The annual Trade and Assistance Review tracks the money governments spend to support private business. This year’s review finds that assistance to Australian industry rose to $13.8 billion in 2021-22 and that it is increasingly being distributed through opaque subsidies and concessions. The increase comes amid a global return to overt industry policy, as fears about supply chain disruptions continue. 

The review also explores two growing sources of industry assistance: concessional finance from government-owned entities and climate change measures that are not achieving our emissions reduction objectives at lowest cost.