Growing Globally Competitive Industries: Powered by Australia’s innovation technology

The past decade has seen an acceleration in changes to the world’s economic, political, environmental and social frameworks. Global economies are becoming more competitive more rapidly. Australia has both a significant opportunity to benefit as it has a challenge to keep pace and compete. Technology is driving the growth globally; it is both solving and creating problems. Investment in innovation is now a given and this paper identifies areas of our economy where we must focus to ensure we keep pace and ensure future national economic success.

The transformative opportunity that technology provides is now undeniable. It is clear that those countries, industries, governments and enterprises that successfully drive technology innovation at the core of their strategies are the ones that will maximise opportunity from the shifts occurring in our world. As Australia’s global trading partners are investing heavily in technology, we must recognise now that our country runs the real risk of becoming uncompetitive. This would ultimately result in Australians being consumers rather than producers of products and services to global markets which in turn can threaten the very core of our economy and its primary industries.

Australia’s economic success is reliant on being globally competitive across our core trade-exposed industries. Australia does have the capability to maintain its world leadership across our key industries with a strategic approach to investment in technology. This White Paper outlines our nation’s key policy challenges and opportunities as it presents the path forward for Australia in the context of critical industries and core technology capabilities that must be supported.

There have been positive steps forward already taken by government to support this critical agenda.

Twelve months ago, the Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA) released its white paper, Building Australia’s Digital Future in a Post-COVID World. We were only months into a global pandemic when the AIIA saw the need for new thinking in the way governments respond to the societal and economic challenges that were and are still facing in Australia. We remain proud of this work and the ongoing policy influence it has achieved and the results it has produced.