Major projects

The Australian Jobs Act 2013 (the Jobs Act) applies to any entity that carries out a major public or private project to establish or upgrade eligible facilities within Australia. A major project has an estimated capital expenditure of AUD $500 million or more. These entities, including companies and government authorities, are called project proponents.

Eligible facilities

An eligible facility includes:

• mine or quarry
• land transport facility (railways and roads)
• wharf or port
• petroleum facility
• electricity facility (renewable energy projects e.g. wind, solar, hydro)
• factory
• airport or passenger terminal
• water supply facility
• sewage or wastewater facility
• telecommunications facility
• any other productive facility such as a hotel, resort, commercial and retail centre.

What is not eligible?

Generally non-productive facilities are not covered by the Jobs Act. These include:

• residential developments
• schools, universities or research institutes
• hospitals
• prisons or law courts

Procurement of machinery or transport equipment (rolling stock, vehicles and aircraft) without any associated physical infrastructure (factory, maintenance workshop or hangar) is not covered.

Australian Government defence facilities and materiel procurements are covered by their own industry participation arrangements.

Projects that combine eligible and non-eligible facilities

Contact the AIP Authority for advice if your project is a combination of eligible and non-eligible facilities, for example a hotel and residential apartments.

Government expenditure, grants or loans

All projects to establish or upgrade eligible facilities worth $500 million or more have obligations under the Jobs Act. This includes publicly and privately funded projects or any combination of project funding sources and types. Projects undertaken by Commonwealth, state, territory or local governments may have obligations under the Jobs Act.

$500 million threshold

The $500 million threshold amount should include all expenditure of a capital nature incurred or likely to be incurred in carrying out the project. GST must be included where it is payable.

This includes, but is not limited to, expenditure directly related to capital construction costs such as:

• land acquisition
• infrastructure
• buildings
• design fees (architecture and engineering)
• council building licences
• contingency sums
• equipment for the project.

Projects with a state or territory Industry Participation Plan

If your project must submit a state or territory Industry Participation Plan, you may be eligible for an AIP plan exception.

Section 5 of the Australian Jobs (Australian Industry Participation) Rule 2014 sets out the conditions that must be met by the state or territory plan for a project not to require an AIP plan. You must submit an AIP plan if these conditions are not met.

The state or territory plan must ensure that all Australian businesses have full, fair and reasonable opportunity to supply goods and services. It must not give preference to suppliers located in one state or territory over another. Project proponents must ensure the AIP Authority is notified when the plan is submitted to a state or territory, and when a decision on the plan has been made.

AIP Authority

The AIP Authority:

• is the statutory officer responsible for administering the Jobs Act
• evaluates, approves and publishes summaries of AIP plans
• monitors and reports on the implementation of AIP plans
• reports annually to Parliament as part of the Annual Report

AIP plan

An AIP plan ensures Australian entities have full, fair and reasonable opportunity to bid for:

• the supply of key goods and services for the project
• the supply of key goods or services for the new facility’s initial operational phase (if the project involves establishing a new facility)

Your responsibilities

As a project proponent, you must:

1. notify the AIP Authority of your major project
2. complete and submit a draft AIP plan for approval
3. manage and implement the AIP plan by:

• reporting your compliance against the AIP plan to the AIP Authority every six months
• notifying the AIP Authority of any changes in your project
• keeping detailed records

See the links above for templates and guidelines to notify the AIP Authority, submit your plan and report compliance.

Non-compliance

There are a range of consequences that the AIP Authority may exercise in cases where a project proponent does not comply with the Jobs Act or their approved AIP plan. The consequences range from adverse publicity notices to performance and restraining injunctions.

Secrecy

The AIP Authority and staff are bound by the secrecy provisions under Part 9 of the Jobs Act. Any information provided to the AIP Authority will only be dealt with in a manner specified under the Jobs Act or any other Commonwealth Law. Section 107 of the Jobs Act lists the agencies the AIP Authority may disclose information to.

Read more

Find out about current major projects with an AIP plan.

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Contact us

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