Prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Australia enjoyed nearly 30 years of sustained economic growth, with workforce participation at record highs and the government in a strong fiscal position. As a result of this, the Australian economy and labour market were well placed to recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and demonstrated resilience in the face of a major disruption.

As the economy continues to strengthen and moves from the recovery phase into expansion, it is important that workforce challenges are quickly identified and addressed. Challenges such as skills and labour shortages, regional mismatch and new ways of working were already emerging due to increasing globalisation, demographic changes, technological advances, and digitalisation. Many of these have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 disruption to business operations, trade, and labour mobility.

Over the medium to long-term, a strategic approach is required to ensure the labour force is better equipped and more responsive to industry needs and future economic opportunities. The objective of the National Workforce Strategy is to guide targeted action on workforce development across the economy and realise a new vision for Australia’s workforce through to 2027.

It is intended to be used by Australian government agencies when developing sectoral or cross-sectoral workforce strategies, or other workforce measures. The strategy will ensure these strategies are built on a strong evidence base and are coordinated across agencies in line with broader government priorities and actions. To support these objectives, the strategy articulates five principles to guide a coordinated and consistent approach across government:

1. Use data to create transparency of the current and future workforce
2. Equip Australians with in-demand skills and focus employment services on outcomes
3. Remove barriers and disincentives to work
4. Activate industry to design and drive change; and
5. Target migration to fill skills and labour gaps.