A New Chapter

Opportunities to seed new industries for 
Queensland over the coming decade



Citation 

Naughtin C,# Moyle C,* Pandey V,* Renando C,* Poruschi L,# 
Torres de Oliveira R,* Doan N,* Schleiger E# (2021). 
A new chapter: Opportunities to seed new industries for 
Queensland over the coming decade. Brisbane, Australia: 
CSIRO and Queensland University of Technology.

# CSIRO staff

* Queensland University of Technology staff

Copyright 

© Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research 
Organisation and Queensland University of Technology 
2021. To the extent permitted by law, all rights are reserved, 
and no part of this publication covered by copyright may be 
reproduced or copied in any form or by any means except 
with the written permission of CSIRO. 

Important disclaimer 

CSIRO and QUT advise that the information contained in 
this publication comprises general statements based on 
scientific research. The reader is advised and needs to be 
aware that such information may be incomplete or unable 
to be used in any specific situation. No reliance or actions 
must therefore be made on that information without 
seeking prior expert professional, scientific and technical 
advice. To the extent permitted by law, CSIRO and QUT 
(including its employees and consultants) excludes all 
liability to any person for any consequences, including 
but not limited to all losses, damages, costs, expenses 
and any other compensation, arising directly or indirectly 
from using this publication (in part or in whole) and any 
information or material contained in it.

CSIRO is committed to providing web accessible 
content wherever possible. If you are having 
difficulties with accessing this document, 
please contact csiro.au/contact.

Acknowledgement 

The authors would like to acknowledge the generous 
contributions of the industry, government and academic 
stakeholders who participated in the interviews held as part 
of this project. We also thank the project team members at 
the Queensland Department of Environment and Science 
for their input, enthusiasm, and guidance in this project. 
The authors would also like to acknowledge the 
Queensland Department of Tourism, Innovation and 
Sport for their co-funding of the Massachusetts Institute 
of Technology’s Regional Entrepreneurship Acceleration 
Program, which supported the development of the 
Longitudinal Australian Business Integrated Intelligence 
(LABii) datavault and the data-driven analytical approaches 
that were used in this report. Finally, the authors would 
like to thank Hien Pham, Alexandra Bratanova and Stefan 
Hajkowicz for their input into the project.

Currency conversions 

All dollar value figures denote Australian dollars unless 
otherwise specified. Conversions were made using the 
annual average exchange rate for a given currency, as 
specified by the Reserve Bank of Australia’s historical 
data. Conversions for forecast values were made using 
the June exchange rate for the year in which the forecast 
was calculated.



Executive summary...................................................................................................................................2

6Introduction.................................................................................................................................................
1 Additive biomanufacturing............................................................................................................10Why Queensland?.............................................................................................................................................................11Challenges and future opportunities..............................................................................................................................13Related industry opportunity areas.................................................................................................................................142 AI-enabled healthcare.....................................................................................................................16Why Queensland?.............................................................................................................................................................17Challenges and future opportunities..............................................................................................................................20Related industry opportunity areas.................................................................................................................................223 Green metal manufacturing.........................................................................................................24Why Queensland?.............................................................................................................................................................25Challenges and future opportunities..............................................................................................................................28Related industry opportunity areas.................................................................................................................................294 Resource recovery technologies...............................................................................................32Why Queensland?.............................................................................................................................................................33Challenges and future opportunities..............................................................................................................................37Related industry opportunity areas.................................................................................................................................385 Microalgal and macroalgal resources.....................................................................................40Why Queensland?.............................................................................................................................................................41Challenges and future opportunities..............................................................................................................................45Related industry opportunity areas.................................................................................................................................466 Agricultural sensors and automation.....................................................................................48Why Queensland?.............................................................................................................................................................49Challenges and future opportunities..............................................................................................................................53Related industry opportunity areas.................................................................................................................................547 Supply chain provenance technologies.................................................................................56Why Queensland?.............................................................................................................................................................57Challenges and future opportunities..............................................................................................................................59Related industry opportunity areas.................................................................................................................................60
Contents



8 Disaster resilience and response technologies...................................................................62Why Queensland?.............................................................................................................................................................64Challenges and future opportunities..............................................................................................................................66Related industry opportunity areas.................................................................................................................................689 Construction technologies...........................................................................................................70Why Queensland?.............................................................................................................................................................71Challenges and future opportunities..............................................................................................................................74Related industry opportunity areas.................................................................................................................................74Conclusions................................................................................................................................................76Appendix: Project methodology....................................................................................................80References..................................................................................................................................................85
Figure 1. Historical and projected (based on historical Queensland growth rate and global growth rate) 
number of GST-registered firms and total full-time equivalent jobs (including direct and indirect jobs) 
in the additive biomanufacturing industry in Queensland..................................................................................................11

Figure 2. Projected share of the total population aged 65 years or over in Queensland (base year = 2017)..................12

Figure 3. Total funding for successful Medical Research Future Fund grant recipients as at 
30 October 2020 by state and territory.................................................................................................................................14

Figure 4. Historical and projected (based on historical Queensland growth rate and global growth rate) 
number of GST-registered firms and total full-time equivalent jobs (including direct and indirect jobs) 
in the AI-enabled healthcare industry in Queensland..........................................................................................................17

Figure 5. Healthcare expenditure as a share of gross domestic product (GDP).................................................................18

Figure 6. Percentage of Queensland population with one or more reported chronic health conditions.......................18

Figure 7. Number of documents uploaded to My Health Record in Queensland, February 2016 to May 2019...............19

Figure 8. Cumulative number of artificial intelligence (AI) companies in Brisbane...........................................................20

Figure 9. Number and amount of current funding for active and closed grants in artificial intelligence 
awarded by the Australian Research Council........................................................................................................................21

Figure 10. Historical and projected (based on historical Queensland growth rate and global growth rate) 
number of GST-registered firms and total full-time equivalent jobs (including direct and indirect jobs) 
in the green metal manufacturing industry in Queensland................................................................................................25

Figures



Figure 11. Landmass with high-quality onshore wind and solar (in million km2) in selected regions............................27

Figure 12. Historical and projected (based on historical Queensland growth rate and global growth rate) 
number of GST-registered firms and total full-time equivalent jobs (including direct and indirect jobs) 
in the resource recovery technologies industry in Queensland..........................................................................................33

Figure 13. Resource recovery rates across selected OECD countries..................................................................................34

Figure 14. Historical and projected (based on historical Queensland growth rate and global growth rate) 
number of GST-registered firms and total full-time equivalent jobs (including direct and indirect jobs) 
in the microalgal and macroalgal resources industry in Queensland.................................................................................41

Figure 15. Estimated potential average microalgae lipid productivity across selected countries, 2014..........................44

Figure 16. Historical and projected (based on historical Queensland growth rate and global growth rate) 
number of GST-registered firms and total full-time equivalent jobs (including direct and indirect jobs) 
in the agricultural sensors and automation industry in Queensland..................................................................................49

Figure 17. Growth in multifactor productivity in agriculture, forestry and fishing and across all 
market sectors in Australia (index, 1994–95 = 100)..............................................................................................................50

Figure 18. Proportion of persons studying a non-school qualification by main field of study........................................51

Figure 19. Historical and projected (based on historical Queensland growth rate and global growth rate) 
number of GST-registered firms and total full-time equivalent jobs (including direct and indirect jobs) 
in the supply chain provenance technologies industry in Queensland...............................................................................57

Figure 20. Historical and projected (based on historical Queensland growth rate and global growth rate) 
number of GST-registered firms and total full-time equivalent jobs (including direct and indirect jobs) 
in the disaster resilience and response technologies industry in Queensland..................................................................63

Figure 21. Estimated economic damage of natural disasters across selected jurisdictions, 2008–17..............................64

Figure 22. Historical and projected (based on historical Queensland growth rate and global growth rate) 
number of GST-registered firms and total full-time equivalent jobs (including direct and indirect jobs) 
in the construction technologies industry in Queensland...................................................................................................71

Figure 23. Number of commencements, completions and in-training for construction trade worker 
apprentices and trainees in Queensland...............................................................................................................................72

Figure 24. Amount of disposed and recovered waste generated in Queensland by waste stream..................................73

Table 1. Standard full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs methodology..........................................................................................81

Table 2. Keywords and connected Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC) 
sub‑division codes used to define firms in the nine knowledge-driven seed industries and their value chain..............82

Tables



 EMERGING KNOWLEDGE-DRIVEN SEED INDUSTRY

DESCRIPTION

Additive biomanufacturing

Using additive manufacturing processes for medical applications to provide 
highly customised body parts, scaffolds or medical devices

AI-enabled healthcare

Leveraging growing capabilities in artificial intelligence (AI) and electronic 
medical records to improve health outcomes and system efficiencies

Green metal manufacturing

Creating new value in the manufacturing and mining sectors by taking 
advantage of the state’s abundant clean energy and mineral resources

Resource recovery technologies

Transforming existing waste streams into higher-value products, diverting 
waste from landfill, and reducing demand on virgin materials

Microalgal and macroalgal resources

Contributing to solving significant global food, water, and emissions 
challenges by using natural resources and local expertise to grow algae

Agricultural sensors and automation

Applying robotics, sensors, and other automation technologies to boost the 
productivity and global competitiveness of the agriculture sector

Supply chain provenance technologies

Building trust and increasing the value of exports by using technologies to 
improve the traceability, transparency and authenticity of supply chains

Disaster resilience and response technologies

Translating existing capabilities in robotics, autonomous systems and data 
analytics to improve preparedness and resilience to disasters

Construction technologies

Reducing safety risks in the construction sector by using assistive 
technologies and maximising off-site automated processing





Executive summary

Queensland’s post-COVID economic recovery and 
transformation depends on being ready for new economic 
opportunities. In a time of significant change and 
disruption, the state has an opportunity to harness its 
strengths in science and technology to position itself 
ahead of the curve. This report was developed by CSIRO 
and the Queensland University of Technology’s Centre for 
Future Enterprise and commissioned by the Queensland 
Department of Environment and Science. It aims to explore 
the areas where Queensland’s scientific and technological 
capabilities overlap with its comparative advantages and 
state priorities, opening up the potential to seed new 
industry opportunities for the state.

Through this work, a set of nine emerging, 
knowledge‑driven seed industries have been identified 
as having potential for strong, sustained jobs growth, if 
supportive ecosystems can be established for them. They 
should not necessarily be viewed as the only opportunities 
or the best opportunities for Queensland, but as additional 
options for policy-makers to consider. Each of the nine 
seed industries presented in this report is defined using a 
holistic approach that considers the social, economic and 
environmental benefits and costs, to support innovation 
and entrepreneurship, investment and job creation 
opportunities and overall economic outputs and exports 
for Queensland.

Emerging knowledge‑driven 
seed industries for 
Queensland out to 2030

The emerging seed industries reflect example strategic 
areas where Queensland has an advantage in successfully 
creating new knowledge-driven industry development 
opportunities for the state, acknowledging that 
opportunities might exist in other areas too. Each seed 
industry was defined by the convergence of supporting 
supply and demand drivers and quantified using an 
innovative data-driven approach that estimated the 
potential the number of firms in each emerging sector. The 
potential job creation opportunities associated with these 
seed industries were also quantified in terms of the number 
of full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs directly employed in the 
seed industry (‘direct FTE jobs’) and indirectly employed in 
industries that form part of the seed industry’s value chain 
(‘indirect FTE jobs’).



Future policy directions 
for knowledge-intensive 
industry development

Each of the nine emerging knowledge-driven seed 
industries will have unique challenges in establishing new 
economic growth and job creation pathways in areas such 
as regulation, public policy, access to skilled workers and 
the cost of enabling technologies. While the challenges 
might be industry-specific, some common themes emerged 
across this cluster of potential seed opportunities:

• There is a need to develop strong business ecosystems 
that consist of mature, established firms, innovative 
start‑ups and cutting-edge researchers, and take 
advantage of Queensland’s comparative strengths in 
attracting larger international firms that are established 
players in these industries.
• Job creation opportunities exist in the transferability of 
skilled workers from existing industries in Queensland, 
particularly those industries at risk of future decline. 
The future workforce of knowledge-driven industries 
will depend upon the right education, training, social 
support and upskilling pathways to support workers in 
translating their capabilities, as well as creating a healthy 
pipeline of new talent and graduates.
• Advanced manufacturing is at the core of many 
emerging knowledge-driven seed industries. Combining 
Queensland’s manufacturing capabilities with its other 
strengths (e.g. geographical, workforce, research resources 
and capabilities, etc.) could give the state a competitive 
edge in these industries, both domestically and globally.
• The domestic markets for some of these sectors are 
small. Government could play a role in seeding initial 
domestic demand for these industries and supporting 
them to scale into export markets, which could open up 
larger market opportunities.
• There is a need for contemporary and adaptive 
regulatory systems. Government could achieve this by 
working with industry and academia to find the right 
balance between mitigating potential future risks and 
encouraging future growth and innovation.
• There are flow-on benefits from the identified knowledge-
driven industries for other emerging and established 
sectors. Growth in these seed industries could bolster 
activities in the firms that form part of each industry’s 
value chain (i.e. through increased demand) or stimulate 
research and development activities and capabilities that 
can be applied in other industrial sectors.


For any of the nine knowledge-driven seed industries 
presented in this report, strong leadership, strategic 
direction and collaboration across government, industry 
and academia will be needed to drive the opportunities 
forward. Instead of relying on incremental changes, these 
industries present opportunities to seed new sources of 
economic growth and job creation for Queensland, driven 
by cutting-edge science, technology and innovation. The 
COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant disruption to the 
Queensland economy and abroad, but with this disruption 
comes an opportunity to set a new strategic direction for 
the state towards a ‘new normal’ for economic development 
that has knowledge at its core.

Number of direct and indirect full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs and firms by 2030 for each knowledge-driven seed industry.



Introduction

Queensland has a strong track record in innovation and 
entrepreneurship, and initiatives such as the Smart State 
Strategy and the current Advance Queensland initiative 
have supported the state in identifying new sources of 
economic growth and job creation. The foundations of 
Queensland’s economy have been underpinned by its 
existing strengths in sectors linked to natural resources, like 
mining, tourism, and agriculture, as well as construction, 
health and education. The state is also institutionally and 
geostrategically positioned to capitalise on innovative 
seed industries connected to these and other areas of 
comparative advantage. 

Advances in enabling technologies, combined with existing 
research capabilities, local, national and international 
market shifts and the emergence of new markets, present 
opportunities for Queensland to seed new industries 
and increase the knowledge-intensification of existing 
or previously dormant industries. By using the existing 
foundational strengths within the state’s innovation 
ecosystem, Queensland has the opportunity to leverage 
its comparative advantages to significantly accelerate the 
growth of key seed sectors and drive new sources of job 
creation and economic prosperity, improve quality of life 
for all Queenslanders and support the state in transitioning 
to a zero-carbon economy.

In 2019, in collaboration with the Queensland 
Department of Environment and Science, CSIRO’s Data61 
published the New Smarts report, which identified 
eight knowledge‑intensive industries that are currently 
emerging across Queensland.1 This report began to draw 
the links between Queensland’s comparative advantages 
in science and research and broader shifts in supply and 
demand, emerging technologies and local, national 
and global markets. Using the original New Smarts 
knowledge‑intensive sectors as a starting point, this report 
aimed to provide a more nuanced view of Queensland’s 
knowledge-intensive economic development opportunities 
and identify a set of specific seed industries that form part 
of these broader emerging industry areas.

This work was conducted by CSIRO and the Queensland 
University of Technology’s (QUT) Centre for Future 
Enterprise and commissioned by the Queensland 
Department of Environment and Science. Each of these nine 
knowledge-driven seed industries present feasible, scalable 
and novel opportunities for Queensland to leverage 
existing, but currently underutilised, innovation and 
knowledge. As Queensland recovers from the impacts of 
the global COVID-19 pandemic, these sectors could present 
opportunities to transition the state into a ‘new normal’ 
and thrive in the face of significant disruption and adversity. 
Importantly, the seed industries explored in this report 
should not be viewed as the only opportunities or the best 
opportunities, but as additional options for consideration 
by Queensland policy-makers. 

Many of these industries reflect sub-sectors to the original 
New Smarts emerging knowledge-intensive sectors. For 
example, additive biomanufacturing and AI-enabled 
healthcare could be considered as part of the previously 
defined ‘personalised and preventative healthcare’ industry, 
which uses technologies such as AI, robotics, sensors and 
3D printing to customise healthcare services and improve 
system efficiency and efficacy and patient outcomes. Other 
sub-sectors were identified across the previously defined 
‘sustainable energy’ and ‘advanced materials and precision 
engineering’ industries (i.e. green metal manufacturing); 
‘circular commodities’ (i.e. resource recovery technologies) 
and ‘advanced agriculture’ (i.e. microalgal and macroalgal 
resources, agricultural sensors and automation and supply 
chain provenance technologies). However, the present 
analysis also uncovered additional opportunity areas 
that extend beyond the original New Smarts industries 
(i.e. disaster resilience and response technologies and 
construction technologies). These industries present new 
opportunities to draw upon Queensland’s research and 
science strengths in response to growing local and global 
market demands.



The nine emerging knowledge-driven seed industries 
presented in this report are: 

• additive biomanufacturing
• artificial intelligence (AI) enabled healthcare
• green metal manufacturing
• resource recovery technologies
• microalgal and macroalgal resources
• agricultural sensors and automation
• supply chain provenance technologies
• disaster resilience and response technologies 
• construction technologies.


Notably, these knowledge-driven seed industries are not 
isolated opportunities. Queensland’s traditional industry 
base in areas such as mining, manufacturing, agriculture 
and construction provides the core foundations for many 
emerging industries. The report highlights the intersection 
between these emerging opportunities, and how these 
industries could support existing resources, industries and 
capabilities. For example, Queensland’s strong agriculture 
sector is a key enabler of various seed industries, such 
as agricultural sensors and automation and supply chain 
provenance technologies. Similarly, the state’s comparative 
advantage in green metal manufacturing stems from 
Queensland’s existing skilled workforce from the mining 
and manufacturing sectors. As such, the emerging 
knowledge-driven seed industries discussed in this report 
will likely be enabled by, and an enabler of, the future 
growth of Queensland’s traditional industries.

