Supporting critical minerals projects in Australia

Main content area

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:
- FBI CRC for growing Australia’s battery value chain
- CRC ORE for optimising resources extraction
- MinEx CRC for improving mineral discovery and drilling technologies
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.