with state and territory infrastructure and transport ministers.
The Strategy is a holistic, coordinated and multi-modal approach to increase the safety, productivity and resilience of freight and supply chains, agreed by all jurisdictions. It sets an agenda for government and industry action across all freight modes to 2040 and beyond.
Australia's supply chains are critical to our future economic success and to strengthening the connections between our regions and urban centres.
That is why infrastructure and transport ministers across Australia have responded to calls from industry to commence the first review of the Strategy.
The review will ensure the Strategy remains fit-for-purpose for the Australian freight and supply chains industry.
We know this industry has experienced unprecedented and compounding disruptions over the past four years including a global pandemic, extreme weather events, geo-political tensions, skills shortages and more.
The review is a critical opportunity to take stock of what has changed and what has been achieved since 2019. It will help build a more effective Strategy that is better equipped to address Australia's growing and changing freight task.
The review will assess if there are gaps in the Strategy's goals and identify priorities for the next five-year National Action Plan.
Stakeholder engagement will be an important part of identifying these gaps and priorities. The review will undertake stakeholder consultation and consider public submissions. In late August, I am looking forward to hosting a round table to hear directly from industry how the strategy can be strengthened.
The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts will lead the review in close collaboration with industry and state and territory governments.
Ministers will consider the recommendations of the review by the end of this year.