The research presented in this report adopts a pragmatic 
mixed-method approach, combining qualitative data, 
insights from key experts and desktop research to 
characterise each knowledge-driven seed industry with an 
innovative data-driven analysis to estimate the potential 
size of each sector by 2030. Each industry opportunity is 
defined by a series of supply and demand drivers, which 
provide signals to the future feasibility and scalability of 
the industry over the coming decade. The size of each seed 
industry in 2019 and 2030 is quantified by the number 
of firms and full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs in that seed 
industry, including persons that are employed directly and 
indirectly (i.e. persons employed in industries that are part 
of the seed industry value chain).

Projected industry growth is juxtaposed with published 
projections of global growth in comparable industries 
and technologies. For example, a higher local growth rate 
may signify a revealed comparative advantage, whilst a 
lower local growth rate may signify a barrier in the local 
industry ecosystem. However, local growth rates may vary 
from global rates for a variety of reasons which are beyond 
the scope of this report. Additionally, the estimates and 
forecasts for each industry are largely based on historical 
figures up until 2019, and as such, they do not take into 
account the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. More recent 
events are, however, considered in the exploration of supply 
and demand trends and drivers for each industry. There is 
also a high degree of uncertainty associated with projecting 
the potential size of future industry opportunities given 
these industries are yet to formally emerge. As such, the 
seed industries presented in this report may take more or 
less than 10 years to reach their commercial potential, and 
this timeframe will depend on a range of factors, including 
the level of strategic investment in the industry from the 
public and private sectors. Please refer to Appendix: Project 
Methodology for further details.

This work aims to provide evidence-based insights to 
inform future strategic decisions around investment, 
industry attraction, diversification and resilience strategies 
for Queensland, particularly in a post-COVID-19 era. 
Many industries have undergone significant disruption, 
and in some cases, accelerated market shifts and digital 
transformation, and the time is right for exploring new 
industry development opportunities for Queensland. 
In doing so, this report not only identifies how these 
emerging knowledge-intensive industries will develop but 
also how these new industries will be engines of economic 
development, fostering the creation of new jobs, growing 
local economies, attracting foreign investment and opening 
up new avenues for future exports.



1 Additive biomanufacturing

Additive biomanufacturing is an emerging field 
that falls at the intersection of engineering, design, 
computer science and medical science. Here additive 
manufacturing approaches (also known as 3D printing) 
are used to design, develop, and manufacture highly 
customised body parts, scaffolds, replacement bone, 
organs or tissue or medical devices. Research into 
this opportunity explores the development of the 
technology and hardware (e.g. 3D multi-material and 
multi-functional bioprinters), the biomaterials used for 
additive biomanufacturing (i.e. ‘bioinks’), 3D scanning 
and modelling of the human body, its cells, tissues and 
organs, and the design and development of innovative 
clinical applications. Additive biomanufacturing is also 
being used to develop personalised and customised 
surgical instruments that clinicians can use to treat a 
range of health conditions or injuries. 

There is strong strategic alignment between additive 
biomanufacturing and other supporting sectors 
like advanced manufacturing and biomedical and 
life sciences, which have been the focus of several 
industry development roadmaps for the Queensland 
Government.2,3 Moreover, Queensland has a rich network 
of research groups and facilities across its university 
and hospital sectors with deep expertise in additive 
biomanufacturing, biofabrication, medical technologies 
and biotechnology, which provide the knowledge base 
needed to grow and develop this industry. A cluster of 
global and local medical technology companies is already 
emerging in South-East Queensland, some of which are 
using additive manufacturing for biomedical applications. 
This cluster could be leveraged to grow Queensland’s 
reputation in this space. Medical technologies and 
advanced manufacturing are also prioritised in 
federal and state government investment, providing 
opportunities to attract new additive biomanufacturing 
firms and capabilities to Queensland and support the 
growth of existing ones.

There were 134 additive biomanufacturing businesses 
in Queensland as at 30 June 2019 and this is projected to 
increase to 636 by 2030 (see Figure 1). These reflect firms 
that directly form part of the additive biomanufacturing 
industry, acknowledging that there will be other firms 
that are associated with this industry’s value chain. These 
businesses are estimated to account for 637 direct FTE jobs 
and 203 indirect FTE jobs in Queensland currently and this 
is predicted to increase to 3,024 direct and 963 indirect 
FTE jobs by 2030 (see Figure 1). These projections are 
based on an adjusted 10‑year average annual growth rate 
of 15.2%. To illustrate the potential growth of this sector 
based on current global growth rates, the number of 
firms and jobs were also forecast using published global 
growth estimates from a comparable or related sector. 
For additive biomanufacturing, the additive manufacturing 
and materials market, which is predicted to grow by 27.5% 
between 2020 and 2025,4 was used as an estimate of global 
growth rates. As shown in Figure 1, the projected growth of 
this industry based on global estimates could be even more 
accelerated if an equivalent rate of change was observed 
in Queensland.

2030

2019

134
businesses

636 
businesses

3,024
direct FTE jobs

963
indirect FTE jobs

637 
direct FTE jobs

203 
indirect FTE jobs



QUEENSLAND’S POTENTIAL ADDITIVE BIOMANUFACTURING INDUSTRY AT A GLANCE

Demand 
drivers

• Rising demand for healthcare services and innovations, driven by an ageing population and rising rates of morbidity
• A growing global precision-medicine market, fuelled by consumer demand for personalised products and services


Supply 
drivers

• Significant federal and state government investment in advanced manufacturing and biomedical sciences
• A thriving network of government, industry, hospital and university partners, including the Herston Biofabrication 
Institute and the Queensland node of MTPConnect
• Advanced research capabilities in additive manufacturing for biomedical purposes and other applications across UQ, 
QUT and Griffith University
• An existing cluster of medical technology firms in South-East Queensland, including Field Orthopaedics, iOrthotics, 
61medical and Oventus Medical


Challenges 
and future 
opportunities

• The need to engage all stakeholders in developing new regulatory processes to ensure they are fit-for-purpose and 
keep pace with technological developments 
• Opportunities to leverage Queensland universities’ access to 3D printers and other hardware needed to develop 
new prototypes and products
• Strong competition domestically in Australia in biomedical research and the need for strong leadership and a clear 
vision and strategy for the industry






Figure 1. Historical and projected (based on historical Queensland growth rate and global growth rate) number of GST-registered 
firms and total full-time equivalent jobs (including direct and indirect jobs) in the additive biomanufacturing industry in Queensland

Note. Years denoted by an asterisk (*) reflect forecasted years.

Why Queensland?



Demand drivers

Ageing population, longer lifespans and rising morbidity. 
Queensland’s population is ageing at an accelerated rate, with 
the number of persons aged 65 years or over projected to 
increase faster than the rest of the population (see Figure 2). 
This trend is observable at the national and international level 
too, particularly in Asian countries. For example, in 2017, 27.1% 
of Japan’s population was aged 65 years or over (versus 15.0% in 
Queensland) and this is expected to increase to 30.9% by 2030 
(17.8% in Queensland).5,6 Improvements in modern medicine 
mean that people are also living longer, with the average life 
expectancy for Australian males being 80.7 years and 84.9 years 
for females (2016–18 figures) – up 4.8 years for males and 3.4 years 
for females over the past 20 years.7 Health risk factors, like rising 
rates of overweight and obese persons,8,9 unhealthy diets10 and 
physical inactivity10 are having a negative impact on health 
outcomes and placing increased strain on the healthcare system. 
As people live longer and as rates of morbidity rise, demand for 
healthcare services and innovations are likely to increase too.

Figure 2. Projected share of the total population aged 65 years 
or over in Queensland (base year = 2017)

Data source: Australian Bureau of Statistics6

Increasing consumer demand for personalised products and 
services. There is evidence of personalisation of products and 
services across a range of industries, including banking, retail, 
hospitality, education, transport and increasingly healthcare. 
Precision-medicine approaches provide opportunities to tailor 
medical treatments to a patient’s unique biological or genetic 
characteristics,11 potentially reducing negative side effects of 
treatment and improving survival and response rate.12 Additive 
manufacturing reflects an emerging area of precision medicine, 
providing opportunities to develop personalised pre-surgical and 
surgical tools, implants, synthetic organs, and drugs customised 
to a patient’s needs and condition.13 Precision medicine has 
been enabled by advances in key technologies, such as genome 
sequencing, AI, and enhanced computing power and connectivity.12 
The declining cost of 3D printing is also favouring additive 
manufacturing over traditional methods, including its use for 
biomedical applications.14 The global precision healthcare market 
is set to grow substantially in coming years, with the market 
value expected to increase from $57 billion in 2019 to $119 billion 
by 2026.15 North America currently makes up the leading share 
(40%) of this market, followed by the Asia Pacific region (21%).15

Supply drivers

Government investment in advanced manufacturing 
and biomedical sciences. Advanced manufacturing has 
attracted significant public investment in Australia, with 
the Australian Government allocating $100 million to the 
Advanced Manufacturing Fund in 2017–18, which aimed 
to support advanced manufacturing innovation, research, 
development and training opportunities for manufacturing 
businesses.16 The Queensland Government has also 
committed $50 million to support local manufacturing of 
medical supplies as part of the state’s strategy to recover 
from COVID-19.17 For biomedical sciences, the Australian 
Government invested $5 million in the 10-year Medical 
Research Future Fund in 2015 to support a broad range of 
health and medical research, innovation and translation 
activities.18 The return on this investment in medical 
technologies is already apparent, with up to $20 million 
in savings from the health budget due to be reinvested 
in this fund by 2020–21.18 The Australian Government 
has also invested $250 million as part of the $501 million 
Biomedical Translation Fund to develop and commercialise 
biomedical discoveries, with the remaining $251 sourced 
from private‑sector capital.19 These and other funding pools 
could be leveraged by researchers and companies working 
in additive biomanufacturing to develop this opportunity 
in Queensland.

A network of government, industry, hospital and 
university partners. Queensland has access to high‑calibre 
hospitals, a highly skilled healthcare workforce and a 
strong culture of collaboration between Queensland 
hospitals and universities. Example collaborations include 
the Herston Biofabrication Institute – Australia’s first 
biofabrication institute – which is a multidisciplinary 
partnership between The University of Queensland (UQ) 
and the Metro North Hospital and Health Service that 
specialises in 3D scanning, modelling and printing of 
medical devices, bone, cartilage and human tissue.20 
Queensland hospitals are also actively driving 
Queensland’s research into additive biomanufacturing and 
biofabrication. The Prince Charles Hospital’s Queensland 
Cardio‑Respiratory Biofabrication Centre, for example, 
researches biomaterials and biomedical engineering 
applications for critically ill patients.21 MTPConnect, 
the national growth centre for the medical technology, 
biotechnology and pharmaceutical sector, has a node 
in Queensland, located at the Translational Research 
Institute.22 This node provides training and manufacturing 
facilities to translate early-stage clinical discoveries and 
products into clinical human trials.22



Strong research capabilities in additive 
biomanufacturing. QUT’s capabilities in additive 
biomanufacturing are housed within the Institute of 
Health and Biomedical Innovation and the Australian 
Research Council (ARC) Industrial Transformation 
Training Centre in Additive Biomanufacturing. These 
centres develop advanced bioprinters and bioinks, and 
use additive manufacturing to develop customised and 
personalised biomedical applications.23 Researchers 
at UQ’s Australian Institute for Bioengineering and 
Nanotechnology also work in a range of bioengineering 
and advanced biomanufacturing fields.24 Griffith 
University has established the Advanced Design and 
Prototyping Technologies Institute, which applies 3D digital 
scanning and 3D functional modelling and prototyping 
for biomedical and other industrial applications.25 The 
establishment of this facility was a critical aspect in 
attracting global 3D-printing technology company, 
Materialise, to relocate its Australian headquarters 
from Sydney to the Gold Coast.26 Griffith University also 
specialises in modelling and simulating personalised 
‘digital twins’ to explore the functioning of human cells, 
tissues and organs, and uses additive manufacturing to 
print therapeutic devices and bioengineered scaffolds to 
repair tissues.27

South-East Queensland cluster of medical technology 
firms. Queensland is home to a number of medical 
technology companies. Field Orthopaedics designs, 
develops and manufactures surgical tools for orthopaedic 
practice.28 iOrthotics uses 3D printing and advanced design 
software to produce custom orthotics that are tailored to 
a patient’s requirements.29 Other Queensland companies 
include 61medical, a subsidiary of Swiss-based 41medical, 
which develops and produces medical devices. This 
company was established through an agreement between 
the Queensland Government, 41medical and 61medical, 
and is designed to draw upon 41medical’s international 
knowledge and networks to develop Queensland’s local 
medical technology sector.30 Oventus Medical, another 
global company with its Australian headquarters in 
Queensland, supplies 3D-printed oral devices for people 
suffering from sleep apnea.31 Finally, Stryker, a global 
medical technology company that develops a diverse 
range of medical and surgical equipment, orthopaedic, 
neurotechnological and spinal products and services, also 
has a Brisbane office.32 

Challenges and future opportunities

Engaging stakeholders and managing the pace of 
technology development and regulation. In the last 
two decades, rapid advances in technology and materials 
science have delivered significant benefits to the health 
sector, however, regulatory frameworks have not kept 
the same pace of growth. Additive biomanufacturing 
applications are unfamiliar territory for regulators, which 
presents significant uncertainties for translating these 
products into routine clinical practice.33 The Australian 
Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) currently has 
limited oversight over custom-made medical devices, 
including 3D-printed devices, which can be exempt from 
stringent regulatory processes if they do not contain 
biological matter.33 The TGA has proposed changes to the 
regulatory framework to better categorise the different 
types of personalised medical devices and reduce potential 
risks for patients.34 Greater standardisation of the language 
and terminology used by the industry would assist in 
improving the regulatory processes around additive 
biomanufacturing.33 A balance also needs to be struck 
between promoting innovation and ensuring patient 
safety and efficacy, and this is likely to be best achieved 
by engaging all stakeholders (e.g. industry, academia and 
consumers) in developing new regulatory processes.33

Optimising access to expertise and hardware for 
developing prototypes and products. Access to 3D printers 
is a necessary prerequisite for additive biomanufacturing 
and a key challenge for companies looking to develop new 
prototypes and products. In developing new products, 
researchers and developers need access to a range of 
printers to trial different approaches and this would be 
a significant cost for small-to-medium-sized businesses. 
The university sector has access to a diverse range of 3D 
printers, and the researchers, designers and engineers 
who can build the software needed to control them. 
But much of the great design and engineering work 
in additive biomanufacturing currently happening in 
Queensland universities is not being commercialised. 
Experts suggested that Queensland universities could 
establish a platform model wherein businesses could 
develop and scale their products in collaboration with 
universities, drawing upon their expertise and facilities. 



Competing with southern states for research 
funding. Despite Queensland’s strengths in additive 
biomanufacturing research and other medical technology 
areas, the state has not been as successful as other 
Australian states in attracting funding for medical 
research (see Figure 3). As at 30 October 2020, Victorian 
institutions and organisations had received the largest 
share of funding from the Medical Research Future Fund 
(41.9%), with 15.9% allocated to Queensland. Experts felt 
more decisive leadership from government, academia 
and industry is needed to improve the sector’s access to 
federal government investment in medical research and 
technology. Experts also felt the current level of funding 
is not sufficient to grow this industry development 
opportunity, nor to support the university sector and 
businesses to design, develop and commercialise novel 
solutions using additive biomanufacturing. Strong 
leadership would help the sector develop a clear vision and 
a strategy for how additive biomanufacturing could make a 
positive contribution to the hospitals of the future.

Figure 3. Total funding for successful Medical Research Future 
Fund grant recipients as at 30 October 2020 by state and territory

Source: Australian Government Department of Health35

Note. ‘Other’ reflects the summation of Australian Capital 
Territory, Tasmania, Northern Territory and multi-state grants.

Attracting and training skilled workers to support additive 
biomanufacturing. Queensland has a strong engineering 
and manufacturing skilled workforce, with 160,695 persons 
employed in manufacturing (6.6% of the labour force) and 
175,332 employed in professional, scientific and technical 
services (7.2%) as of August 2020.36 However, few of these 
skilled workers are focused on biomedical applications. This 
ready-made talent pool has transferrable skills that could 
be applied in additive biomanufacturing, but a structured, 
coordinated approach is needed to support this workforce 
in transitioning their capabilities for the biomedical sector.37 
Queensland is an attractive location for highly educated, 
globally mobile scientists, engineers and innovators to live 
and work,37 and experts emphasised that these positive 
lifestyle qualities could be leveraged to attract new 
domestic and international additive biomanufacturing talent 
to the state. The post-COVID-19 environment and Australia’s 
relative success in controlling the spread of the virus (ranked 
in eighth place out of 98 countries38) could also present 
opportunities for the country, including Queensland, to 
attract prospective international students and workers in 
relevant capability domains.39

Related industry opportunity areas

• AI-enabled healthcare: common drivers through the 
rising demand for healthcare services and opportunities 
provided by the broader precision-medicine market
• Green metal manufacturing: potential reciprocal 
benefits of growing capabilities in advanced 
manufacturing and flow-on effects of clean energy 
developments for additive biomanufacturing
• Resource recovery technologies: opportunities to 
support existing resource recovery efforts by minimising 
waste in production and reusing materials in additive 
manufacturing applications
• Healthcare: opportunities to support the healthcare 
sector in managing future demand whilst improving 
population health outcomes through the personalisation 
of care
• Advanced manufacturing: additive biomanufacturing 
forms part of Queensland’s broader development of its 
advanced manufacturing capabilities




2 AI-enabled healthcare

AI can be defined as a collection of computational methods 
that process data and elicit information from solving 
problems or completing tasks, sometimes without explicit 
guidance from a human being.40 It covers fields such as 
machine learning, computer vision, natural language 
processing robotics and others.40 AI is increasingly being 
applied in healthcare given the growth in data volumes 
from electronic medical records, wearable devices, imaging 
and genomics.41 This technology can be used to provide 
insights from the cellular to the societal level, identifying 
disease-causing genes, automating the screening of 
medical conditions, organising clinical data, identifying 
disease biomarkers and detecting abnormalities in patient 
behaviours through remote monitoring systems, amongst 
many other applications.41

Queensland has access to comprehensive clinical data 
through its integrated electronic medical record (ieMR), 
along with its high-quality healthcare system and strong 
translational research institutions and facilities. These 
comparative advantages put the state in a robust position 
to explore future AI-enabled healthcare opportunities. 
AI provides opportunities to use data more intelligently – 
whether that be clinical data, data collected from patient 
devices or apps, or data collected from researchers – to 
improve the efficiency of the healthcare system, reduce 
costs and improve health outcomes for the people of 
Queensland and beyond. While there is a growing cluster of 
AI companies in Brisbane which are using AI for healthcare 
applications, experts consulted for this report felt AI-
enabled healthcare is an underutilised opportunity for 
Queensland that has strong future potential.

