The Trade and Assistance Review contains the latest estimates of Australian Government assistance to industry, and provides a summary of developments in industry assistance, trade policy and foreign investment over the past year.

Key findings

• Industry assistance provided by the Commonwealth fell to $15 billion in 2022-23, from $15.2 billion in 2021-22. This reduction was primarily driven by phasing out some of the remaining COVID-19 stimulus measures, rather than a structural decline in the level of industry assistance provided in Australia.
• Recent policy announcements mean that industry assistance is likely to trend upwards over the years ahead, particularly as assistance is provided under the Future Made in Australia (FMIA) program, currently projected to cost $22.7 billion over ten years, begins to flow to industry.
• The move towards industry policy in Australia is part of a broader global trend. Over 2023 around 1800 trade distorting industry policy measures were implemented across both advanced and emerging economies. This potentially reflects the growing normalisation of industry policy in the minds of policy makers.
• Australia now has the fifth largest funds under management position in the world in dollar terms, principally as a result of our superannuation system. Australia has also held a net asset position in equity since 2013 – Australians own more of the world’s shares than overseas investors own Australian shares.