Judiciously designed and well-administered industry policies has the potential to help accelerate a return to real incomes growth and improve productivity performance. They can, at the same time help meet parallel objectives in ways that supports national well-being including the objectives of supply chain resilience and the development of defence and other strategic sovereign capabilities. Industry policy has a further role in facilitating orderly and less costly transitions for businesses and their workforces in the face of inevitable disruption.

While many industry policy initiatives are best delivered at the state, and sometimes local government levels, there are also important roles for federal policies and there can be advantages from national co-ordination to reduce duplication, build complementarity and collaboration and to encourage dissemination of knowledge about industry policy across the federation.

In this statement, Ai Group’s industry policy proposals are discussed under four headings: lifting Australia’s business capabilities; encouraging high growth industries and businesses; innovation; and industry transitions. For all these areas, benefits can be amplified by the widespread use of case studies that highlight elements of business success.