There were 247 AI-enabled healthcare businesses in 
Queensland as at 30 June 2019, and this is projected to 
increase to 577 by 2030 (see Figure 4). These could include 
AI firms that are applying their capabilities in healthcare 
as well as other domains, or exclusively working in 
healthcare. These businesses are estimated to account 
for 1,174 direct FTE jobs and 3,673 indirect FTE jobs for 
Queensland currently and this is predicted to increase 
to 2,740 direct and 8,575 indirect FTE jobs by 2030 (see 
Figure 4). These projections are based on an adjusted 
10-year average annual growth rate in firms of 7.2%. To 
illustrate the potential growth of this sector based on 
current global growth rates, the number of firms and 
jobs were also forecast using published global growth 
estimates. Some estimates suggest that the global market 
for AI in healthcare is expected to grow at a compound 
annual global rate of 41.5% from 2019 to 2025,42 with 
others predicting a rate of 44.9% from 2020 to 2026.43 The 
average of these figures was used to inform the estimate 
of global growth rates. As seen in Figure 4, the rate of 
growth in this industry would be exponentially greater if 
Queensland kept pace with global changes relative to the 
current growth trajectory.

2019

2030

577 
businesses

247
businesses

1,174 
direct FTE jobs

3,673 
indirect FTE jobs

2,740
direct FTE jobs

8,575
indirect FTE jobs



QUEENSLAND’S POTENTIAL AI-ENABLED HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY AT A GLANCE

Demand 
drivers

• An increasingly strained healthcare budget and the need to identify opportunities to flatten the expenditure curve 
whilst improving health outcomes
• The potential to use AI to customise medical treatments for chronic conditions to specific individuals and predict the 
future risk of disease 


Supply 
drivers

• Diverse and strong research capabilities in health, biomedical science and AI, and emerging innovative 
collaborations with industry which combine these strengths
• Significant federal and state public investment in AI and digital health, including the establishment of the 
Queensland AI Hub
• A rich data resource through the ieMR, which could be used to develop AI tools that support better patient and 
system outcomes
• A strong, trusted, high-quality healthcare system, which could be leveraged in digital health initiatives
• A growing cluster of AI start-ups in Brisbane, including Datarwe, Maxwell Plus, Biarri Health and Max Kelson, which 
are using AI for healthcare applications


Challenges 
and future 
opportunities

• Raising awareness around potential AI applications by improving the AI literacy of leaders, clinical and non-clinical 
staff and adopting an ‘AI First’ strategy
• Managing privacy risks by establishing a set of ethical principles for AI in healthcare, which considers fairness, 
transparency, explainability and trustworthiness
• Tapping into a larger international market by partnering across government, industry and academia in significant, 
high-reward projects
• Strategic investment in basic and applied AI research to build the knowledge and capabilities needed to grow AI-
enabled industry opportunities






Figure 4. Historical and projected (based on historical Queensland growth rate and global growth rate) number of GST‑registered 
firms and total full-time equivalent jobs (including direct and indirect jobs) in the AI-enabled healthcare industry in Queensland

Note. Years denoted by an asterisk (*) reflect forecasted years.

Why Queensland?



Demand drivers

Increasingly strained healthcare budgets. Healthcare 
systems across Australia and globally are increasingly 
strained by a growing demand for healthcare, as reflected 
by rising healthcare expenditure. The healthcare budget for 
Queensland in 2019–20 was $19.2 billion, which reflects a 
$1.1 billion increase from the previous year, and the state’s 
healthcare expenditure has been increasing at a faster rate 
than its population (average annual growth of 6% versus 
1.6% from 2008–18, respectively).44,45 Although Australia’s 
healthcare expenditure as a share of gross domestic 
product (GDP) (9.3% in 2019) is below other healthcare 
systems such as the United States (17% of GDP spent on 
healthcare in 2019) and the United Kingdom (10.3%), it has 
been growing at a faster rate than the OECD average (see 
Figure 5). Increasing demand for healthcare services is being 
driven largely by changes in treatment patterns (accounting 
for 48–50% of growth), followed by the demographic shift 
caused by an ageing population (35–44% of growth).46,47 
Flattening the healthcare expenditure curve and improving 
health outcomes are key motivators for digital innovations 
in healthcare. 

Figure 5. Healthcare expenditure as a share of gross domestic 
product (GDP)

Data source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and 
Development48

Growing burden of chronic conditions. The proportion 
of Queenslanders who have at least one chronic health 
condition has been increasing (see Figure 6), with the 
most common conditions in Australia being cardiovascular 
disease, cancer, chronic respiratory conditions, chronic 
musculoskeletal conditions, diabetes and mental health 
conditions.49 Chronic conditions can have a significant 
impact on quality of life, productivity and healthcare 
costs.50,51 Lifestyle and behavioural factors, like smoking, 
obesity, physical inactivity and unhealthy diets, can 
increase the risk of chronic illness,52 and many of these 
conditions can be prevented, reduced or improved through 
appropriate behavioural and environmental changes.50 
AI, combined with access to big data, provides 
opportunities to improve the customisation of clinical 
recommendations using longitudinal patient and 
population-level data.53 AI could also be used for 
preventative purposes, using patient data, combined with 
data from health-monitoring apps and devices and genetic 
information, to predict future risk of disease.

Figure 6. Percentage of Queensland population with one or 
more reported chronic health conditions

Data source: Australian Bureau of Statistics9



Supply drivers

Research capabilities in health, biomedical science 
and AI research. Queensland has a diverse base of 
world‑class health and biomedical research institutes, 
facilities and hospitals, which provides the foundations 
for understanding human health, disease and therapeutic 
interventions. According to the latest Excellence in 
Research for Australia outcomes, 9 out of Queensland’s 
11 universities were rated ‘above’ or ‘well above’ world 
standards for medical and health sciences.54 Queensland 
is also home to translational research institutes, such as 
the QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute and the 
Translational Research Institute, along with hospitals that 
are actively collaborating with Queensland universities 
and/or local companies. For example, QIMR Berghofer has 
partnered with Brisbane-based AI technology company, 
Max Kelson, precision analytics firm, genomiQa, and 
genome sequencing company, BGI Australia, along with 
the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital in a $2.6 million 
project aimed at using AI and whole-genome sequencing 
to predict patient outcomes of cancer treatment.55,56 CSIRO’s 
Australian e-Heath Research Centre has also applied AI, 
in collaboration with Queensland Health and a range of 
Queensland universities and health services, to improve the 
scheduling of elective surgery, predict hospital demand and 
patient deterioration, enhance clinical decision-making and 
support the early diagnosis of clinical disorders.41

Government investment in AI and digital health. 
In April 2020, the Queensland AI Hub was launched, 
which was supported by a $5.5 million investment 
from the Queensland Government.57 UQ and QUT are 
founding partners in the hub, alongside a consortium 
of private‑sector partners and members, which aims to 
bring together capabilities in AI and support businesses in 
adopting AI and attracting AI talent to Queensland.57 While 
the hub has a broad focus, it could support Queensland 
in building its national and international reputation in 
AI-enabled healthcare. The Australian Government has 
also recently announced a $19 million investment over the 
next 3 years from 2019–20 for medical research projects 
using AI to prevent, diagnose and treat health conditions, 
acknowledging the critical role that AI will play in the future 
healthcare system.58 This follows on from the Australian 
Government’s previous $55 million investment in the 
$229 million Digital Health Cooperative Research Centre 
(CRC).59 This CRC is supporting a new project between 
Queensland Health, UQ and the Healthcare Information 
and Management Systems Society, which aims to develop 
a digital health roadmap for Queensland and measure the 
system’s current digital ability.60 This roadmap may provide 
valuable strategic direction for Queensland’s future AI 
directions in healthcare.

Queensland’s advanced digital health records. 
The volume, velocity and variety of healthcare data is 
growing at a rapid pace,61 and the digitisation of medical 
records is making this data more accessible for quality 
and system improvements.61 The number of documents 
uploaded to My Health Record, the national digital health 
record, in Queensland has grown exponentially since 
the system was introduced (see Figure 7). Queensland 
is leading nationally with its $376 million rollout of the 
ieMR, which aims to improve access to longitudinal patient 
information, system efficiency and collaboration between 
healthcare providers.62,63 To date, the ieMR has been rolled 
out across 14 hospitals and health centres in Queensland,64 
and with the soon-to-be-completed ieMR rollout in Metro 
North Health, Queensland will have the most extensive 
electronic medical record in the southern hemisphere. 
PricewaterhouseCoopers estimates that the initial ieMR 
rollout across five Queensland hospitals generated $181 
million in financial and economic benefits.65 The ieMR 
offers a rich data record, providing Queensland with a 
unique advantage in developing AI tools to support better 
system and patient outcomes.

Figure 7. Number of documents uploaded to My Health Record 
in Queensland, February 2016 to May 2019

Data source: Primary Health Network66



A trusted, high-quality healthcare system. Australia’s 
healthcare system is among the best in the world, 
second only to the United Kingdom out of 11 countries 
for overall system performance.67 Australia’s reputation 
for quality healthcare, along with its strong health and 
medical research sector, positions the country – including 
Queensland – in a competitive position to take up the 
opportunities provided by digital health.68 With the 
growing pressures placed on the healthcare system, 
there is a growing imperative to utilise technology 
better to continue to deliver the same high standards 
of care. According to Australia’s National Digital Health 
Initiative, digital health is an underutilised opportunity 
for the Australian healthcare system, which, if leveraged, 
could boost the economy through the creation of 
skilled knowledge-intensive jobs, increase advanced 
manufacturing capabilities in high-value sensors, 
wearables, connected devices and software products, 
and strengthen sovereign resilience and capabilities of 
the healthcare system.68 Improving the efficiency of the 
healthcare system through digital health also has the 
potential to reduce healthcare costs.

Growing cluster of AI start-ups, some with a healthcare 
focus. Brisbane’s AI scene has grown rapidly in the 
past couple of decades (see Figure 8). A subset of these 
companies are focused specifically on AI applications in 
healthcare, including Maxwell Plus, which is using AI to 
analyse data for the early detection of prostate cancer.69 
Other companies include Max Kelson, which is using AI in 
the context of cancer treatment selection (see Strengths 
in health, biomedical science and AI research driver 
above),55,56 and Datarwe, which develops medical research 
platforms for data on acute-care patients that can be 
used to develop AI-enabled clinical diagnostic tools.70 
Finally, Biarri Health is using AI algorithms to increase the 
efficiency of hospitals and has developed tools to improve 
the rostering of staff, optimise pathology sample deliveries 
and predict the risk of hospital re-admissions and patient 
costs from the time of admission.71 The future growth of 
these and other AI-healthcare start-ups are supported by 
IntelliHQ, a Queensland-based not-for-profit organisation 
that is focused on supporting research, investment and 
commercialisation of AI applications in healthcare,72 along 
with the Queensland Government’s recent investment in 
the Queensland AI Hub.57

Figure 8. Cumulative number of artificial intelligence (AI) 
companies in Brisbane

Source: Biarri73

Challenges and future opportunities

Raising awareness around possibilities of AI. Demand 
for AI healthcare solutions is currently low and experts 
noted that there is a lack of awareness amongst clinicians 
around what is possible with AI. While the majority of 
Australian healthcare workers have high levels of basic 
digital literacy,74 experts felt AI literacy is limited amongst 
clinical and non-clinical workers. AI literacy is a necessary 
prerequisite for the adoption of AI and the realisation 
of the benefits that these technologies can provide.75 
Government could play a role in improving the AI literacy 
of leaders, clinical and non-clinical staff by offering a 
comprehensive AI-literacy program that covers data 
governance principles, basic statistics and algorithmic 
decision making, data visualisation and storytelling, 
and provides an understanding of how business and 
clinical processes could be impacted by AI.75 Experts also 
suggested that the Queensland Government could adopt 
an ‘AI First’ strategy to accelerate AI adoption in healthcare 
and beyond, similar to the Digital 1st strategy, which aimed 
to accelerate the design, development and delivery of 
digital government services.76



Managing data privacy, ethics and governance. 
Electronic medical records contain highly sensitive data 
and information that needs to be managed appropriately 
to protect the privacy of individual health consumers and 
service providers. There have been several unfortunate 
events in Australia where health data has been breached, 
such as a 2016 incident where a sample of de-identified 
Medicare and Pharmaceutical Benefits claims were released 
for medical research and policy development purposes, 
but the Medicare service providers associated with this 
data could be re-identified.77 Managing biases, data 
privacy and consumer and clinician trust are three major 
ethical challenges facing AI applications in healthcare.78 
The Australian Government has developed a set of eight 
voluntary principles that should be considered when 
designing, developing, integrating and using AI systems, 
such as the fairness, transparency and explainability of the 
AI system and the accountability of those responsible for 
developing the AI system.79 Government could establish a 
set of AI ethical principles for healthcare specifically, which 
also considers the trustworthiness of AI systems, ensuring 
that both clinicians and health consumers have sufficient 
understanding of how the AI system works to build trust in 
the technology.78

Commercialising AI-enabled healthcare solutions. 
As the local market for AI-enabled healthcare is small, 
it would be advantageous to focus on international 
export opportunities in developing this industry. The 
global digital‑health market was valued at approximately 
$104 billion in 2019 and this is predicted to increase to 
$678 billion by 2027.80 Experts saw value in leveraging 
Queensland’s existing strengths in access to medical data 
through the ieMR to identify commercial opportunities that 
use AI to detect disease or identify areas for efficiency gains 
in hospitals. A number of these technological solutions 
already exist in the research sector in Queensland, but they 
are yet to be commercialised. International institutions, 
such as the industry-funded Cambridge Centre for AI in 
Medicine, have been successful in developing a portfolio 
of areas where AI is used to better understand and 
treat complex diseases, personalise care and establish 
next‑generation approaches to clinical trials.81 Experts felt 
that the commercialisation of Queensland’s AI applications 
in healthcare will require strong partnerships between 
government, industry and academia, and the courage to 
invest in projects that may be high-risk, but which have the 
potential for significant pay-offs.

Figure 9. Number and amount of current funding for active and closed grants in artificial intelligence awarded by the Australian 
Research Council 

Data source: Australian Research Council82

Note. Grants for inclusion were those that correspond to the following research field codes: 801 (artificial intelligence and image 
processing) and 802 (artificial intelligence and signal and image processing).



Investing strategically in Australian AI-research to 
catch up with other countries. Funding for AI research in 
Australia has fluctuated over the past few decades, peaking 
at $36.4 million in 2014, which included a $20.6 million 
investment in the ARC Centre of Excellence for Robotic 
Vision at QUT (see Figure 9). The average ARC funding 
for AI research since then has been approximately 
$16.5 million per year.82 This level of investment in basic AI 
research lags behind other countries, such as the United 
States, which has recently announced an $80 million 
investment in AI, which will go towards the establishment 
of five AI-research institutes under the National Science 
Foundation.83 Australia also ranks in tenth place in terms of 
the number of patent families relating to machine learning, 
with 295 patents filed in Australia as at 2018, compared 
to other leading countries like China (26,758), the United 
States (8,064) and South Korea (1,823).84 Comparatively 
low investment in basic and applied AI research by global 
standards presents a challenge for Australia, and indeed 
Queensland, in growing its AI-enabled industries. Strategic 
investment and focused AI-related research activities will 
be needed to expand the knowledge base and capabilities 
needed to grow AI-enabled industry opportunities, 
including AI applications in healthcare.

Related industry opportunity areas

• Additive biomanufacturing: common drivers 
through the rising demand for healthcare services 
and opportunities provided by the broader 
precision‑medicine market
• Disaster resilience and response technologies: 
opportunities to use AI in health-related responses to 
natural disasters and in managing acute increases in 
demand for healthcare services in crises
• Resource recovery technologies: using AI to support 
waste-reduction efforts in healthcare, particularly in key 
priority waste streams like single-use plastics
• Healthcare: opportunities to use AI to improve 
health outcomes, reduce wasteful or low-value 
healthcare practices and provide services in a more 
cost-effective manner
• Advanced manufacturing: supporting advanced 
manufacturing capabilities needed in developing 
robots to assist in the delivery of healthcare services 
and operations




3 Green metal manufacturing

Green metals are manufactured using energy from 
renewable sources (e.g. wind, solar, hydropower, 
hydrogen), a process which has the potential to reduce 
or eliminate carbon emissions associated with metal 
manufacturing.85,86 Queensland’s natural strengths in 
having abundant raw commodities, access to renewable 
energy sources and capabilities in advanced manufacturing 
provide the state with a strong national, and potentially 
global, comparative advantage for green metal 
manufacturing. Although Australia is a leading producer 
of the two key inputs required in steel manufacturing, 
namely metallurgical coal and iron ore,86 it only produces 
around 0.3% of the world’s steel.87 Australia is also the 
world’s largest producer of aluminium ore (bauxite) and 
the second-largest producer of alumina (the raw material 
used in aluminium smelters), but only 15% of this alumina 
is processed locally into aluminium.85 High labour costs 
have traditionally limited Australia’s global competitiveness 
in metal manufacturing, but access to cheap renewable 
energy could improve its cost-competitiveness for green 
metal manufacturing.86 Similar low-carbon-intensity 
manufacturing opportunities could exist for metals needed 
to power clean energy technologies.85

While 100% renewable energy is the optimal endpoint for 
green metal manufacturing, other energy sources may 
be needed to support the transition towards net‑zero 
emissions. For example, steel could be produced using 
natural gas instead of coal, which is estimated to reduce 
the amount of emissions by 50%.86 As the industry 
develops and as technologies improve, there will likely 
be opportunities to increase the share of clean energy 
production to remain globally competitive. National or 
global shifts away from carbon-intensive energy sources 
could pose a significant risk to future revenue streams for 
Queensland’s economy given it is a major exporter of fossil 
fuels, but this transition also presents opportunities to 
grow and develop new, low‑emissions or zero-emissions 
industries. With global demand for industrial metals 
continuing to rise and a growing imperative to insure 
against the risk of declining demand for high-emitting 
industries, this opportunity presents an attractive area for 
industry development in Queensland. 

