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- Increasing international collaboration
- Industry growth centres
- Industry Innovation and Science Australia
- National Measurement Institute
- Optical astronomy in Australia
- Participating in the digital economy
- Promoting innovation precincts
- Science in our department
- Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)
Energy
Resources
Northern Australia
Trade
Business support
Measurement services
Government to government services
- Regulations and standards
Emissions reduction
Energy
Resources
- Applying to export rough diamonds
- Applying to export uranium and controlled ores
- Offshore mineral exploration and mining
- Offshore oil and gas exploration and development
- Offshore petroleum exploration acreage release process
- Regulating offshore oil and gas in Australian Commonwealth waters
- Regulating the Ranger Uranium Mine
- Taxes and royalties on minerals and petroleum
Measurement
Trade
Space industry
Building industry
Business support
- Funding and incentives
Emissions reduction
Industry innovation and science
- Australian Square Kilometre Array Fellowships Programme
- Business Research and Innovation Initiative
- Business-research collaboration
- Collaborating with Asia-Pacific on science, research and innovation
- Collaborating with China on science and research
- Collaborating with India on science and research
- Cooperative research centres
- Enabling international space investment
- Industry 4.0
- Inspiring Australia: Science engagement in Australia
- International research collaboration
- Moon to Mars: opportunities for Australian businesses
- Prime Minister's Prizes for Science
- Research and Development Tax Incentive
- Supporting advanced manufacturing
- Supporting business and innovation
- Supporting space infrastructure growth
- Transitioning Australia’s automotive manufacturing industry
- Venture capital
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COVID-19
Jobs
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- Our Ministers
- Our Executive team
- Organisation chart
- Our portfolio agencies
- Overseas engagement
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- Anti-Dumping Review Panel
- Australian Radioactive Waste Agency
- Australian SKA Office
- Australian Space Agency
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- National Measurement Institute
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Supporting critical minerals projects in Australia

Government funding, information and tools are available to help companies progress major critical minerals projects in Australia. We aim to grow Australia’s emerging critical minerals sector by supporting innovation, attracting investment and exporting to new markets.
Find investors and projects
The government welcomes investment in Australian critical minerals projects.
- The Critical Minerals Facilitation Office connects Australian critical minerals projects to investors and strategic partners to advance projects and provide midstream and downstream opportunities.
- Austrade helps international companies establish and build their business in Australia. See current investment opportunities in Australian resources and energy.
- Australia’s Energy and Mineral Resources Investor Guide 2020 by Geoscience Australia includes guidelines for foreign investment, business entry into Australia, indigenous engagement and sustainable development.
- Australia Minerals provides information, expertise and support for mineral explorers and investors.
Secure funding and finance
The government supports critical minerals projects that benefit Australia’s national interest and deliver more opportunity for our businesses globally. This includes projects with potential to deliver new separation and processing capacity in Australia.
Your project may be eligible for funding or assistance.
- Export Finance Australia (EFA) is the government’s export credit agency, providing financial solutions, loans, guarantees and bonds. See EFA eligibility criteria and support for critical minerals projects.
- The Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility (NAIF) provides loans to help fund infrastructure in northern Australia, including critical minerals projects. Your investment proposal must meet NAIF eligibility criteria.
- The Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) invests in renewable energy projects, including battery storage and lithium mining. See the CEFC investment guidelines.
- The Cooperative Research Centres (CRC) Program supports collaborations between industry, researchers and the community to address problems facing Australia. See the eligibility criteria on business.gov.au.
- Specific CRCs for critical minerals include:
- The Research and Development (R&D) Tax Incentive is the government’s key mechanism to stimulate investment in R&D. The tax incentive reduces company R&D costs by offering tax offsets for eligible R&D expenditure of more than AU$20,000. See the eligibility criteria on business.gov.au.
Source expertise and data
The government provides expertise and tools to identify areas of resource potential.
- The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is one of the largest minerals research groups in the world. CSIRO partners with industry for mineral resource exploration, processing and purification, battery design and manufacturing. It also provides pilot-scale demonstration capability for battery metals and products.
- The Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) Minerals team provides process development services, technical reviews and consulting services to clients in the mining and mineral processing industries. ANSTO has extensive experience in rare earth processing.
- Geoscience Australia (GA) offers geological exploration and mapping expertise, much of which is publicly available as precompetitive data on their site. See GA resources on critical minerals in Australia.
- GA’s Exploring for the Future (EFTF) program gathers geoscientific data about Australia’s potential mineral, energy and groundwater resources. See the EFTF data visualisation map.
Get regulatory approvals
Projects exploring and mining minerals within Australia must meet certain requirements. Steps include obtaining licences, leases and environmental, health and safety approvals.
These agencies and resources help investors and developers navigate regulatory approvals:
- The Foreign Investment Review Board provides Information on foreign investment approval requirements for investing in Australia.
- Australia Minerals provides information on state and territory regulations that may be relevant to establishing and progressing critical minerals projects in Australia.
- The Major Projects Help tool on Business.gov.au helps companies identify the Australian Government approvals and processes that may relevant to their proposal.
- The Major Projects Facilitation Agency helps projects with a capital expenditure of AU$20 million and over to navigate Commonwealth Government regulatory approvals. They can also provide information on the best onshore minerals regulation contacts in your state or territory.
Read more
Connect with us
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Contact us
- Email criticalminerals@industry.gov.au
- Post to Critical Minerals Facilitation Office, GPO Box 2013, CANBERRA ACT 2601
Last updated: 8 December 2020
Content ID: 66325