The Australian Government is looking to take advantage of opportunities in the space sector and has established an Expert Review Group which will examine Australia’s current capability and areas of comparative advantage.
Industry Minister Arthur Sinodinos said the government wants to ensure the right framework and mix of incentives are in place to assist Australia’s growing space industry sector to participate successfully in this global market.
"The space industry sector has been growing at a compound annual growth rate of 9.52 per cent from 1998 to 2015, more than three times the annual growth rate of world GDP in the same period," the Minister said.
"Globally, revenue from space-related activities in 2015 was about US$323 billion. I believe that Australia can participate in the global space sector and through development of the technical capability and knowledge required for this demanding sector, we will develop skills to grow other advanced manufacturing industries in Australia."
The Expert Review Group will be chaired by former CSIRO chief executive Dr Megan Clark and include members with a range of interests and experience, including engineers.
The Review should be completed by March 2018 and will specifically address the following matters:
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identifying Australia’s current industry capability and areas of comparative advantage for Australia to develop,
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technologies and practices that promote innovation in both the downstream (users of space technologies) and upstream (providers of space technologies) elements of space activities, particularly in areas of niche capability and competitive advantage,
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Australia’s level of regional engagement and international collaboration, including identifying critical future and existing partnerships,
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identifying capability gaps to support the global competitiveness of Australian firms in the civil space sector,
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strategies to promote Australian firms engaged in the civil space sector, both domestically and internationally,
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risks and opportunities, including ongoing access to space data and associated infrastructure essential to our national interests,
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alignment with other sectors and Australian Government priorities, including Defence and cyber security, and meeting Australia’s international obligations, and
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the most effective institutional arrangements to support the strategic direction of Australia’s space industry
[An illustration of UNSW's ECO cubesat which was successfully launched earlier this year. Image: Jamie Tufrey/UNSW]