There were 523 green metal manufacturing businesses 
in Queensland as at 30 June 2019 and this is projected to 
increase to 2,413 by 2030 (see Figure 10). These reflect firms 
that directly form part of the green metal manufacturing 
industry, acknowledging that there will be other firms that 
are associated with the seed industry’s value chain, which 
also create economic and employment opportunities. 
These businesses are estimated to account for 2,485 direct 
FTE jobs and 896 indirect FTE jobs for Queensland currently 
and this is predicted to increase to 11,466 direct and 4,133 
indirect FTE jobs by 2030 (see Figure 10). These projections 
are based on an adjusted 10-year average annual growth 
rate of 13.3% over the next 10 years. The total jobs estimate 
for 2030 (15,599) is similar to other estimates provided by 
the Grattan Institute for green metal manufacturing in 
Queensland (i.e. 15,000 jobs).86 

To illustrate the potential growth of this sector based on 
current global growth rates, the number of firms and jobs 
were forecast using insights derived from published global 
growth estimates from a comparable or related sector. 
In this case, the World Wide Fund for Nature predicts that 
wind and solar energy production will increase by 5% per 
year out to 2050.88 Global primary materials use is projected 
to increase by 1.5% per year between 2011 and 2060,89 with 
the aluminium industry specifically growing by 1.6% per 
year from 2020 to 2050.90 Moreover, renewable energy 
technologies can use up to five times more copper than 
their conventional counterparts, meaning that the rise of 
green energy initiatives could spark major growth in the 
global copper market, which is expected to grow at a 2.6% 
compound annual growth rate from 2018 to 2027.91 The 
average of these figures was used to inform the estimate 
of global growth rates, which, as shown in Figure 10, is 
predicted to grow at a slower rate than the historical 
Queensland growth rate.

2019

2030

2,413 
businesses

523
businesses

2,485 
direct FTE jobs

896 
indirect FTE jobs

11,466
direct FTE jobs

4,133
indirect FTE jobs



QUEENSLAND’S POTENTIAL AI-ENABLED HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY AT A GLANCE

Demand 
drivers

• A global push to decarbonise the economy, driven by consumers, public policy and private enterprises
• Demand for low-emissions products, including green metals, from the construction, manufacturing, renewable 
energy and e-mobility sectors
• Large global steelmakers, such as Baowu and SSAB, exploring opportunities to eliminate emissions from metal 
manufacturing using hydrogen instead of coal
• Declining costs of renewable energy, hydrogen fuel cells and hydrogen storage


Supply 
drivers

• Strong research capabilities in green and low-carbon metals and supporting capabilities in renewable energy and 
advanced manufacturing
• A ready-made workforce for green metal manufacturing in Central Queensland, with opportunities to transition 
workers from coal mining to metal smelting
• Abundant access to renewable energy sources including wind, solar and hydropower
• Opportunities for green steel and aluminium manufacturing (both of which have a sizeable carbon footprint), 
and other metals needed for clean energy technologies
• State and national government initiatives to enhance renewable hydrogen production and build a hydrogen industry 
in Queensland and Australia


Challenges 
and future 
opportunities

• High costs of green metals and technical barriers to scaling the industry could be addressed through ‘demand–pull’ 
public policy and a green-steel flagship project
• Position the state to be nationally and globally competitive through strong leadership that leverages Queensland’s 
comparative strengths






Figure 10. Historical and projected (based on historical Queensland growth rate and global growth rate) number of GST-registered 
firms and total full-time equivalent jobs (including direct and indirect jobs) in the green metal manufacturing industry in Queensland

Note. Years denoted by an asterisk (*) reflect forecasted years.

Why Queensland?



Demand drivers

Global push to decarbonise the economy. A strong driver 
of green metal manufacturing is national and global 
commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. As a 
signatory of the 2015 United Nations’ Paris Agreement, 
Australia along with many other countries has committed 
to keeping global average temperatures below 2 °C 
above pre-industrial levels and limit increases above 
1.5 °C.92 The Queensland Government, as with all other 
states and territories, has also committed to reaching 
net-zero emissions by 2050 and reducing 2005 level 
emissions by at least 30% by 2030.93 This movement to 
decarbonise the economy is supported by the public, 
with a 2020 survey finding that 75% of Australian 
respondents support the 2050 net-zero emissions target 
and 81% support the accelerated development of new 
industries and jobs powered by renewable energy.94 Since 
metals like aluminium are key inputs into high-end and 
advanced industries such as electronics and cars, major 
transnational companies have also made commitments 
to use a lower‑emissions product along their global value 
chains (see Industries demanding low emissions products 
driver below), and these companies will likely be willing to 
purchase low-to-zero carbon emissions materials.

Industries demand low-emissions products. Metals 
are critical inputs to industries like construction, 
manufacturing, renewable energy and e-mobility, many 
of which are taking action to become carbon neutral. 
For example, the Australian Building Codes Board is 
exploring potential changes to the National Construction 
Code in 2022, which would serve to reduce energy use in 
buildings and the associated greenhouse gas emissions.95 
The constructions sector also has several voluntary 
standards for sustainability in built environments (e.g. the 
National Australian Built Environment Rating System),96 
or net-zero emissions buildings (e.g. Green Star).97 Major 
car manufacturers have also made ambitious emissions-
reduction targets, with Volkswagen aiming to have a 
carbon-neutral fleet by 2050,98 and Daimler committing 
to all new car sales being carbon neutral by 2039.99 The 
global energy transition and increased uptake of renewable 
energy technologies will also fuel demand for low- and 
zero‑emissions metals.100 Global demand for major metals 
is set to double or triple from 2010 levels by 2050,101 
and without significant changes in the way metals are 
manufactured, the emissions will similarly increase.100 
Transnational companies are conscious of supply chain 
sustainability as a part of their corporate responsibility and 
are carefully considering their value chains to ensure that 
carbon-free objectives are met.102,103

Global steelmakers looking for ways to reduce their 
carbon emissions. Queensland’s rich endowment of 
natural resources has provided the state with a comparative 
advantage in the resources sector, with mining generating 
$87.2 billion in exports in 2018–19.104,105 Australia’s, and 
indeed Queensland’s, export market for metallurgical 
coal could be challenged in the future, however, as 
international companies explore opportunities to reduce 
the carbon-intensity of steel manufacturing. For example, 
Baowu, China’s largest steelmaker, plans to commercialise 
the production of ‘green’ (carbon-free) steel by 2035 
by substituting metallurgical coal with hydrogen.106 Rio 
Tinto has also partnered with Baowu to explore ways of 
improving the environmental footprint of its steel value 
chain.107 Baowu is in competition with Swedish steelmaker, 
SSAB, which similarly plans to have market-ready green steel 
by 2026 and be completely fossil-free by 2045.108 SSAB forms 
part of the HYBRIT initiative with Swedish mining company 
LKAB and energy producer Vattenfall, which has attracted 
approximately $30 million towards a pilot green‑steel 
production plant.109 Other European steelmakers, such as 
ArcelorMittal, Salzgitter, ThyssenKrupp and Voestalpine, 
are also exploring opportunities to eliminate emissions by 
substituting coal with hydrogen.100

Renewable energy, including hydrogen, getting cheaper 
and demand increasing. Exploration of hydrogen as an 
alternative energy source started in the 1970s,110 but the 
current renewed interest and investment in hydrogen 
is motivated by the realisation that it could support 
global decarbonisation objectives.111 Moreover, the cost 
of producing and using clean hydrogen using renewable 
energy sources has been decreasing, aided by declining 
costs for solar and wind power, the production of 
hydrogen fuel cells and hydrogen storage.112 The future 
cost‑competitiveness of hydrogen will depend on the 
cost of alternative fuel sources.112 The cost of producing 
hydrogen using renewable energy sources is currently 
greater than using fossil-fuel-powered sources,113 and 
this cost gap varies across different applications.112 While 
hydrogen is likely to be cost-competitive for use in transport 
and industrial uses (e.g. refineries) by 2030, it will likely take 
over a decade for hydrogen to be more economical than 
coal in steel production.112 To be competitive globally, green 
metal manufacturing rests upon access to cheap, clean 
energy. Other energy sources, such as natural gas, which 
produces approximately 50% less emissions than coal, may 
be an alternative fuel source in the interim to support the 
initial transition to low-emissions metal manufacturing.86



Supply drivers

Well-supported research capabilities for green metal 
manufacturing. Queensland has diverse and relevant 
research capabilities and industry collaborations, which 
could form the foundations of a sustainable and globally 
competitive green metal manufacturing industry. UQ hosts 
the HBIS-UQ Centre for Sustainable Steel – a collaboration 
between UQ and leading global steel manufacturer, 
HBIS – which researches green and low-carbon steel 
materials.114 UQ, in collaboration with other interstate 
university partners, is also part of the Baosteel Australia 
Joint Research and Development Centre, which explores 
a range of innovative, strategic focus areas for Baosteel, 
including low-carbon products.115 UQ’s Dow Centre for 
Sustainable Engineering Innovation is also exploring 
innovative approaches for iron ore reduction without 
producing carbon dioxide (CO₂).116 Queensland also has 
broad research capabilities into renewable generation and 
storage including UQ’s Energy Initiative, Griffith University’s 
Centre for Clean Environment and Energy, QUT’s Centre 
for Clean Energy Technologies and Practices and James 
Cook University’s (JCU) College of Science and Engineering. 
Finally, Queensland has strong research and industry 
strengths in advanced manufacturing3 and a globally 
connected network of regional advanced-manufacturing 
hubs across the state,117 which could be critical in improving 
the cost-competitiveness of Queensland’s green metal 
manufacturing industry.

Ready-made workforce for green metal manufacturing. 
Central Queensland is the ideal location for a green 
metals industry in Australia, given it has the largest 
concentration of ‘carbon workers’ (i.e. persons working 
in carbon-intensive industries; 23,200 carbon workers), 
compared with other candidate regions, like the Hunter 
Valley/Newcastle (16,300).86 Seventy percent of Central 
Queensland’s carbon workers are employed in coal 
mining86 and these jobs could come under threat if global 
demand for coal declines. While additional training may 
be required to transition these workers, there is a strong 
overlap between the skills required in coal mining and in 
metal smelting, with both sectors requiring technicians, 
trades workers and machinery operators.86 If Australia was 
to increase its share of global steel production from 0.3% to 
7% – a feasible target based on current iron ore production 
– the Grattan Institute estimates that a green‑steel 
manufacturing industry in Australia could generate 25,000 
jobs (60% of these jobs would be in Queensland) and 
$65 million in revenue.85,86 These exports could come close 
to providing a substitute for the revenue generated by 
Australian coal exports ($70 million in 2018–19).118 Green 
metal manufacturing could therefore smooth the transition 
for Queensland in developing a low-emission economy.

Abundant access to renewable energy sources. Australia 
has a unique advantage in generating renewable energy, 
with 4 million km2 of quality onshore wind and solar, 
second only to North Africa (see Figure 11). Queensland is 
also exploring opportunities to generate hydro‑electricity 
from existing dams.119 These renewable resources offer 
cheaper energy, providing the state with a global 
comparative advantage in emerging clean-energy-powered 
industries.86 Although there are potential avenues for 
Australia to export its renewable energy, greater economic 
returns would likely come from using these energy sources 
to make low-emissions energy-intensive exports.86 For 
example, it may be cheaper to manufacture green steel 
in Australia using globally cost-competitive renewable 
energy sources than exporting iron ore and clean energy 
for manufacturing in other countries.86 Solar and wind can 
also be used to produce hydrogen, which, when stored, 
can be used to fill in gaps in intermittent renewable energy 
supply.86 Sun Metals Corporation is a Queensland-based 
company that is leveraging the green-metal opportunities 
provided by renewable energy and has invested $5 million 
in a renewable hydrogen facility following its investment 
in a 125 MW solar farm, which provides up to 30% of the 
energy needs of its zinc refinery.120

Figure 11. Landmass with high-quality onshore wind and solar 
(in million km2) in selected regions

Data source: Wood and Dundas86



Green metal manufacturing opportunities beyond steel. 
Aluminium is one of the most high-carbon-intensive 
metals,121 and there is growing concern around its carbon 
footprint.85 Similar to steel, a fraction of bauxite mined in 
Australia is translated into its base metal: Australia mined 
100 million tonnes of bauxite in 2019, 20 million tonnes 
of which was refined into alumina, of which only 
1.6 million tonnes was smelted into aluminium.122 The 
Energy Transition Hub estimates that if 50% of Australia’s 
mined bauxite was converted into aluminium through the 
addition of 10 renewable-energy-powered smelters, the 
industry could generate 15,000 jobs and an additional 
$15 billion in revenue.100 Queensland has the advantage 
of having Rio Tinto’s fully integrated aluminium supply 
chain.123 Rio Tinto has also partnered with global bauxite, 
alumina and aluminium producer, Alcoa, in a joint venture, 
Elysis, to eliminate the emissions associated with aluminium 
smelting,124,125 and is using hydropower to smelt aluminium 
in Canada through a $192 million joint public–private 
investment.124,126 Similar low-carbon-intensity manufacturing 
opportunities could exist for other metals needed to 
power clean energy technologies, such as lithium, cobalt, 
manganese, nickel, copper and titanium.85 Queensland’s 
strengths in mining, combined with its abundant access 
to renewable energy and advanced manufacturing 
capabilities, could provide opportunities to decarbonise 
metal supply chains and increase its low-to-zero emissions 
metals exports.

National and state initiatives in the global hydrogen 
market. In 2019, the Australian Government released 
its National Hydrogen Strategy, which outlined a plan 
to position Australia as a global hydrogen provider 
by 2030,112 and has invested $146 million in hydrogen 
projects.112 National Energy Resources Australia has also 
recently announced the establishment of a series of 
hydrogen‑industry hubs across Australia to bring together 
businesses working on hydrogen technology.127 This follows 
other countries such as Japan, China, Germany, the United 
Kingdom, the United States and New Zealand, which have 
also released national hydrogen roadmaps and strategies.128 
Queensland, with its access to renewable energy sources 
and pipeline of renewable energy projects,112 is the ideal 
location for renewable hydrogen production. Released in 
2019, the Queensland Hydrogen Strategy aims to position 
the state as a national leader in hydrogen production by 
2030,129 and the Queensland Government has committed 
$15 million in new hydrogen projects over the next 4 
years.130 Building a hydrogen industry in Queensland could 
provide new employment opportunities for the 4,181 
people employed in the oil and gas sector,131 given these 
workers have relevant skills and capabilities that could be 
transferred into the hydrogen industry.132 

Challenges and future opportunities

Scaling the industry has technical and cost barriers. 
The market for green metals is nascent. Although some 
industries have set net-zero emission targets, green steel 
is more expensive than ‘black steel’ produced using 
conventional fossil-fuel energy sources, meaning that 
companies must be willing to pay a ‘green premium’.86 
However, with innovations in clean energy and 
manufacturing technologies, and the growing importance 
of environmental, social and governance factors for 
investors, the economics of green metals may shift in the 
future.133 ‘Demand-pull’ policies may also be needed to 
create a sufficient and stable demand for green metals.134 
A carbon penalty could be one potential mechanism, 
but this would need to be carefully managed given the 
issues that arose with previous carbon tax attempts in 
Australia (i.e. increased energy prices for businesses 
and households).135 Moreover, the commercial viability 
of hydrogen-based direct reduction technology (i.e. the 
process of reducing iron ore to iron metal using hydrogen 
power) in powering green metal manufacturing has not 
yet been established and is a significant technical barrier 
to scaling the industry.86,136 The Grattan Institute has 
suggested that government, in partnership with industry, 
invest in a green-steel flagship project to develop and 
scale low‑emissions steel technologies and improve 
the economics of green-steel production.86 Fortescue is 
already making headway, announcing its plans to establish 
Australia’s first green-steel pilot plant in 2020 and scale this 
commercially in the next few years.137



Positioning Queensland’s comparative strengths against 
national and global competition. BlueScope has partnered 
with CSIRO and the World Steel Association to explore 
alternative steel technologies,125 and plans to invest 
$20 million in renewable energy infrastructure in New 
South Wales to support its supply chain.138 In South 
Australia, UK-based GFG Alliance has also purchased the 
Whyalla steelworks and an iron ore mine in the Middleback 
Range, and aspires to be the world’s largest carbon-neutral 
steel producer by 2030.139 The plant will be powered by 
natural gas initially, with long-term plans for solar‑powered 
hydrogen.140 The Hunter Valley and Newcastle region 
similarly has a large concentration of carbon workers that 
could be transitioned into green metals manufacturing.86 
Despite this competition, Queensland has strong 
comparative advantages for green-steel manufacturing: 
namely, the largest concentration of carbon workers in 
Australia,86 access to critical raw materials and clean energy, 
advanced manufacturing capabilities and the research 
capabilities needed to grow this industry. What is missing 
is leadership to bring these capabilities and resources 
together and a well-defined plan involving national and 
international industry and research partners.

