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Future Made in Australia is an Australian federal industrial policy initiative relating to the transition to net zero emissions. It was introduced and implemented by the Labor government of Anthony Albanese in 2024.

History

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In April 2024, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese unveiled an interventionist industrial policy focusing on the transition to net zero emissions, which would be underpinned by a "Future Made in Australia Act".[1] Later, Treasurer Jim Chalmers clarified that this policy would be focused on incentivising, but not replacing investment.[2]

Jim Chalmers gave a speech which laid out the "guardrails" for the policy in May 2024.[3] The Australian government announced a A$566 million initiative to comprehensively map what is under Australian soil and seabed.[4] The Australian government released a strategy on liquid natural gas, outlining it as a "transition" fuel through to 2050 and beyond.[5]

The Future Made in Australia policy was a major part of the 2024 Australian federal budget.[6] Five priority industries were identified: renewable hydrogen, critical minerals processing, green metals, low carbon liquid fuels and clean energy manufacturing.[7]

In late May 2024, the Australian federal government announced a National Battery Strategy.[8][9] It sets out a goal for the country to be manufacturing batteries with "secure supply chains" by 2035.[9]

Legislation

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Legislation passed as part of the initative
Name Citation Royal assent Description
Future Made in Australia Act 2024 No. 119, 2024 10 December 2024 Establishes a "National Interest Framework" for deciding if projects should or should not go ahead.[10]
Future Made in Australia (Omnibus Amendments No. 1) Act 2024 No. 120, 2024
  • Establishes the Guarantee of Origin scheme.[11]
  • The Guarantee of Origin scheme administers the Product Guarantee of Origin and the Renewable Electricity Guarantee of Origin.[12]
  • Under the PGO certificate stream, certificates are issued to allow relevant organisations to prove where a given product was produced and the quantity of emissions associated with its production, transport and storage.[12]
  • Under the REGO certificate stream, certificates are issued to allow relevant organisations to prove when, where and how much renewable energy was produced.[12] REGO certificates would work in parallel with the Renewable Energy Target, before replacing its certification system from 2031.[12]
Future Made in Australia (Guarantee of Origin) Act 2024 No. 121, 2024
Future Made in Australia (Guarantee of Origin Charges) Act 2024 No. 122, 2024
Future Made in Australia (Guarantee of Origin Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Act 2024 No. 123, 2024
Future Made in Australia (Production Tax Credits and Other Measures) Act 2025 No. 9, 2025 14 February 2025
  • Introduces a $2/kg renewable hydrogen production tax incentive.[13][11]
  • Introduces a 10% tax break for critical minerals processors on processing and refining costs.[11]

Reception

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The independent economist, Saul Eslake, criticised the proposed policy, describing the use of terms such as "national sovereignty" and "national security" as cover for bad policy.[1] Kylie Walker, a fellow at the Australian National University, was supportive, but emphasised that increasing diversity in the science and technology workforce would help reduce skill shortages.[14]

The Future Made policy has been compared to the American Inflation Reduction Act and the European Green Deal as examples of industrial policy.[15] The program has been described as a shift away from the Washington Consensus.[16]

The program has been criticised for not including health manufacturing, food processing and agriculture in the list of priority industries.[7] Ending the continued subsidy of oil and gas projects has been suggested as a possible extension of the program, by Christian Downie, a researcher at the Australian National University.[17]

The National Battery Strategy has been criticised for not providing enough funding for supporting remote communities to deal with the impacts such as contamination of land and water, biodiversity loss, and the destruction of sites of cultural heritage sites.[8]

Several federal MPs have argued that household electrification schemes should be a key part of the program in the future.[18] Green MPs voted for the program even as they criticised the support for oil and gas projects included in other parts of the budget.[19]

The initial legislation, the Future Made in Australia Act 2024, has been criticised for having "vague and difficult to interpret" guidelines.[10]

The restriction of the hydrogen tax credit for "green hydrogen" (renewable hydrogen) over "blue hydrogen" (non-renewable hydrogen) has been criticised by David Heard, an energy expert who previously worked at Shell.[20] The lack of a requirement for hydrgoen classed as "renewable" to be produced by renewable energy at all times was criticised by Steve Hoy, founder and CEO of power tracing technology company Enosi.[21]

