5. Lifting competitiveness through coordinated infrastructure development and efficient regulatory systems

Why coordination is needed to improve our competitiveness

Many of Australia's critical minerals deposits are in regional and remote areas, where higher infrastructure, energy and service costs can affect project viability. As projects move from exploration to production and processing, access to enabling infrastructure, reliable energy and efficient approvals becomes increasingly important to commercial success.

Australia competes globally for investment, customers and projects. To remain competitive, projects need efficient pathways to development, reliable access to infrastructure and energy, and regulatory systems that provide certainty and support timely decision‑making. Coordinated action between governments and industry can help lower costs, improve productivity and reduce barriers to investment.

Investment in roads, rail, ports, energy, water, common user facilities and other enabling infrastructure can improve project economics and support commercial‑scale development. Better‑connected infrastructure networks can also unlock regional opportunities, support local industry development and connect producers to domestic and international markets.

Common‑user facilities further improve competitiveness by lowering barriers to entry and reducing the costs of testing, piloting and scaling new projects. Shared facilities can help businesses commercialise new opportunities more quickly while building greater scale and capability across the sector.

Realising these benefits requires coordination across Commonwealth, state and territory governments, industry, and regional communities. Aligning planning, approvals and infrastructure delivery can help ensure investment is directed where it will deliver the greatest economic and productivity benefits.

Efficient and predictable regulatory systems are also important to competitiveness. Investors need confidence that projects can move through approvals processes in a timely manner while maintaining Australia's high environmental standards. Modern, fit‑for‑purpose regulation can reduce delays, improve certainty and help bring projects into production sooner.

Reliable, affordable and low‑emissions energy will become increasingly important as Australia expands domestic processing capability. Energy costs and availability will influence investment decisions, operating costs and the long‑term competitiveness of Australian processing and refining industries.

Areas of action to increase competitiveness of the critical minerals sector

Working with states and territories to support development 

Strong, coordinated intergovernmental collaboration is essential to building a competitive and productive critical minerals sector. This is particularly the case where policy settings, infrastructure and regional development priorities intersect. We are working with state and territory governments to align these settings and focus effort on the places where coordinated action can unlock the greatest economic and strategic value.

The Australian Government’s Regional Investment Framework guides the approach to regional investment by supporting place‑based, locally informed and evidence‑based decision‑making. It recognises that regions have different strengths and challenges, and that coordinated investment across governments can help regions adapt to economic change and support sustainable industry growth. In regions with known critical minerals endowments, this can help ensure investment reflects local priorities while supporting infrastructure, workforce and industry conditions that strengthen economic resilience and supply chain security.

Common user facilities will help Australia build the scale needed to grow midstream processing capability. We are undertaking feasibility studies with states and territories to investigate opportunities for shared processing infrastructure. When co‑located in industrial precincts and supported by enabling infrastructure such as transport, power and ports, these facilities can attract complementary industries, reduce costs and improve efficiency. They can also support circular economy activities, including the recycling and reprocessing of waste and mining by‑products. This creates more opportunities to expand domestic processing capability, improve productivity and strengthen the competitiveness of Australia’s critical minerals sector. These studies provide a practical pathway to test where shared infrastructure can best address industry needs, support regional strengths and build future processing capacity.

Improving the efficiency of national regulatory systems

Critical minerals exploration, mining and closure regulatory systems are the responsibility of Australia’s states and territories. The Commonwealth provides national leadership to the sector, and its prime regulatory intersection with the states and territories is in environmental regulation. The EPBC Act comes into force for nationally significant critical minerals mining activities.

Australia needs regulatory systems that support investment while maintaining strong environmental standards. Efficient, predictable and robust approvals processes provide greater confidence for investors to commit capital to large‑scale projects. They help ensure strategically important critical minerals projects progress in a way that meets community expectations and provides market confidence.

The government is implementing the EPBC Act reforms to streamline approvals and deliver stronger environmental protection, more efficient and robust project assessments, and greater accountability and transparency in decision‑making. These reforms will help reduce unnecessary duplication and improve the way governments assess and manage environmental impacts.

Government is providing more resources to fast‑track approvals with states and territories, including in priority areas like critical minerals. This includes funding for new and updated bilateral agreements, and cross‑government agreements to deliver landscape scale approaches, strategic assessments and bioregional plans that balance development and environment protection.

Improving energy reliability and reducing energy costs

Reliable, affordable and low‑emissions energy will shape Australia’s ability to grow critical minerals processing and refining. Midstream activities are commonly energy‑intensive, and energy costs can materially affect project economics, investment decisions and thereby, our international competitiveness. 

Australia has abundant renewable energy resources, with our renewable electricity prices expected to be globally competitive (CSIRO 2023). As we further develop our midstream processing capabilities, access to affordable and reliable energy will become an important factor in determining the sector’s competitiveness.

The government is working with states and territories through the National Energy Transformation Partnership to support an orderly transition to a reliable, affordable and low‑emissions energy system while maintaining energy security. Alongside this, the government is progressing coordinated electricity market reform and grid investment to support a more reliable, affordable and low‑emissions energy system as Australia transitions to net zero. 

The Capacity Investment Scheme aims to deliver an additional 40 GW of renewable generation and clean dispatchable capacity by 2030, including 26 GW of renewable generation and 14 GW of dispatchable capacity. This will support energy reliability as demand grows and ageing coal‑fired generation exits the system.

The Future Gas Strategy and Domestic Gas Reservation Scheme will also support energy security and affordability by helping ensure adequate domestic gas supply. This complements broader electricity market reforms, to support reliable and competitive energy supply for energy‑intensive industries, including critical minerals processing and refining.

Rewiring the Nation will also help connect low‑cost renewable energy to households, businesses and industrial users. These initiatives can reduce energy supply risks, support lower‑emissions processing and improve the competitiveness of Australian critical minerals projects. Over time, better access to reliable and affordable clean energy can strengthen our competitiveness and position as a trusted supplier of critical minerals.