Related industry opportunity areas

• Additive biomanufacturing: potential reciprocal benefits 
of growing capabilities in advanced manufacturing 
and flow-on effects of clean energy developments for 
additive biomanufacturing
• Construction technologies: potential overlap 
between these industries in terms of their workforce 
requirements and enabling technologies (e.g. robotics, 
autonomous systems)
• Disaster resilience and response technologies: potential 
overlap between these industries in terms of their 
workforce requirements and enabling technologies (e.g. 
robotics, autonomous systems)
• Resource recovery technologies: opportunities to 
apply resource recovery approaches in recycling and 
repurposing existing metals like steel and aluminium
• Advanced manufacturing: draws upon Queensland’s 
strengths in advanced manufacturing as a key 
component of the state’s comparative advantage in 
developing a green metal manufacturing sector
• Mining and resources: a key input for the green metal 
manufacturing industry in terms of the raw commodities 
for metal manufacturing and transferrable workforce 
skills and capabilities
• Renewable energy: supplying the green metal 
manufacturing sector with clean energy sources 
and reducing/eliminating emissions associated with 
metal manufacturing 




4 Resource recovery 
technologies

Most industries generate waste, which is either recovered 
for other purposes or sent to landfill. As the Queensland 
population and the economy grows, so too will the 
amount of waste generated. Queensland’s landfill capacity 
is a finite resource and recent international bans have 
meant that the state’s previous strategies for managing 
its waste (e.g. exporting recycled materials for processing 
elsewhere) will not be viable in the future. The waste 
hierarchy framework can be used to prioritise preferential 
ways of managing waste, with avoidance of unnecessary 
resource consumption being the most preferable, followed 
by reducing, reusing and recycling (recovering and 
treating waste).141 Waste disposal is the final option when 
there is no other viable alternative.141 The Queensland 
Government has highlighted organic waste, construction 
and demolition waste, plastic waste, and electronic and 
battery waste as priorities for resource recovery given their 
large contributions to landfill and environmental impacts.141 
These waste streams could be initial focus areas for this 
industry, which includes companies involved in developing 
and utilising resource recovery technologies to minimise 
landfill waste and unnecessary resource consumption.

A circular economy strategy for resource recovery 
technologies presents opportunities to better manage 
waste from a variety of streams and convert waste and 
by‑products into recycled material and high-value products. 
Organic, textile, construction and demolition, glass and 
plastic waste are some of the key waste streams that 
are currently being explored as potential candidates for 
resource recovery and recycling applications. Queensland’s 
research and development into resource recovery is more 
developed in areas such as the use of organic waste in 
biofuel applications, compared with the recovery of textile 
waste, which is complex and requires further investigation. 
While resource recovery can provide significant social and 
environmental benefits by diverting waste from landfill 
and reducing the need to source new raw materials, it can 
also provide new economic opportunities for Queensland 
through the development of novel high-value markets.

There were 402 resource recovery technology businesses 
in Queensland as at 30 June 2019 and this is projected 
to increase to 927 by 2030 (see Figure 12). These reflect 
firms that directly form part of the resource recovery 
technologies industry, acknowledging that there will be 
other firms that form part of this industry value chain. 
These businesses are estimated to account for 1,910 direct 
FTE jobs and 815 indirect FTE jobs for Queensland currently 
and this is predicted to increase to 4,404 direct and 1,880 
indirect FTE jobs by 2030 (see Figure 12). These projections 
are based on the adjusted 10-year average annual growth 
rate of 7.1%.

To illustrate the potential growth of this sector based on 
current global growth rates, the number of firms and jobs 
were also forecast using published global growth estimates 
from a comparable or related sector. With the global 
population expected to reach 9.7 billion by 2050,5 over half 
of which will be living in cities, managing resources and 
waste will become a growing challenge. The World Bank 
estimates that the amount of waste generated globally will 
grow at double the rate of population growth from 2016 
to 2050.142 With the global population predicted to grow 
at an average annual rate of 0.73% over the next 30 years,5 
a doubling of this would equate to 1.46% per year – this 
value is taken as the lower bound of the potential growth 
in this sector. To gauge the upper bound of growth, we can 
look to the treatment and recycling of electronic waste, 
which is estimated to grow at a rate of between 3–5% per 
year.143 These figures were used as the basis for the global 
estimate for the potential growth in demand for resource 
recovery technologies. As shown in Figure 12, the current 
rate of change in resource recovery firms in Queensland 
is predicted to surpass what it would be based on global 
growth rates if the present trend continues.

2030

2019

402
businesses

927 
businesses

4,404
direct FTE jobs

1,880
indirect FTE jobs

1,910 
direct FTE jobs

815 
indirect FTE jobs



QUEENSLAND’S POTENTIAL AI-ENABLED HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY AT A GLANCE

Demand 
drivers

• A growing waste problem and poor resource recovery rates in Queensland 
• International bans on waste imports in China and other Asian countries, which have triggered new national bans for 
Australian waste exports
• The potential negative impacts of environmental damage on key Queensland industries like tourism
• Enterprises are increasingly conscious of corporate social responsibility practices, which can provide significant 
financial benefits


Supply 
drivers

• Significant state and federal public investment in resource recovery research and development, industry 
development and infrastructure
• A strong base of resource recovery research centres and groups across QUT, UQ and USQ working in a variety of 
waste streams 
• Local companies exploring innovative resource recovery projects and applications or use of recycled content, 
including CelluAir, BlockTexx, iOrthotics and Coreo


Challenges 
and future 
opportunities

• Working with government, industry and academia to develop a set of use cases that demonstrate the scalability and 
viability of resource recovery applications
• Using sustainable procurement practices and certification to encourage the use of recycled materials, particularly in 
waste-intensive industries like construction
• Addressing skill and workforce gaps in resource recovery by leveraging transferrable skills from other sectors and 
developing a clear education and training strategy
• Expanding resource recovery capabilities to tackle future emerging waste challenges for renewables and other 
technology-intensive industries






Figure 12. Historical and projected (based on historical Queensland growth rate and global growth rate) number of GST-registered 
firms and total full-time equivalent jobs (including direct and indirect jobs) in the resource recovery technologies industry in 
Queensland

Note. Years denoted by an asterisk (*) reflect forecasted years.

Why Queensland?



Demand drivers

Poor rates of resource recovery. The total amount of waste 
generated in Queensland increased by 1.3% from 2017–19, 
reflecting a similar growth rate to the population (1.7%) 
and economy (1.1%).144 Queensland has one of the worst 
resource recovery and recycling rates in Australia: in 
2016–17 Queensland recovered 44.5% of its total waste 
while South Australia recovered nearly 80%.145 While the 
state’s waste recovery rate increased in 2018–19 to 48.7% 
(5.4 million tonnes), 5.7 million tonnes of waste still ended 
up in landfill.144 Australia’s resource recovery rates also 
lag behind other OECD countries, with some European 
countries like Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark and the 
Netherlands being 100% (or close to 100%) resource 
recovery (see Figure 13). Ernest and Young estimate that 
only 1.3% of recyclable material is captured and used in 
manufacturing and construction in Australia each year, 
wasting $324 million worth of recyclable material.146 
Continued growth in waste production without significant 
improvements in resource recovery could present a 
challenge for Australia’s landfill space, which is predicted to 
reach capacity by 2025.147

Figure 13. Resource recovery rates across selected OECD countries

Data source: Pickin and Randell148

International waste import bans and national waste 
export bans. Australia used to export a large share of its 
recyclable waste to countries like China, Indonesia, Vietnam 
and India for processing.149 But in 2017, China announced 
a ban on foreign waste to protect its environment and 
public health,149 and several other Asian countries have 
since followed suit, with India, Taiwan, Malaysia, Thailand 
and Vietnam announcing current or planned bans on the 
import of waste-derived plastics.150 These bans have had a 
significant impact and have driven efforts to improve waste 
management and recycling in Australia. The Australian 
Government’s export ban on waste glass came into force on 
1 January 2021, with similar bans planned for waste plastic, 
paper, and tyres in mid-2021.151 This export ban forms part 
of the National Waste Policy Action Plan developed by the 
Australian Government, which also sets other targets for 
reducing per capita waste generation, resource recovery 
rates, phasing out unnecessary plastics and reducing the 
amount of organic waste in landfill.152 Federal, state and 
territory governments in Australia have also committed 
to having all waste recyclable, reusable or combustible by 
2025.151 These policy commitments could help drive future 
business and consumer demand for resource recovery.



Healthy natural environment key for tourism. Minimising 
the amount of waste that ends up in landfill or is disposed 
of inappropriately can reduce the harmful impacts on the 
environment and oceans. Natural environments are critical 
to tourism, with 20% of visitors reporting that they would 
not travel to some regions in Queensland if they were 
unable to visit a national park.154 Tourism is a key part of 
the Queensland economy, contributing a total of 7.7% of 
total gross state product (GSP) and employing 5.8% of the 
state’s labour force in 2018–19.153 National parks contributed 
an estimated $2.7 billion to GSP in Queensland in 2018, 
providing $6.30 in benefits (e.g. conservation, health, etc.) 
for every $1 spent on national park visitor management 
per year.155 The Great Barrier Reef, Queensland’s largest 
source of tourism revenue, contributed $2.4 billion to 
the Queensland economy in 2015–16.156 Environmental 
damage caused by inappropriate waste disposal and 
pollutant run-off from agriculture can harm Queensland’s 
natural wonders and impact Queensland’s tourism 
sector. Acknowledging this, Queensland’s tourism sector 
has been a strong proponent of circular practices. For 
example, Lady Elliot Island Eco Resort has adopted a fully 
circular economy, generating electricity, desalinating 
water, treating water and sewage and removing all waste, 
including returning recyclable materials to the mainland 
and composting organic matter.157 

Competitive advantage in corporate social responsibility. 
Businesses may be motivated to adopt circular practices 
to save costs. The Queensland Government operates 
EcoBiz, which is an eco-consulting service for businesses 
to encourage recycling, reduce waste and be more 
resource‑efficient, and estimates they can save businesses 
an average of 12% on energy bills, 13% on water bills and 
21% on waste bills.158 Through this program, CQMS Razer, 
a global manufacturer of mining equipment and parts, has 
increased their recycling rate from 73% in 2012 to 95% in 
2014.159 Another manufacturer, Beaulieu Australia, saved 
$177,649 per year by changing their production process, 
resulting in 59% less waste disposal and 16% less energy 
usage.160 Some countries have also introduced tax breaks to 
encourage the recycling or reuse of goods: Sweden offers a 
reduction in value-added tax from 25% to 12% to encourage 
people to mend bicycles, clothes and shoes rather than 
disposing of them.161 While Queensland does not have 
similar financial incentives for encouraging recycling 
practices, the waste levy introduced by the Queensland 
Government in 2019 is designed to curb landfill waste, 
particularly from interstate producers.162



Supply drivers

State and federal government investment in resource 
recovery technologies. Resource recovery has attracted 
significant investment in recent times, both in Queensland 
and nationally. For example, the Queensland Government 
committed $100 million to the Resource Recovery Industry 
Development Program, which aims to divert waste from 
landfill, reduce waste stockpiling and create jobs.163 
A further $5 million has been invested in the Queensland 
Waste to Biofutures Fund for early-stage, commercially 
scalable pilot projects that translate conventional waste 
streams or biomass into energy, fuel or other high-value 
products.164 The first round of this funding (totalling 
$1.9 million) is anticipated to generate more than 
$22 million in collective project value.165 Through the 
Recycling Modernisation Fund, the Australian Government 
has also committed $190 million, which is contingent 
upon co-funding from state and territory governments 
and industry.166 This funding is anticipated to generate 
$600 million in investment in new recycling infrastructure 
to expand Australia’s capacity to sort, process and 
remanufacture waste.166 Other noteworthy investments 
include the $100 million Australian Recycling Investment 
Fund in clean energy technologies for waste recycling,167 
and the $20 million National Product Stewardship 
Investment Fund for industry-led recycling schemes.168 

Research centres focused on recovering high-value 
products. QUT’s expertise in resource recovery research is 
largely housed in the Centre for a Waste-Free World and 
the Centre for Agriculture and the Bioeconomy. The first 
focuses on developing technical solutions to reduce waste 
and the behavioural, industrial and policy changes needed 
to support the circular economy.169 The second researches 
bioprocessing agricultural by-products and waste into 
high-value products (e.g. chemicals, resins, coatings 
and pharmaceutical ingredients) and tests the industrial 
scalability of biorefinery processes.170 Researchers from UQ’s 
Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology 
are also developing methods for converting agricultural 
waste biomass into high‑value chemicals for food 
production, pharmaceuticals and agriculture.171 Other work 
at Bond University, in collaboration with Griffith University, 
UQ and the geopolymer concrete company, Wagner, 
is exploring ways to develop ecological construction 
materials derived from agricultural waste.172 Finally, the 
University of Southern Queensland’s (USQ) Centre for 
Agricultural Engineering is developing innovative, on-farm 
approaches for converting organic waste into high-value 
fertilisers.173 QUT, UQ and USQ – along with the Queensland 
Government – are also partners in the Fight Food Waste 
CRC, which is focusing on reducing waste from food supply 
chains as one of its key outcome areas.174 These capabilities 
could support the development of new technologies and 
commercial pathways for generating new value from waste. 

Growing base of resource recovery companies. The 
2019 New Smarts report highlighted Queensland’s strong 
base of commercial biorefineries,1 and since then, six 
additional biowaste projects have been funded under 
the Queensland Government’s Waste to Biofutures Fund. 
These include $500,000 towards AJ Bush & Sons and BE 
Power Solutions’ $11 million biogas-solar power plant, 
which will convert biogas from meat processing into 
electricity,175 and $363,000 towards Energy360’s $1.9 million 
pilot biogas facility that will convert organic waste into 
fertiliser and power for electric vehicles.176 Beyond biofuels, 
Queensland is also home to CelluAir, a joint venture 
between QUT and Innovyz, an advanced manufacturing 
incubator, which has converted agricultural waste into a 
virus-filtering mask material,177 and BlockTexx, a textile 
recycler that has pioneered an innovative method of 
separating cotton and polyester from textile waste back 
to their raw materials.178 iOrthotics are also using recycled 
materials in 3D-printed orthotics, which use around 99% 
fewer resources than traditional polypropylene devices 
(developed in collaboration with UQ).29 Finally, Queensland 
is home to Coreo, which works with clients to action their 
circular economy aspirations and has developed a roadmap 
for Australia’s first circular economy master-planned 
community, Yarrabilba.179



Challenges and future opportunities

Presenting strong use cases for the industry. Queensland 
lacks use cases that demonstrate the potential return 
on resource recovery investments. However, there is an 
expanding number of biorefineries in Queensland and 
these could form the foundation for future use cases for the 
industry. Experts consulted for this report felt the rate of 
change in resource recovery is incremental and the strategic 
relevance of sustainable practices is currently missing from 
government support for business development. Experts 
argued for the need for government, industry and academia 
to come together to further develop and demonstrate the 
industry-level scalability and viability of resource recovery 
opportunities.180 Without this, companies will be hesitant 
to invest in resource recovery and the changes that are 
required to embed these technologies and processes 
in their core business. ASPIRE (the Advisory System for 
Process Innovation and Resource Exchange) is an online 
marketplace developed by CSIRO that aims to connect 
businesses and other parties with unwanted discarded 
materials, opening up novel opportunities to reuse and 
remanufacture.181 Sufficient economic, policy and regulatory 
frameworks for waste and resource recovery are also 
lacking in Australia and this is limiting certainty, innovation 
and investment in the sector.180 Greater harmonisation of 
the state-level regulatory framework is also needed to 
support growth in the resource recovery sector.182

Using sustainable procurement policies and practices to 
address demand constraints. Successful projects tend to 
be small scale and focused on niche consumer markets, 
which can make them difficult to scale when consumer 
demand is low. Although 55% of online consumers would 
be willing to pay more for products and services from 
companies that have a positive social and environmental 
impact,183 consumer attitudes around environmentally 
consciousness and sustainability do not always translate 
into purchasing behaviour.184 Acknowledging that the 
Australian market of recycled productions is small, the 
Australian Government’s National Waste Policy Action 
Plan 2019 plans to stimulate use of recycled content by 
government and industry through sustainable procurement 
practices and policies.152 Similar procurement policies 
could also be used to stimulate the consumption of 
recycled materials in Queensland.185 Certification is 
another mechanism that could support the adoption of 
recycled materials, adding value by verifying the source 
and/or quality of the recyclable material. Demand for this 
industry will likely come from the construction sector, 
which spent $2 billion on waste collection, treatment 
and disposal services in 2018–19.186 This could be a key 
sector for the resource recovery technologies industry to 
engage in developing future markets, potentially through 
government-supported partnerships or projects to form 
the bridge between large construction corporates and 
resource recovery technology start-ups.

Bridging the skills and workforce gap. Resource recovery 
is not often the core business of organisations, so they 
need to outsource these capabilities, but experts reported 
that there is a lack of skilled suppliers. An analysis of 11 
countries found that, despite ranking highly on measures 
of environmental performance, Australia ranks poorly 
when it comes to having comprehensive and coordinated 
approaches to skills for circular economy jobs.187 Although 
the Queensland Resource Recovery Industries roadmap 
highlights the need to upskill the workforce as part 
of developing this industry,141 no dedicated upskilling 
programs have been established nor is there a clear strategy 
around the education and training of this industry’s 
future workforce. Workers in the mining, construction, 
manufacturing and transport industries possess the soft 
and technical skills that will be needed in the circular 
economy,187 but the capacity of existing workers to take up 
these new job creation opportunities will be conditional 
on tailored education and training programs to help them 
make the transition.

