A Dutton Coalition Government will establish Investment Australia – a new statutory office within Treasury – to streamline major project approvals, cut red tape and restore Australia’s global competitiveness.
Australia’s economic potential is being held back by slow approvals, regulatory duplication, and fragmented investment processes across government. Projects are bogged down in bureaucracy, private capital is struggling to find a way in, and productivity is going backwards.
Investment Australia will consolidate and streamline key functions of government, including the Major Projects Facilitation Agency, the Takeovers Panel, and elements of the Foreign Investment Review Board under a single, empowered office with strong leadership.
Investment Australia will have a legislated dual mandate: to facilitate investment and improve competitiveness. It will be led by a Chair and Deputy Chair with strong private sector and public administration experience.
Investment Australia will report directly to the Treasurer and Cabinet and be equipped with powers to escalate economically significant projects stuck in red tape.
Within 100 days, the Coalition will appoint the Investment Australia Chair and set them to work on a mission to reduce regulatory costs in Australia’s key enabling sectors: financial services; construction; and resources and energy.
These three investment taskforces will unlock productivity and drive growth in the priority sectors.
The investment task forces will lead rolling and structural red tape reduction, cutting costs for consumers to bring down the cost of living and the cost of doing business.
Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor said Investment Australia will drive Australian jobs, increase investment into Australia and restore our economic potential.
“Investment Australia is a structural reform that will lower costs and send a lasting message that Australia is open for business,” Mr Taylor said.
“It will streamline our overlapping and confusing public service agencies, while driving a pro-business, pro-investment mindset throughout the public service.
“Through its investment taskforces Investment Australia will drive deep red tape reduction to bring investment to Australia across our key enabling sectors.
“Energy is the economy, but so too are construction and financial services. The costs in these sectors are embedded in everything we buy. If these sectors go backwards, our economy goes backwards. If they are strong, the economy is strong.
“Unlocking these sectors supports our plans to restore the dream of home ownership, revive our manufacturing base, bring down the costs of energy, and rebuild small business.
“It will have an impact across all the industries that drive our prosperity from our manufacturing, and our mining and resources industries, to our world leading agricultural sector, and our forestry and fisheries while setting up the foundations for future industries to thrive.
“More investment and more jobs will grow the pie, ensuring we can repair the budget while provisioning for the essential services Australians expect and shifting geopolitical tides mean we need.
“This is essential to solving the cost of living crisis and restoring our economic potential.”
This announcement forms part of a wider Liberal economic strategy to beat inflation, bring down the price of energy, restore growth and restore living standards.
The Coalition’s broader plan includes:
- Immediate tax relief, including halving the fuel excise while committing to lower, simpler, and fairer taxes over the long term.
- Cheaper energy through an east coast gas reservation, investing in exploration and infrastructure to increase supply, fast-tracking a decision on the North West Shelf, and establishing a zero emissions nuclear power industry as part of a balanced mix with renewables, gas and storage.
- More affordable homes by rebalancing migration, freezing the National Construction Code, overcoming infrastructure bottlenecks, and restoring law and order to worksites.
- Backing small business with a permanent higher Instant Asset Write-Off, simplified deductions, fairer lending, and plans to cut red and green tape.
- Restoring apprenticeships and trades with a target of 400,000 apprentices in training and $12,000 in employer incentives to take on new trainees in critical skill areas.
- Stronger budgets with restored fiscal rules, reduced structural spending, and a renewed focus on economic resilience, productivity, and national defence.
The Coalition stands ready to deliver a stronger economy with lower inflation; cheaper energy; affordable homes; quality healthcare; and safer communities.
Only a Coalition Government will restore Australia’s economy and get Australia back on track.