Western Australia’s (WA's) prosperity has been shaped by one of the most remarkable resource endowments in the world yet the environment that delivered this prosperity is changing. This report examines how WA can capitalise on emerging opportunities, while at the same time mitigating risks. Drawing on new modelling, scenario analysis and evidence from Australia and abroad, the report explores the contribution that WA’s resources sector makes to the economy, the structural forces reshaping its future and the policy choices available to strengthen resilience and secure long-term value.

A central message emerges: the greatest challenge facing Western Australia is not resource depletion, nor is it whether resources will remain important to the economy. The challenge is ensuring that finite natural resources continue to generate enduring economic, social and fiscal value in a changing world. Future prosperity will depend increasingly on how effectively Western Australia converts resource wealth into broader economic capability, industrial competitiveness, innovation, public value and intergenerational prosperity. The next phase of prosperity will depend less on what the state extracts from the ground and more on how much value it creates from what it extracts.