Expanding resource recovery research for emerging 
industries. Queensland’s resource recovery research covers 
a diverse range of resource streams including agricultural 
waste, construction and demolition waste, and waste glass, 
plastic, textiles, and organics. But less work is focused on 
recovering resources from waste in emerging industries 
like renewables and other technology-intensive industries. 
Battery waste is a growing problem, with the amount of 
lithium-ion battery waste generated in Australia expected 
to increase from 3,300 tonnes in 2016 to at least 100,073 
tonnes per year by 2036.188 The majority of this e-waste 
ends up in landfill (98%),188 and this situation is likely to 
worsen as uptake of portable devices and electric vehicles 
increase.189 CSIRO estimates that between $813 million and 
$3 billion of recoverable lithium-ion batteries currently end 
up in landfill189 – a sizeable opportunity that Queensland 
could have a stake in. Photovoltaic systems are another 
growing waste issue, with 83% of solar panel materials 
currently not recycled and 100,000 tonnes of solar panel 
waste expected in Australia by 2035.190 QUT is a partner 
in the Future Battery Industries CRC,191 which could serve 
as a collaborative platform for building up Queensland’s 
research into resource recovery for batteries and other 
forms of e-waste. 



Related industry opportunity areas

• Waste management, treatment and remediation: 
supporting existing waste management approaches by 
reducing landfill waste and stimulating growth in the 
recycling sector
• Additive manufacturing: opportunities to support 
existing resource recovery efforts by minimising 
waste in production and reusing materials in additive 
manufacturing applications
• AI-enabled healthcare: using AI to support waste 
reduction efforts in healthcare, particularly in key 
priority waste streams like single-use plastics
• Green metal manufacturing: opportunities to apply 
resource recovery approaches in recycling and 
repurposing existing metals
• Agricultural sensors and automation: agricultural waste 
can be used to produce new high-value products and 
these technologies could support the monitoring and 
collection of waste
• Supply chain provenance technologies: opportunities 
to use supply chain technologies to track the end-to-end 
lifespan of recyclable materials
• Disaster resilience and response technologies: the 
e-waste generated by this sector could be repurposed 
through resource recovery processes
• Construction technologies: the e-waste generated 
by this sector could be repurposed through resource 
recovery processes
• All other traditional sectors in the Queensland 
economy (e.g. retail, hospitality, agriculture, mining, 
construction, tourism, etc.), which have a waste footprint 
that needs to be effectively managed to protect 
Queensland’s finite landfill resources 




5 Microalgal and 
macroalgal resources

Queensland has the natural resources (i.e. sunlight, water 
and nutrients) and expertise needed to grow algae, from 
the microscopic to macro scale. Algae offers a diverse range 
of opportunities to develop high-value products, including 
functional foods, livestock feed, biofertlisers, biofuels 
and therapeutics, as well as providing low-cost solutions 
for remediating municipal and industrial wastewater.192 
Algae applications also have the potential to support the 
decarbonisation of existing sectors, like agriculture and 
energy, and have been shown to sequester CO₂ from the 
atmosphere.193 Growing an algal industry in Queensland 
has the added advantage of not competing with existing 
agricultural practices, in that it does not require arable land 
and can grow in saline or contaminated water.192 Although 
Queensland does not currently have strong, established 
algae markets, there is a good case for opportunities in 
algae-based animal feedstock and for the state to leverage 
its proximity to Asia to service existing seaweed consumer 
markets in the near-term, with further expansion over a 
longer period.

Queensland has deep scientific expertise in two broad 
streams of algal research – microalgae (single-celled green 
algae) and macroalgae (including seaweed) – covering 
a range of production species and algal applications. 
Microalgae and macroalgae reflect two different types 
of algae that differ in their scale and their underlying 
technologies but have some overlap in their potential 
benefits and impacts. While Queensland, and Australia 
more broadly, has a long history of algae-related 
research, particularly into biofuels, industry applications 
and companies are still emerging.192 Algae-related 
applications present opportunities for Queensland to 
develop solutions to global challenges around food, 
water and energy production, whilst also mitigating 
emissions. Algal industries also present strong regional 
development opportunities , with the whole value chain, 
from production to manufacturing to consumption, based 
in regional Queensland.

There were 103 microalgal and macroalgal resources 
businesses in Queensland as at 30 June 2019 and this is 
projected to increase to 326 by 2030 (see Figure 14). These 
reflect firms that directly form part of the microalgal and 
macroalgal resources industry, acknowledging that there 
will be other firms that form part of this industry’s value 
chain. These businesses are estimated to account for 489 
direct FTE jobs and 117 indirect FTE jobs for Queensland 
currently and this is predicted to increase to 1,549 direct 
and 369 indirect FTE jobs by 2030 (see Figure 14). These 
projections are based on the adjusted 10-year average 
annual growth rate of 9.9%. To illustrate the potential 
growth of this sector based on current global trends, the 
number of firms and jobs were forecast using insights 
derived from published global estimates. Some estimates 
predict that the global market for algae will grow at a 
compound average annual rate of 6.2% between 2020 and 
2027,194 while other sources place the growth at 7% between 
2019 to 2024.195 An average of these two estimates was 
used as the global growth rate estimate for this sector. As 
shown in Figure 14, the projected rate of growth based on 
global estimates results in more conservative estimates for 
firms and jobs out to 2030, compared with those based on 
historical Queensland data.

2019

2030

326 
businesses

103
businesses

489 
direct FTE jobs

117 
indirect FTE jobs

1,549
direct FTE jobs

369
indirect FTE jobs



QUEENSLAND’S POTENTIAL MICROALGAL AND MACROALGAL RESOURCES INDUSTRY AT A GLANCE

Demand 
drivers

• Rising demand for food and energy as the global population grows, with the potential role of algae in meeting 
this future demand
• Intergovernmental commitments to curb greenhouse gas emissions and the opportunities to use algae to sequester 
human-driven CO₂ emissions
• Environmental footprint of the livestock sector and the opportunities to use seaweed as an alternative animal 
feedstock that reduces emissions
• Growth in global seaweed market and the potential to increase Australia’s share by addressing current regulatory 
and research funding barriers
• Rising demand for water and the opportunities to use algae to bioremediate municipal, industrial and 
aquaculture wastewaters


Supply 
drivers

• Local access to the non-arable land, water, nutrients and sunlight needed to grow algae
• Leading research capabilities in microalgal and macroalgal applications across JCU, UQ and USC, as well as a 
research and development foundry, Provectus Algae


Challenges 
and future 
opportunities

• Establishing a 5-year roadmap for algal industries, which is currently missing from relevant government strategies
• Building an innovation ecosystem of mature firms, start-ups and incubators for algal industries by attracting leading 
international firms and developing applications through innovative commercialisation hubs
• Tapping into larger, established seaweed markets for human food applications, while establishing local animal 
feedstock opportunities in the short term






Figure 14. Historical and projected (based on historical Queensland growth rate and global growth rate) number of GST‑registered 
firms and total full-time equivalent jobs (including direct and indirect jobs) in the microalgal and macroalgal resources industry in 
Queensland

Note. Years denoted by an asterisk (*) reflect forecasted years.

Why Queensland?



Demand drivers

Rising demand for food and energy production. 
The global population is currently at 7.8 billion and is 
forecast to reach around 9.7 billion people by 2050,5 
requiring 50% more food under a business-as-usual future 
(relative to 2012 levels)196 and 50% more energy (relative 
to 2019 levels).197 Seaweed and other algae-based products 
could play a role in meeting future nutritional needs of the 
global population, given it contains a range of vitamins, 
minerals and compounds that could support the health and 
well-being of humans and animals.198 Consumer demand 
for new protein sources and health supplements, and 
concerns around food security are two primary factors 
driving growth in the seaweed aquaculture industry in 
the United States.199 QPonics Limited, a Queensland-based 
company, has a pilot algae farm in Brisbane that is already 
using algae to produce high-value nutraceuticals and food 
supplements.200 Microalgae feedstocks can also be used 
to generate a range of fuel sources using solar energy 
and CO₂, helping to support the growing energy needs of 
the global population and economy.201 Experts consulted 
for this report predicted that food and animal feedstock 
commercial applications for seaweed will be achievable in 
the next 5–10 years, with others likely to emerge beyond 
the next decade. 

Ability of algae to absorb carbon from the atmosphere. 
Recent estimates from the Intergovernmental Panel on 
Climate Change suggest that global net anthropogenic 
(human-caused) CO₂ emissions will need to decline by 45% 
by 2030 (relative to 2010 levels) to reach net-zero by 2050 
and keep global warming close to 1.5 °C.202 Australia, along 
with over 190 other countries, is a signatory of the 2015 
United Nations’ Paris Agreement.92 There is growing public 
support for emissions-reduction efforts, such as renewable 
energy, with 84% of Australian respondents supportive of 
clean energy sources like wind and solar over traditional 
energy sources in 2018 (up from 81% in 2017).203 There are 
international efforts to accelerate the pathway to carbon 
neutrality too, such as the recent plans announced by 
an EU-wide partnership to develop clean hydrogen fuel 
technologies.204 Microalgae and macroalgae can efficiently 
convert sunlight, CO₂ and water into a range of food, 
energy and other high-value products.205 Macroalgae in 
particular has been shown to be effective in sequestering 
carbon and could play a valuable role in ameliorating the 
impacts of human-driven CO₂ emissions.193



Using algae to reduce the carbon footprint of livestock. 
Queensland’s agriculture sector generated 21.2 million 
tonnes of CO₂ equivalent in 2018, which makes up 
12.3% of the state’s total emissions.206 Three-quarters 
of Queensland’s total agricultural emissions come from 
livestock enteric fermentation,206 which produces methane 
emissions from animals such as cattle, sheep, horses, goats 
and pigs.207 Researchers from JCU, the University of the 
Sunshine Coast (USC) and CSIRO have identified a particular 
seaweed, Asparagopsis, which, when added to cow feed, 
can close-to-eliminate methane production.208 USC 
estimates that if Australia could produce enough seaweed 
for every cow, national greenhouse gas emissions could 
be reduced by 10%.198 CSIRO has recently established the 
FutureFeed company, backed by $13 million in investment, 
which plans to commercialise livestock feed additives 
made from Asparagopsis.209 Given beef cattle production 
is Queensland’s largest agriculture sector and the state is 
Australia’s largest producer of beef (49.8% of meat cattle 
in 2018–19),210 addressing the emissions associated with 
beef production will be a key part of promoting a more 
sustainable future industry. 

Growth in global demand for algae products. The global 
seaweed market was valued at approximately $84 billion in 
2019 and is estimated to exceed $121 billion by 2026.211 There 
are well-established seaweed industries in Asia, including in 
China and Indonesia, with emerging sectors in the United 
States and Europe.212 The European Union has invested 
approximately $18.4 million from 2017–20 in the GENIALG 
project (GENetic diversity exploitation for Innovative 
macro-ALGal biorefinery), which reflects a consortium of 
industry and academic experts in six countries and aims to 
boost the seaweed industry in Europe.213 By comparison, 
the Australian seaweed market is small, currently valued at 
$3 million, and Australia imported around $40 million of 
seaweed in 2017–18.214 AgriFutures estimates that if current 
regulatory and technical barriers in the Australian seaweed 
industry are addressed (e.g. regulatory approval for large 
ocean leases and insufficient research and development 
funding to build the necessary knowledge base), the gross 
value of production of the industry could grow to $100 
million and generate 1,200 direct jobs by 2025, increasing to 
$1.5 billion in value and 9,000 direct jobs by 2040.214

Rising demand for water and solutions for wastewater. 
Seaweed can absorb large quantities of CO₂, nutrients 
(e.g. nitrogen) and heavy metals from water, making it an 
effective form of wastewater treatment.214 Queensland 
is home to Pacific Bio – one of the two land-based 
seaweed operations in Australia – which uses native green 
macroalgae to remove nitrogen and phosphorus from 
municipal, industrial and aquaculture wastewaters.215 
This technology was developed in collaboration 
with researchers from JCU,215 and has been used to 
demonstrate the potential for net-zero-waste prawn 
farming in North Queensland.216 Seaweed is also effective 
in mitigating coastal eutrophication (i.e. harmful algal 
blooms arising from excessive nutrient pollution in 
coastal waters).217 Similarly, microalgae can be used to 
remove unwanted nutrients from wastewater in open 
ponds,218 and Queensland Urban Utilities has collaborated 
with researchers at UQ to test the viability of using 
microalgae‑based technologies as a natural form of 
wastewater treatment.219,220 BHP has also partnered with 
several US universities to explore the potential use of algae 
and plants in remediating soil and water affected through 
uranium mining.221 With water demand predicted to grow 
at a faster rate than the global population or economy,222 
algae could play a role in future water security. 



Supply drivers

Abundant resources for algal production. Seaweed can be 
grown in land-based operations or the ocean, with regional 
Queensland identified as one of the candidate locations 
in Australia for seaweed farming.214 Microalgae also does 
not require fertile or arable land, meaning that algaculture 
production should not compete with existing agricultural 
activities if managed appropriately.223 An analysis of 
selected countries found that many of them, including 
Australia, would be able to supplement 30% of their fuel 
consumption by using microalgae produced on non-arable 
land.224 Other key inputs for algae include salt or freshwater, 
nutrients and year-round sunlight.223 Queensland has 
abundant access to these resources with its long coastline 
and access to saline water resources.205 The state also has 
a natural advantage in generating solar energy, with an 
average of around 8 daily sunshine hours in Brisbane, 
compared to south-eastern capital cities (e.g. 7 for Sydney 
and 6 for Melbourne).225 Australia has strong potential for 
growing a globally competitive microalgae industry, with 
a simulation analysis estimating the potential microalgae 
lipid productivity in Australia (as measured in Learmonth, 
Western Australia) amongst the top producing countries 
(see Figure 15). These local assets could support the state 
in attracting international algae firms and exporting algae 
products globally.

Figure 15. Estimated potential average microalgae lipid productivity across selected countries, 2014

Data source: Moody, McGinty and Quinn224

Diverse capabilities in microalgae and macroalgae 
research. JCU has world-leading capabilities in the 
development of novel food, energy and health products 
from microalgae and macroalgae.226 For example, the 
Centre for Macroalgal Resources and Biotechnology 
produces macroalgal biomass in a cost-effective and 
scalable manner for the bioremediation of agricultural, 
industrial or municipal wastewaters and development of 
high-value plant, animal and human health products.227 
UQ’s Centre for Solar Biotechnology has a diverse 
microalgae research portfolio, exploring applications for 
land management, water treatment, animal feedstocks, 
infrastructure and built environments, functional foods 
and fuel production.228 USC’s Seaweed Research Group is 
a multidisciplinary group that is leading research into the 
environmental, economic and social benefits of seaweed,198 
including the use of seaweed in cattle feedstock to reduce 
methane emissions.229 Finally, biotechnology start-up, 
Provectus Algae, has a research and development foundry 
based on the Sunshine Coast where it is developing a range 
of biosynthetic solutions using algae.230 These capabilities 
provide a rich knowledge base for future algae-related 
commercial applications.



Challenges and future opportunities

Aligning the policy environment to support industry 
growth. Across Australia, state and federal governments 
have taken different approaches to climate and energy 
policies. All state and territory governments have 
committed to achieving zero net emissions by 2050,231 but 
this target is not reflected nationally.232 Experts felt this 
discrepancy creates uncertainty for industry and limits 
their willingness to invest in algae-related technologies 
and other emissions-reduction technologies. Government 
commitment to developing algae industries is also missing 
from relevant agriculture, aquaculture, biotechnology 
and advanced manufacturing strategies. A national plan 
for algae industries, similar to the National Aquaculture 
Strategy,214 would help promote these emerging 
aquaculture industries. Australia21, an independent think 
tank, also suggested the need for a 5-year roadmap for 
the algal industry in Australia to better characterise the 
critical success factors needed to develop this nascent 
industry.192 Strategies around developing algae industries 
in Queensland should consider a holistic approach, from 
the regulatory framework for new farms, which can cause 
a significant burden for industry,214 to support for hatchery 
development for seed stock, which has shown to be 
successful in growing this industry internationally.

Building solid business models. While Queensland has 
strong algae research and commercialisation capabilities, 
it has not been able to link these two together to translate 
this opportunity into application. To build business 
confidence, encourage investment and guide government 
policy, a greater understanding needs to be developed 
around which technologies are most suitable for particular 
products and applications, their feasibility and value 
(including the economic, social and environmental impacts). 
An ecosystem of mature, established firms, technology 
start-ups and incubators is also needed to support the 
experimentation and translation of ideas into commercial 
realities. Queensland could leverage its natural advantages, 
research and infrastructure to attract leading international 
firms to build this innovation ecosystem. Moreover, novel 
approaches for commercialising nascent innovations could 
also be used. Examples include the Creative Destruction 
Lab, which is a not-for-profit organisation funded by a 
consortium of universities in Canada, the United States 
and Europe that focuses on scaling seed-stage science and 
technology companies,233 or hubs similar to the Advanced 
Robotics for Manufacturing (ARM) Hub,234 where algae 
start-ups could work alongside researchers to develop and 
commercialise emerging algae-related innovations. 

