Complete your Australian Industry Participation plan

The Australian Jobs Act 2013 (the Jobs Act) requires proponents of major public and private projects in Australia with a capital expenditure of $500 million or more to prepare and implement an Australian Industry Participation (AIP) plan.

A major project includes establishing or upgrading an eligible productive facility.

AIP plans

The plans provide detail on:

• expected opportunities to supply key goods and services to the project
• how proponents will communicate project opportunities and pre-qualification requirements to potential Australian suppliers. This may include communicating via procurement websites.
• how proponents will assist suppliers to develop capability and integrate into global supply chains

Project proponents

Project proponents must submit an AIP plan for each major project.

Projects with two or more project proponents must designate one proponent to prepare and submit the AIP plan on behalf of the others. The AIP plan is binding for everyone involved. The actions of the designated project proponent have consequences for the other project proponents if the legislative requirements are not met.

AIP plans that cover more than one project

Generally, the Jobs Act requires a separate AIP plan for each project worth $500 million or above. If you are undertaking a number of interrelated major projects with a common purpose, you may be able to combine them under one AIP plan.

Contact the AIP Authority on 02 6213 6404 or email aip@industry.gov.au for advice.

Submitting your AIP plan

Your draft AIP plan must be submitted to the AIP Authority either 90 days before the trigger date or on the day specified by the AIP Authority. You may apply to the AIP Authority to negotiate a different day to submit the AIP plan if the trigger date is not suitable.

1. Contact us at 02 6213 6404 to discuss the project timeframe (including the trigger date) and AIP plan requirements.
2. Use the AIP plan template [198KB DOCX] to complete the plan.

Note: You must not alter or rewrite the template in any way. AIP plans submitted using a different template will not be accepted.

3. Email the plan to aip@industry.gov.au.

Read the User Guide for Australian Industry Participation plans [727KB PDF] [272KB DOCX] for more information.

Feedback on draft AIP plans

The AIP Authority encourages you to lodge your draft AIP plans for feedback before formal submission for approval. We will assess the AIP plan’s activities against the requirements of the Jobs Act and provide feedback within 10 working days.

Trigger dates and events

The trigger date is the final date at which a project must have an AIP plan approved by the AIP Authority. This date is based on trigger events, which are common activities undertaken during early development stages. The day of the earliest of these events will be a trigger date for a project. For example, if a project undertakes all the trigger events at some stage during the project cycle, it is the earliest of those events that will become the trigger date for the project.

The AIP Authority can specify a trigger date or negotiate with you to agree to one.

Trigger events (as per Section 13(4) of the Jobs Act) are when you:

• develop block diagrams
• develop process flow diagrams
• enter into a contract with another person under which the other person becomes a procurement entity in the project
• request bids for the supply of key goods or services
• prepare technical specifications
• determine the standards that will apply to any of the key goods or services that are to be acquired
• prepare an equipment list
• first contact a supplier to request pricing details for any of the key goods or services
• develop a construction and contracting methodology
• make an environmental submission
• prepare a detailed schedule
• conduct a high‑level scoping of the goods and services

What if a trigger event has already happened?

Notify the AIP Authority of your project within 14 days and nominate a date to submit your draft AIP plan. The AIP Authority will discuss your project’s timeline and nominated date.

1. Contact the AIP Authority on 02 6213 6404 to discuss your project.
2. Complete the AIP Notification Form [137KB DOCX].
3. Email the form to aip@industry.gov.au.

Submitting an AIP plan before the project conditions are satisfied

An AIP plan must be submitted based on the project’s trigger date regardless of conditions or approvals that are outstanding. Most projects are subject to various conditions such as:

• gaining environmental approval
• securing funding (including government funding), or
• achieving a positive final investment decision from the board before they can proceed

For the purposes of the Jobs Act it is assumed these conditions will be satisfied. You must not wait until all conditions are satisfied before submitting an AIP plan.

Using a consultant

You may use consultants to assist you to develop your AIP plan. You will need to authorise the consultant (using a Letter of Authorisation or similar) to act on your behalf and discuss particulars of a specific project with the AIP Authority.

Project proponents must sign the AIP plan and take responsibility for its implementation. A project proponent cannot discharge their obligations except to another project proponent.

AIP plan summary

A summary of the draft AIP plan needs to be provided to the AIP Authority when the plan is formally submitted for approval.

• Use the AIP plan Summary template—Project Phase [38KB DOCX}.
• For new facilities, you must also use the AIP plan Summary template—Operations Phase [38KB DOCX]
• Email the summaries to aip@industry.gov.au.

The summaries describe the actions from your AIP plan you will undertake to provide Australian businesses with access to opportunities. They include an indicative list of goods and services valued $1 million and above to be procured for the project.

The AIP Authority publishes the summaries on the AIP plan summaries page within one business day of receiving them.

AIP plan approval

The AIP Authority will take all reasonable steps to make a decision within 30 days of receiving your AIP plan. Turnaround times are generally shorter if you have already sought feedback on the draft AIP plan before submission.

The AIP Authority will write to you and advise on any decision regarding approval of the AIP plan. If the draft AIP plan is approved it will become the approved AIP plan for the project from the date of the letter.

What if my AIP plan is not approved?

If the AIP Authority does not approve your draft AIP plan, you will need to revise and resubmit the plan within 30 days.

If you disagree with a direction given by the AIP Authority to amend your draft AIP plan, or any of our decisions in relation to the draft AIP plan, you may make an application to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) for a review of the decision.

The decisions made by the AIP Authority that may be reviewable by the AAT are under Section 112 of the Jobs Act.

Next steps

After your AIP plan and summary is submitted and approved, you must implement and manage your plan.

Read more

• Find out about current major projects with an AIP plan.
• Find out if your major project needs an AIP plan.

Contact us

• Email aip@industry.gov.au
• Phone 02 6213 6404