The Morrison Government is looking to strengthen Australia's supply chain capabilities, with $50 million in grants available to improve access to critical products in times of crisis.
Applications are open for manufacturers under the Supply Chain Resilience Initiative - a key part of the Government's $1.5 billion Modern Manufacturing Strategy.
Matched grants of between $50,000 and $2 million are available for businesses which can help address supply chain vulnerabilities across medicines and agricultural production chemicals - which were identified as sectors of focus in the Sovereign Manufacturing Capability Plan.
Minister for Industry, Science and Technology, Christian Porter, said projects could include scaling up existing manufacturing and workforce skills capability or increasing supply chain transparency through technology.
"COVID-19 has taught us that we need to be able to have access to critical products in times of crisis and that is why we are investing in projects to support our supply chain resilience," Minister Porter said.
"Our initial analysis identified medicines, agricultural production chemicals - such as fertilisers - and personal protective equipment (PPE) as sectors of focus.
"The Morrison Government has already worked side-by-side with industry, offering significant investment to scale up Australia's ability to make PPE locally when we needed it most.
"This included providing funding to establish and expand local manufacturing, establishing accredited product testing capabilities, and providing free access to product standards and streamlining regulatory reviews and approvals. Now we want to drive the same success for medicines and agricultural production chemicals.
"Not only is this initiative important to strengthening our ability to access critical products for the health and wellbeing of Australians, it's also helping grow Australian manufacturing and create new jobs for generations to come."
A second tranche of analysis into semi-conductors, water treatment chemicals and telecommunications equipment is commencing shortly.
Investing in manufacturing projects to support our resilience through the $107.2 million Supply Chain Resilience Initiative is part of a range of measures the Morrison Government is delivering to bolster Australia's supply chain resilience. This includes the establishment of the Office of Supply Chain Resilience to provide ongoing capacity to monitor vulnerabilities and coordinate whole-of-government efforts to boost supply chain resilience. It also includes the Government's ongoing commitment to open trade and open markets, which drive our resilience by making our own economy more competitive and able to handle change.