Developing and establishing seaweed products for local 
and international markets. Seaweed and other forms of 
algae are not common elements of a Western diet, with a 
2017 survey of Australian consumers finding that only 37% 
had regularly eaten seaweed in the past 12 months.235 This 
is shifting though, with seaweed becoming increasingly 
common thanks to popular media, restaurant menus and 
online recipes.235 Seaweed is already a significant element 
of Asian diets, including in countries such as China, Japan, 
Korea and the Philippines.236 With its proximity to Asia, 
large landmass and suitable climate for growing seaweed 
and other types of algae, Queensland has a unique 
advantage in tapping into Asia’s thriving seaweed market. 
The strategic focus of the algal industry will differ across 
products and applications. While demand for seaweed for 
human consumption may be more export-focused, there 
will likely be strong domestic (and potentially international) 
demand for seaweed applications for animal feedstock 
and fertiliser, given Queensland’s strong livestock sector. 
Further public and private investment will likely be 
needed to develop and establish these seaweed market 
opportunities for Queensland, with AgriFutures estimating 
that approximately $8.1 million will be needed to support 2 
years of critical research, development and experimentation 
activities in developing Australia’s seaweed industry.214 



Related industry opportunity areas

• Agriculture and aquaculture: potential consumers 
of microalgal and macroalgal products (e.g. animal 
feedstock, fertiliser)
• Advanced manufacturing: advanced manufacturing 
capabilities needed to translate microalgae and 
macroalgae into high-value food, energy, pharmaceutical 
and nutraceutical products
• Pharmaceuticals: potential opportunities to diversify 
the existing pharmaceuticals sector by using algae as a 
novel input
• Renewable energy: potential opportunities to diversify 
the existing renewable energy sector by using algae as a 
novel input
• Waste management, treatment, and remediation: 
supporting existing waste treatment and remediation 
processes, particularly in managing municipal, industrial 
and aquaculture wastewaters




6 Agricultural sensors 
and automation

Emerging digital technologies are transforming the 
agriculture industry, providing new opportunities to 
improve the productivity and efficiency of the sector and 
minimise harmful impacts on the environment. These 
technologies also provide opportunities to address 
challenges facing the sector, such as seasonal labour 
shortages. Some of these technologies include the Internet 
of Things (IoT), which includes networks of related devices 
that share information and sensors that can collect 
data on the environment, plants or livestock to inform 
farming decisions. A range of automation technologies 
are also being deployed to complete manual, repetitive 
farming tasks that are either time-consuming or physically 
challenging for human workers. These include robotic 
technologies, autonomous vehicles (e.g. driverless tractors) 
and drones, which can be underpinned by AI to enhance the 
complexity of tasks that can be completed. 

Sensor and automation technologies present opportunities 
to boost the productivity of Queensland’s agriculture 
industry. In particular, experts consulted in this project saw 
the potential for low-cost sensors and autonomous systems 
to reduce the risk for smaller-scale farms in investing in 
new technologies. They also saw the opportunity for 
firms providing AgTech advisory services to assist farmers 
in implementing and integrating various off‑the‑shelf 
technologies on their farms. The state’s natural strengths 
in its climate, landmass, proximity to Asia and a long 
history of agricultural production and expertise provide 
the necessary building blocks for developing these 
opportunities for both local and international markets. 
As these technologies develop and as costs continue 
to decline in the future, they can be used for more 
sophisticated agricultural applications. Queensland 
has a wide portfolio of innovative agricultural research 
institutes, centres and groups, some of which have been 
successful in spinning out digital agriculture companies. 
The state also has the space and the facilities to test and 
develop these technologies, providing new avenues for 
attraction in developing this industry opportunity.

There were 155 agricultural sensor and automation 
businesses in Queensland as at 30 June 2019 and this is 
projected to increase to 765 by 2030 (see Figure 16). These 
reflect firms that directly form part of the agricultural 
sensor and automation industry, acknowledging that 
there will be other firms that form part of this industry’s 
value chain. These businesses are estimated to account for 
736 direct FTE jobs and 2,224 indirect FTE jobs currently 
for Queensland and this is predicted to increase to 3,637 
direct and 10,984 indirect FTE jobs by 2030 (see Figure 16). 
These projections are based on the estimated adjusted 
average annual growth rate of 14% over the next 10 years. 
To illustrate the potential growth of this sector based on 
current global growth rates, the number of firms and jobs 
were forecast using insights derived from published global 
growth estimates from a comparable or related sector. In 
this case it was the precision-farming market – enabled by 
sensor and automation technologies and data analytics – 
which is predicted to grow at a compound average annual 
growth rate of 13% from 2020 to 2027.237 As shown in Figure 
16, the projections based on global growth figures show 
a similar pattern to current trends based on Queensland 
historical data.

2019

155
businesses

736 
direct FTE jobs

2,224 
indirect FTE jobs

3,637
direct FTE jobs

10,984
indirect FTE jobs

765 
businesses

2030



QUEENSLAND’S POTENTIAL AGRICULTURAL SENSORS AND AUTOMATION INDUSTRY AT A GLANCE

Demand 
drivers

• Opportunities to boost the sluggish productivity growth of the agriculture sector using digital technologies
• A growing movement across Australian agricultural producers to reduce their emissions, optimise resource use and 
minimise harmful impacts
• Using automated technologies to fill labour shortages in the agriculture sector, which have been exacerbated by 
COVID-19-related international travel restrictions


Supply 
drivers

• A rich research and development base for digital agriculture, with active portfolios across QUT, Griffith University, 
JCU, CQU, USQ and UQ
• Home to world-leading robotic research groups (QUT and CSIRO’s Data61), which act as an enabler for 
agricultural automation
• Access to large, sparsely populated landmass with diverse landscapes and state-of-the-art facilities for testing 
agricultural technologies
• An existing network of agricultural sensors and automation companies, including SwarmFarm Robotics, John Deere 
Limited, RapidAIM and LYRO Robotics


Challenges 
and future 
opportunities

• A small local market with bigger prospects internationally, yet local companies need support in developing 
export‑focused strategies to be competitive
• Poor digital literacy and connectivity present persisting barriers to adoption, but these can be addressed through 
smaller-scale local connectivity solutions
• Linking researchers with industry and innovations with farmers to improve adoption through demonstration sites 
and platform solutions like ‘AgTech Finder’
• Private investment in AgTech in Australia is lagging behind other countries and companies need stronger economic 
evidence to invest in the future 






Figure 16. Historical and projected (based on historical Queensland growth rate and global growth rate) number of GST-registered 
firms and total full-time equivalent jobs (including direct and indirect jobs) in the agricultural sensors and automation industry in 
Queensland

Note. Years denoted by an asterisk (*) reflect forecasted years.

Why Queensland?



Demand drivers

Sluggish agriculture sector productivity growth. 
Queensland is a key contributor to the national agriculture 
sector, generating $12.9 billion in the gross value of 
production and making up 21.4% of Australia’s total value 
in agricultural production in 2018–19.238 Although demand 
for food has been increasing and this trend is predicted 
to continue in line with global population growth,5,239 
productivity growth in the agriculture sector has been 
variable over the past decade and has begun to decline in 
recent years relative to the rest of the economy (see Figure 
17). The national implementation of digital agriculture 
is estimated to increase the gross value of agricultural 
production by $20.3 billion (a 25% increase from 2014–15 
levels),240 with other estimates suggesting that the 
Australian agriculture sector could be valued at $100 billion 
by 2030, driven by strong global investment in agricultural 
technologies.241 An example area ripe for automation 
identified by experts is phenotyping in advanced breeding 
programs – a process which is commonly labour and 
time intensive.242 Despite the potential, the Australian 
agriculture industry has low levels of digital maturity and 
is missing out on these potential productivity gains.240 To 
help drive widespread uptake of digital technologies across 
agriculture, forestry and fisheries industries, the Australian 
Government plans to develop a Digital Foundations in 
Agriculture Strategy.243

Figure 17. Growth in multifactor productivity in agriculture, 
forestry and fishing and across all market sectors in Australia 
(index, 1994–95 = 100)

Data source: Australian Bureau of Statistics244

Note. ‘Market sector industries’ include all sectors 
classified under the Australian and New Zealand 
Standard Industrial Classification. 

Desire to reduce the environmental footprint of the 
agriculture sector. The agriculture industry is vulnerable to 
changing weather patterns and temperatures. In response 
to the sector’s climate vulnerability, the National Farmers’ 
Federation has advocated for reducing emissions in the 
agriculture sector and set a target for zero-net emissions 
by 2050.245 A growing number of Australian agriculture 
producers have also committed to carbon-neutral targets, 
including Arcadian Organic & Natural’s Meat Company, 
Five Founders, Flinders + Co, Talaheni, Jigsaw, Ross Hill, 
Tulloch and Tahbilk.246 Digital technologies are providing 
opportunities for the agriculture sector to reduce its 
environmental footprint and respond to climate pressures. 
Examples include CSIRO’s 1622 Water Quality online 
tool, which uses real-time data collected from sensors 
in waterways and coastal catchments to help sugarcane 
farmers in Far North Queensland better manage fertiliser 
use and nitrogen run-off into the Great Barrier Reef.247 
Protected cropping (growing of crops within, under or 
sheltered by artificial structures) is also augmenting 
traditional farming methods, given its ability to control the 
crop environment, optimise resource use and minimise 
harmful environmental impacts.248 Automated technologies 
are being applied in protected cropping, with the Gold 
Coast firm Stacked Farms developing Australia’s first fully 
automated protected farm for salad greens and herbs.249 



Agricultural labour shortages intensified by global 
pandemic. The agriculture sector faces a number of 
workforce challenges. First, the agriculture workforce 
is ageing, with the average Queensland farmer aged 
57.9 years in 2018–19 – an increase from 56.6 years in 
2013–14.210,250 This is a symptom of the sector’s struggle 
when it comes to sourcing new skilled workers. Agriculture, 
environmental and related studies consistently attracts the 
lowest share of persons studying towards a post-school 
qualification and this share has been in decline over the 
past decade (see Figure 18). Agricultural sectors like the 
horticulture sector rely heavily on seasonal labour, with 
the bulk of these workers being temporary visa holders.251 
The usual supply of backpackers and other foreign workers 
has been disrupted by the global COVID-19 pandemic, 
with restrictions limiting international travel.252 Ernest and 
Young estimate that the Australian agriculture industry 
will be up to 26,000 workers short by March 2021,253 and 
this impact could be greater given that international travel 
restrictions are expected to persist through 2021.254 These 
labour shortages could be a strong driver and catalyst for 
automation, where robots and other technologies could 
substitute for seasonal and low-skilled labour255 or assist 
existing workers to improve their productivity. Moreover, 
technology adoption in agriculture could assist the sector 
in shifting out-dated public perceptions around a career 
in agriculture and attracting future knowledge workers 
looking for technology-intensive careers. 

Figure 18. Proportion of persons studying a non-school qualification by main field of study

Data source: Australian Bureau of Statistics256



Supply drivers

Queensland universities driving digital agriculture 
innovation. Queensland’s universities have deep 
expertise in a diverse range of digital agricultural 
domains. QUT’s Future Farming group and the Centre for 
Robotics have developed a large portfolio of automated 
agriculture technologies for tracking and monitoring 
crops and improving efficiencies on the farm.257 Griffith 
University is using AI to automate quality monitoring in 
horticulture.258 JCU is home to the Agriculture Technology 
and Adoption Centre, which develops industry-driven 
agriculture technology solutions using AI, data science, 
sensor networks and advanced manufacturing.259 Central 
Queensland University’s (CQU) Institute for Future Farming 
Systems focuses on precision agriculture technologies, 
including the development of non-invasive sensor platforms 
for monitoring and tracking individual animals (e.g. 
DataMuster).260 USQ’s Centre for Agricultural Engineering 
is leading research into the use of sensors, robotic and 
computing technologies in driverless tractor technologies 
and other forms of machine automation and control.261 
Finally, research at UQ’s Queensland Alliance for Agriculture 
and Food Innovation (QAAFI) covers a diverse range of 
digital agriculture areas, including sensors, automation, 
crop modelling and forecasting, and has developed 
a remote-sensing tractor that collects data on crop 
performance to identify the optimal genotype.262

Strength in robotics research opens up agricultural 
opportunities. Agriculture is one of the many areas where 
Queensland researchers have been applying robotics. 
For example, QUT’s Centre for Robotics has developed 
a robotic vegetable harvester (nicknamed ‘Harvey’) and 
autonomous weed and crop management machinery for 
broadacre farming (AgBot II), both of which have been 
significantly co‑funded by the Queensland Government.257 
These draw upon QUT’s world-leading strengths in robotic 
vision housed in the Australian Centre for Robotic Vision.263 
CSIRO Data61’s Robotics and Autonomous Systems Group 
is also a world leader in robotics research, specialising 
in field robotics, autonomous vehicles and wireless 
technologies for a broad range of industries.264 Relevant 
agricultural examples include the ResQu project, in which 
unmanned helicopters were developed in collaboration 
with Biosecurity Queensland to map weeds in difficult 
terrain; world-leading technologies in virtual fencing; 
and AgScan3D+, a sophisticated sensor technology that 
can be retrofitted to a farm vehicle to measure the health, 
structure and quality of crops.265 Although other Australian 
states have strong robotics capabilities too, Brisbane’s 
reputation as a world-leading robotics hub is growing, 
with the city hosting the first International Conference on 
Robotics and Automation in the southern hemisphere in 
2018,266 and the World of Drones Congress on an annual 
basis since 2017.267 Growing Queensland’s capabilities in 
robotics will have benefits for agriculture and flow-on 
impacts for other emerging industries.

Ideal testbed for agricultural technologies. Queensland 
has a large landmass, low population density, proximity to 
Asia and diverse landscapes. These strengths provide fertile 
grounds for growing a range of crops and livestock that, 
in turn, can be used to test novel agricultural sensor and 
automation technologies. Queensland also has excellent 
testing facilities for agriculture technologies in the pipeline. 
For example, the Queensland Government plans to establish 
a $3.3 million AgTech and logistics hub in Toowoomba 
where agricultural technologies can be developed, built 
and tested with a view to commercialisation and attracting 
investment.268 CQU has also opened an AgTech facility in 
Bundaberg, which aims to support agricultural research 
and development in the region and the translation and 
commercialisation of agricultural innovations.269 Other 
enabling facilities include the Robotics Innovation Centre 
hosted by CSIRO Data61’s Robotics and Autonomous 
Systems Group,270 and the Australian-first testing facility for 
small-to-medium-sized drones planned for construction 
in Cloncurry, Queensland.271 These facilities not only 
support Queensland researchers and companies to develop 
technologies for agriculture and other applications, but 
could also be attractive for international companies.



Growing network of agricultural sensor and automation 
technology companies. SwarmFarm Robotics is a 
Central Queensland-based company that focuses on the 
deployment of smaller, more cost-effective ‘swarms’ 
of autonomous machines.272 These types of lower-cost 
autonomous systems may be particularly attractive to 
innovation-active agriculture businesses, who have 
identified access to funding and the cost of development 
or implementation as the top barriers to innovation.273 
Ceres Tag is another Queensland-based company that 
has developed, in collaboration with JCU and CSIRO, a 
smart ear tag for cattle to monitor their location, health 
and welfare.274 John Deere Limited, a leading provider of 
agricultural machinery and equipment, has a long-standing 
research innovation partnership with USQ.275 Queensland 
also has several successful AgTech start-ups that come 
from the Queensland research sector. Examples include 
RapidAIM, an insect monitoring technology company that 
spun out of CSIRO’s Data61 which uses IoT technologies to 
detect fruit flies in crops in real-time.276 LYRO Robotics is a 
spin-out from the Australian Centre for Robotic Vision that 
specialises in picking and packing agricultural and logistics 
robots277 This business base provides strong foundations for 
future growth and development in this industry.

Challenges and future opportunities

Selling to a small local market and competing globally. 
Experts commented that the market for agricultural 
sensors and automation is small in Australia. Cost can be 
a significant limiting factor in implementing sensor or 
robotic technologies, especially given it can take years 
to accumulate useful data for accurate decision making 
and the return on this investment may not be apparent in 
the short term.255 The Australian agribusiness ecosystem 
also lacks large, globally renowned businesses that can 
support the industry in competing internationally.278 Global 
competition for agriculture technologies is significant 
and countries like Israel, the United States and the 
United Kingdom have already established strong AgTech 
ecosystems.241 Experts consulted in the project felt there 
could be novel market opportunities for researchers and 
companies to develop low-cost sensor and robotic systems 
that present a lower investment risk for smaller farms. 
Moreover, experts suggested that policy support and 
incentives could be provided to international companies 
to establish their research and development faculties in 
Queensland, providing an incubator for developing globally 
relevant solutions.

Addressing connectivity barriers on farms and poor data 
infrastructure. Poor digital literacy is a persisting challenge 
across agricultural value chains that limits the adoption of 
digital agriculture solutions.240 Experts consulted in this 
report felt agricultural workers often lack the digital literacy 
to use sensor and automation technologies and analyse the 
resulting data, and conversely, technology developers lack 
domain expertise. Skill-development programs are needed 
to support the translation of digital agriculture solutions 
from the lab to the farm. Digital connectivity is another 
barrier to adoption in rural and remote areas. Although 
the digital divide between urban and rural areas has been 
improving, Brisbane still scores higher in measures of digital 
access (77.9 out of 100) compared with rural Queensland 
(72.8).279 Connectivity barriers not only impact the future 
growth of the agricultural sensors and automation industry, 
but also any knowledge-driven sector that has a strong 
regional basis (e.g. supply chain provenance technologies). 
To address rural connectivity issues on farms, the Western 
Australian Government funded a $277,500 grant in 2019 
to implement 4G mobile technology to connect 50 farms 
within a 100 km radius, enabling farmers to process data 
collected from on-farm sensors and remote devices.280 The 
Western Australian Government has also invested $582,800 
in the WA IoT DecisionAg Grant Program to address issues 
around on-farm connectivity.281 Queensland could explore 
similar mechanisms for supporting Queensland farmers in 
overcoming connectivity issues and trialling on-farm sensor 
and automation technologies. 



Building a bridge between solutions and farmers. 
Previous work by StartupAUS, KPMG, the Queensland 
Government and the Commonwealth Bank found 
that Australian farmers would benefit from greater 
visibility of the available solutions and vendors.241 The 
commercialisation pathways associated with AgTech can 
be complex and stakeholders consulted in this project 
noted that products tend to be technology-driven rather 
than end-user driven and the need for researchers and 
developers to engage their end-users when developing 
digital agriculture solutions. To improve the connectivity 
between researchers, developers and industry, KPMG, 
in collaboration with the Food Agility CRC and other 
industry groups, has developed an online marketplace 
for agricultural technologies called ‘AgTech Finder’.282 
This platform aims to connect Australian farmers with a 
technology solution based on their needs and problems, 
as well as build awareness around what is available in the 
market.282 In partnership with the Food Agility CRC, the 
Queensland Government has built a state-based portal to 
connect agribusinesses to the growing AgTech ecosystem 
in Queensland.283 The Queensland Government has also 
established ‘Smart Farm’ industry demonstration sites at the 
Gatton Research Facility to improve technology adoption 
and adaptation in agribusinesses. Experts suggested there 
could also be novel service sector opportunities in AgTech, 
wherein skilled workers who possess both technical and 
agricultural domain knowledge could support farmers in 
implementing technologies on the farm and integrating 
them in a connected platform. 