References

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  1. ^ a b Grattan, Michelle (2024-04-11). "Grattan on Friday: Albanese government can't be accused of excessive caution any longer". The Conversation. Retrieved 2025-04-15.
  2. ^ Grattan, Michelle (2024-04-14). "Jim Chalmers seeks to allay fears industry policy will be financial 'free-for-all'". Archived from the original on 2024-04-14.
  3. ^ Grattan, Michelle (2024-04-30). "Chalmers outlines a more 'risk-based' foreign investment policy and guardrails around Future Made in Australia". The Conversation. Archived from the original on 2024-04-30. Retrieved 2025-04-15.
  4. ^ Grattan, Michelle (2024-05-07). "Albanese government to invest $566 million for 'generational' mapping to promote resource exploration". The Conversation. Archived from the original on 2024-08-16. Retrieved 2025-04-15.
  5. ^ Grattan, Michelle (2024-05-08). "Gas is good until 2050 and beyond, under Albanese gas strategy". The Conversation. Archived from the original on 2024-05-09. Retrieved 2025-04-15.
  6. ^ Grattan, Michelle (2024-05-09). "Grattan on Friday: Like the famous budget tree, Chalmers can change the story to suit the season". The Conversation. Archived from the original on 2024-05-09. Retrieved 2025-04-15.
  7. ^ a b Paul, Sanjoy; Chowdhury, Priyabrata (2024-05-27). "Future Made in Australia will boost sustainable growth and create jobs as far as it goes, but it doesn't go far enough". The Conversation. Archived from the original on 2024-05-27. Retrieved 2025-04-15.
  8. ^ a b Kemp, Deanna; Burton, John (2024-05-24). "A rush on critical minerals is coming for our most remote and disadvantaged communities". The Conversation. Archived from the original on 2024-09-01. Retrieved 2025-04-15.
  9. ^ a b Currie, Glen Thomas; Malos, Anna (2024-05-24). "The government's cash splash aims to kickstart Australia's battery industry. Has it flipped the right switches?". The Conversation. Archived from the original on 2024-05-24. Retrieved 2025-04-15.
  10. ^ a b Greber, Jacob (2024-07-29). "Government's Future Made in Australia plan criticised for 'vague and difficult to interpret' guidelines". ABC News. Archived from the original on 2024-08-16. Retrieved 2025-04-16.
  11. ^ a b c Bulling, Jim; Cachia, Clive; Hain, Michael; Lautier, Lisa; Levine, Adam; Young, Tom (2024-12-23). "December 2024 ESG Policy Update— Australia". National Law Review. Archived from the original on 2024-12-23. Retrieved 2025-04-16.
  12. ^ a b c d Carroll, David (2025-03-04). "GO time for guarantee of origin scheme consultation". pv magazine Australia. Archived from the original on 2025-04-06. Retrieved 2025-04-16.
  13. ^ Henley, Peter Holcombe; Thomas, Nick; MacGregor, Stuart (2025-04-02). "Guarantee of Origin and Hydrogen Tax Incentive laws pass, but their effect remains in the future". Clayton UTZ. Archived from the original on 2025-04-03. Retrieved 2025-04-16.
  14. ^ Walker, Kylie (May 15, 2024). "For a 'future made in Australia', we need more innovation and diverse people in science and tech". The Conversation. Archived from the original on 2024-08-13. Retrieved 2025-04-15.
  15. ^ Turner, Kylie; Brown, Luke (2024-05-21). "Will government investment make green hydrogen a reality in Australia?". The Conversation. Archived from the original on 2024-06-12. Retrieved 2025-04-15.
  16. ^ Hughes, Llewelyn (2024-08-20). "Yes, it's difficult for governments to pick green industry winners – but it's essential Australia tries". The Conversation. Archived from the original on 2024-09-04. Retrieved 2025-04-15.
  17. ^ Downie, Christian (2024-11-07). "A Donald Trump presidency is bad for climate action, but Australia should get on with the job". The Conversation. Archived from the original on 2024-12-04. Retrieved 2025-04-16.
  18. ^ Lowrey, Tom (2024-05-15). "Future Made in Australia: What we know about the government's flagship budget policy". ABC News. Archived from the original on 2024-06-01. Retrieved 2025-04-16.
  19. ^ Jervis-Bardy, Dan; Dhanji, Krishani (2025-01-30). "Future Made in Australia bill set to pass but much of Labor's remaining agenda up in the air". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2025-02-02. Retrieved 2025-04-16.
  20. ^ Heard, David (2024-07-18). "Picking green over blue is stalling our hydrogen superpower hopes". Australian Financial Review. Archived from the original on 2024-07-18. Retrieved 2025-04-16.
  21. ^ Peacock, Bella (2022-07-27). "'Not actually green': why time matching is key to becoming a hydrogen superpower". pv magazine Australia. Archived from the original on 2022-08-14. Retrieved 2025-04-16.
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