Increasing the level of private investment in AgTech. 
The Queensland Government will invest $3.3 million in 
the AgTech and logistics hub planned for Toowoomba,268 
in addition to the $14.5 million drone testing facility for 
Cloncurry.271 The Australian Government has invested 
$150 million into the Food Agility CRC, which is researching 
agricultural sensor and computing technologies.284 
The Australian Government has also invested $5 billion 
through its Future Drought Fund, $86 million of which 
will go towards eight Drought Resilience Adoption and 
Innovation Hubs to support research, development 
and innovation around drought resilience.285 However, 
private investment in agricultural technologies is lacking 
in Australia, with the total venture capital investment in 
Australian AgTech ($5.9 million in 2017) equivalent to the 
average of a single early‑stage venture capital deal in the 
United States ($5.7 million in 2016).286 One contributing 
factor to the current low levels of private investment in 
AgTech could centre around the challenges that researchers 
and technology companies face in providing the evidence 
and data on the economic and non-economic benefits 
provided by technology. To help build this evidence base, 
the government could focus its funding efforts on research 
projects that aim to demonstrate the future viability or 
scalability of AgTech innovations to strengthen 
investor confidence.

Related industry opportunity areas

• Resource recovery technologies: using these 
technologies to monitor and collect agricultural waste, 
which can be used to produce new high-value products 
(e.g. biofuels)
• Supply chain provenance technologies: common 
technologies applied across these sectors and 
opportunities to link data collected on the farm and 
across food supply chains
• Agriculture and aquaculture: key consumers of sensor 
and automation technologies, which are designed 
to create efficiencies and productivity gains in these 
traditional sectors
• Protected cropping: an area of application for sensor 
and automation technologies to improve high-value 
horticulture yields in protected environments
• Advanced manufacturing: the need for capabilities in 
advanced manufacturing to transition digital agriculture 
innovations from prototype to the market 




7 Supply chain provenance 
technologies

Australia has a strong international brand, with a reputation 
for safe, high-quality food and agricultural exports. 
However, this strong reputation is increasingly being put 
at risk by food fraud in our key export markets. Supply 
chain provenance technologies can be used to track 
and trace food products along the entire value chain, 
from the paddock or the farm to the consumer. These 
technologies enhance the transparency of the entire 
supply chain, providing producers, wholesalers, freight 
and logistics operators, retailers and consumers with 
oversight over product transactions. While Queensland 
research into supply chain provenance technologies has 
focused on blockchain technology and the IoT to date, 
other technologies include traceable markers, genetic 
testing, remote surveillance systems, image recognition 
and other automated monitoring systems. The provenance 
story associated with food products can be communicated 
to consumers via these technologies, adding value by 
conveying the authenticity, origin and other commercially 
relevant information (e.g. ethical practices).

Enhancing the traceability systems associated with 
Queensland’s domestic and export markets will serve 
to protect the value-added attributes associated with 
Australian products, maintain and build trust amongst 
consumers and potentially ease the regulations associated 
with importing Australian products into other countries. 
There may also be opportunities for these systems to 
support a two-way flow of information, enabling producers 
to learn more about their consumers and markets for their 
products. While Queensland’s research and commercial 
applications for supply chain provenance technologies have 
focused on food and agricultural markets to date, these 
technologies are increasingly being applied to track the 
end-to-end lifespan of recyclable materials. Using supply 
chain provenance technologies to improve the transparency 
of recycling processes can help build and maintain the 
community’s trust in these processes. Queensland has an 
emerging base of researchers and firms using cutting-edge 
technologies and approaches to improve the traceability 
of its supply chains and this is an area that is gaining 
significant government and private-sector investment. 

There were 107 supply chain provenance technology 
businesses in Queensland as at 30 June 2019 and this is 
projected to increase to 546 by 2030 (see Figure 19). These 
reflect firms that directly form part of the supply chain 
provenance technologies industry, acknowledging that 
there will be other firms that form part of this industry’s 
value chain. These businesses are estimated to account for 
508 direct FTE jobs and 79 indirect FTE jobs for Queensland 
currently and this is predicted to increase to 2,595 direct 
and 402 indirect FTE jobs by 2030 (see Figure 19). These 
projections are based on the adjusted 10-year average 
annual growth rate of 14.3%. To illustrate the potential 
growth of this sector based on current global growth rates, 
the number of firms and jobs were also forecast using 
insights derived from published global growth estimates 
from a comparable or related sector. The global blockchain 
in supply chain market is forecast to grow at an average 
annual rate of approximately 60% between 2019 and 
2025,287 with the blockchain market for agriculture and 
food supply chains specifically predicted to grow by 48.1% 
per year from 2020 to 2025.288 The average of these two 
estimates was used as the global growth rate estimate. As 
shown in Figure 19, Queensland could experience much 
greater growth in this sector if the rate of change increases 
in line with global trends.

2019

2030

546 
businesses

107
businesses

508 
direct FTE jobs

79 
indirect FTE jobs

2,595
direct FTE jobs

402
indirect FTE jobs



QUEENSLAND’S POTENTIAL SUPPLY CHAIN PROVENANCE TECHNOLOGIES INDUSTRY AT A GLANCE

Demand 
drivers

• High costs of counterfeit products and the vulnerability of Australian suppliers to food fraud due to their reputation 
for safe and quality food and wine exports
• Opportunities to use technologies to verify the provenance and authenticity of Australian food exports in 
increasingly competitive Asian markets that are demanding higher-value food products
• Consumers want greater transparency around their food products following a series of high-profile food 
fraud incidents


Supply 
drivers

• State and federal government investments in traceability systems to improve the transparency of agricultural supply 
chains and safeguard the reputation of Australian producers
• Existing research programs on food provenance, including QUT’s collaboration with BeefLedger and research 
conducted at JCU, CSIRO and UQ
• Local companies already working to improve the traceability of Queensland supply chains, such as BeefLedger and 
AgriChain for food exports and EverLedger for recycled materials


Challenges 
and future 
opportunities

• The need for a dedicated collaborate research initiative that brings together the state’s diverse capabilities around 
food provenance and supporting technologies
• Ensuring funding for basic research into supply chain provenance is prioritised alongside applied research and 
experimental development activities
• Creating novel job creation opportunities in regional Australia by engaging communities in the development of 
local food provenance stories
• Local and global markets for supply chain provenance technologies are currently small, but are likely to grow given 
the economic impacts of counterfeiting incidents






Figure 19. Historical and projected (based on historical Queensland growth rate and global growth rate) number of GST-registered 
firms and total full-time equivalent jobs (including direct and indirect jobs) in the supply chain provenance technologies industry 
in Queensland

Note. Years denoted by an asterisk (*) reflect forecasted years.

Why Queensland?



Demand drivers

Costly fight against counterfeit products. Food fraud 
is a significant global issue, costing $50 billion each 
year.289 It is also a challenge for Australia’s food and wine 
exports, costing the sector approximately $1.7 billion in 
2017, with dairy, wine and meat bearing the largest share 
of food fraud costs.289 Given its strong reputation for 
safe, quality food and wine exports, Australian suppliers 
are prime targets,290 and this trend has worsened as 
Australian exports to countries with a high risk of food 
fraud have increased.289 At least 50% of Australian wines 
are substituted with counterfeit products in Asia, with 
popular, high-end brands like Penfolds often substituted 
for ‘Benfolds’.290 Australian companies, such as the vitamin 
group, Blackmores, in collaboration with Alibaba, are 
trialling the use of supply chain provenance technologies 
(e.g. blockchain) to track and monitor goods imported into 
Asia to curb the sale of fraudulent products.291 Supply chain 
provenance technologies provide a means for protecting 
Australia’s ‘clean, green and secure’ reputation and offer 
assurance to customers and importing countries that the 
Australian food and wine products they purchase adhere to 
strict food safety standards. 

Rising demand for higher-value food exports to Asia. 
The global middle-class population was 3.2 billion in 2016 
and this is expected to increase to 5.2 billion by 2028, with 
around 88% of new entrants to the middle-class residing in 
Asia.292 As a result, demand for higher-value food products 
has been increasing, with the average person in Asia 
consuming a similar amount of protein per day (77.6 g) as 
the global average (81.2 g, 2013 figures).293 Asian consumers 
view beef as a superior source of protein and the amount 
of beef imported into China each year has been growing 
exponentially over the past decade in response to increasing 
demand.240 Queensland is the largest exporter of red meat 
in Australia, accounting for 39% of the country’s total red 
meat exports in 2018–19.294 With food fraud becoming an 
increasing issue for Australian food exports (see The costly 
fight against counterfeit products driver above), and with 
competition for Asian beef markets increasing,295 verifying 
the provenance and authenticity of Queensland beef and 
other food exports will be critical in maintaining the sector’s 
brand, reputation and competitive advantage. 

Consumer demand for greater transparency around food 
products. Asian consumers have experienced a series of 
high-profile food fraud incidents in the past, including 
the contamination of infant formula with melamine,296 
out‑of-date meat sold in fast food retailers297 and the use 
of recycled waste oil in food production.298 UK consumers’ 
trust has similarly been tested after traces of horsemeat 
was found in burger patties sold in supermarkets.299 Food 
fraud damages consumers’ confidence and trust in the 
authenticity, quality and reliability of food products from 
local and international supply chains.300,301 Blockchain 
and other supply chain provenance technologies and 
approaches could be used to improve the transparency 
around food and other consumer products, and this 
demand is likely to be greatest in countries where there 
is a high risk of fraudulent food products. A recent 
survey found that while most Chinese consumers are not 
familiar with how blockchain technologies can be used to 
authenticate food supply chains (87.4%), 99.1% would be 
more likely to purchase blockchain-verified lamb over an 
unverified product if they were equal in price.302 Over half 
of consumers (51%) would be willing to pay 5–15% more for 
blockchain-verified products.302 It is unclear at this stage, 
however, how much it would cost industry to implement 
a blockchain-verified system and what the resulting price 
would be for consumers. 

Supply drivers

Government investment for improving Australia’s 
traceability systems. In 2019, the Australian Government 
established the National Traceability Framework, which 
aims to provide a guide for industry and government to 
enhance the traceability systems associated with food 
and agricultural exports.303 To support the industry in 
implementing food traceability systems, Deakin University’s 
Centre for Supply Chain and Logistics, in collaboration with 
industry partners, has developed an Australian-first guide 
for tracking and tracing food products across the supply 
chain for domestic and international markets.304 
Moreover, the Australian Government has committed 
$7 million as part of its Traceability Grants Program, which 
will run from 2019–23.305 Queensland-based firm, Honey 
and Fox, was a successful recipient under this funding 
program and plans to develop an interactive decision-
support tool to help producers identify traceability systems 
based on their business needs.305,306 The Queensland 
Government has also announced a $5.5 million investment 
to improve the traceability, biosecurity and food safety 
of agricultural supply chains.307 With importing countries 
imposing stricter regulations around food safety, 
investment in enhancing Australia’s traceability systems will 
assist producers in maintaining and expanding their export 
markets in the future. 



Research capabilities in tracking and tracing provenance. 
QUT, in collaboration with BeefLedger – a Queensland-
based beef export provenance technology company – is 
using blockchain and IoT technologies to create a platform 
for tracking and tracing Australian beef exports,308 which 
are highly susceptible to food fraud.309 T-Provenance, an 
Adelaide-based CSIRO spin-out, is using blockchain and IoT 
to enhance the authenticity and traceability in Australian 
food industries,310 including mangos in North Queensland.311 
QUT is also embarking on new research that aims to provide 
a ‘DNA’ stamp for plastics in the circular economy.312 JCU, 
in collaboration with CSIRO, has also developed the Digital 
Homestead, a decision-making platform that combines data 
from on-farm and remote sensors and other data sources, 
to explore potential ‘paddock to plate’ applications for 
beef supply chains.313 JCU and QUT are also partners in the 
Food Agility CRC, which covers research into tracking and 
traceability systems for seafood and red meat markets.284 
Researchers at UQ’s QAAFI are also conducting research 
to understand the provenance signature of uniquely 
Australian food products,314 which could be communicated to 
consumers and authenticated using supply chain provenance 
technologies and platforms.315 Other supply chain provenance 
technologies include traceable markers and biomarkers.290 
These technologies will become more sophisticated 
as supporting technologies, like cloud computing, IoT, 
blockchain, quantum computing and AI, develop.

Local firms working to improve Queensland supply 
chains. There is an emerging cluster of Queensland 
firms applying supply chain provenance technologies for 
agribusinesses, including the aforementioned BeefLedger, 
which has collaborated with QUT on a range of beef 
provenance projects.316 BeefLedger is also collaborating 
with CSIRO’s Data61 in a trial to improve the cost and 
ecological effectiveness of its remote sensors.317 Others 
include the Sunshine Coast-based company, AgriChain, 
which uses blockchain technologies to track and transfer 
information between providers, supporting end-to-end 
visibility across the entire agricultural supply chain.318 
AgriChain has recently received $6 million in venture 
capital funding.319 EverLedger, a London-based technology 
company which uses a range of provenance technologies 
to track asset information, has also partnered with 
Griffith University in a program of work that aims to 
apply traceability systems to track materials (e.g. tyres) 
across their lifespan to inform future waste management 
initiatives.320 EverLedger, in collaboration with the Circular 
Economy Lab and other industry partners, is also using 
blockchain technology to track and trace upcycling 
processes associated with recycled materials to restore 
social trust.321 

Challenges and future opportunities

Coordinating supply chain provenance technologies 
research. Queensland has a diverse range of research 
institutions and groups that are actively conducting 
relevant food and waste provenance research, but experts 
commented that these research streams are siloed with 
limited connectivity. There is a need to improve the 
coordination of these research activities. The establishment 
of the Food Agility CRC and Food Systems CRC have helped 
bring together national research, industry and government 
capabilities in a broad range of areas focused on improving 
the productivity, sustainability and global competitiveness 
of the Australian agrifood sector. However, there is no 
dedicated CRC or other collaborative research initiatives for 
supply chain provenance technologies. By bringing together 
Queensland’s capabilities in food provenance knowledge 
and technologies, the state will be in a better position 
to understand the system needed to provide the trust, 
authenticity and storytelling associated with local food 
and non-food exports. This will enhance the value of these 
products and provide novel insights into the economics 
behind these systems and target consumer markets.

Funding to support a long-term vision. Experts believed 
more basic research is needed to better understand the 
fundamental systemic change needed to improve the 
provenance traceability of food and other exports. At 
present, there is limited empirical evidence to demonstrate 
the feasibility and scalability of provenance-related 
blockchain trials to provide investor confidence in these 
technologies. A previous cost-benefit analysis on food fraud 
estimated $2.52 million would be needed annually over a 
10-year period for food-fraud-related research activities 
to build the technological capabilities needed to detect 
food inauthenticity and insure the Australian brand.289 
Current funding initiatives tend to be short-term focused 
and project-specific, rather than reflecting a broader 
long-term vision and research portfolio for supply chain 
provenance. While there have been recent industry-focused 
investments from state and federal governments,305,307 these 
investments may not improve basic knowledge around the 
authenticity and traceability of Queensland’s supply chains 
if the funding is prioritised towards applied research and 
experimental development activities. 



Engaging regions in telling provenance stories. The supply 
chain provenance technologies industry has the potential to 
open up new job creation opportunities for regional areas 
in Queensland. This has been demonstrated through QUT’s 
work with BeefLedger, where they engaged the South 
Australian District Council of Grant community and Mount 
Gambier High School students to co-develop local content 
that could be used in telling food provenance stories about 
the region’s Limestone Coast beef.322 Storytelling is a key 
component of communicating the brand and provenance 
associated with consumer products and building 
consumer trust.315 Growth in supply chain provenance 
technologies could strengthen demand for professional 
cultural intermediaries in regional locations, which could 
encompass a broad range of roles (e.g. brand managers, 
curators, social entrepreneurs, community, facilitators, 
etc.).322 Traditional knowledge could feature in Australian 
food provenance stories and the research and training 
conducted through UQ’s ARC Industrial Transformation 
Training Centre for Uniquely Australian Foods could 
support industry leaders in promoting sustainable and 
culturally appropriate applications of native foods.314 
These job opportunities demonstrate the importance of 
both technical data and digital skills, along with ‘softer’ 
skills in community engagement and digital marketing in 
supporting the growth of this industry.

Growing the global market for supply chain provenance 
technologies. Analysis by BIS Research suggests that the 
global blockchain in agriculture and food market was 
valued at $56.7 million in 2018 and this is expected to 
grow to $1.9 billion by 2028.323 Compared with the size of 
global markets for the other seed industries discussed in 
this report (e.g. the digital health market, valued at 
$678 billion by 202780), the global market for supply chain 
provenance technologies is predicted to be comparatively 
smaller. This could present a challenge for local Queensland 
companies while demand is still developing. The drivers 
highlighted for this industry, however, provide strong 
signals that demand will grow. For example, the economic 
impact of food fraud and counterfeit products is significant 
for Australian producers and supply chain provenance 
technologies could mitigate this impact. Moreover, 
consumer demand for transparency around their food 
products is increasing, particularly in Asian countries where 
several high-profile food fraud and counterfeiting incidents 
have occurred,296–298 and where concerns around trace 
elements of metals in seafood exports have recently halted 
trade with Australia.324 Incidents like these will likely drive 
industry, including Australian producers, to develop ways of 
improving the transparency of their supply chain.

Related industry opportunity areas

• Agricultural sensors and automation: common 
technologies applied across both sectors and the 
opportunities to link data collected on the farm and 
across food supply chains
• Resource recovery technologies: opportunities to 
use supply chain technologies to track the end-to-end 
lifespan of recyclable materials
• Agriculture and aquaculture: potential users of 
supply chain technologies to enhance the value of 
food products, protect against food fraud and provide 
producers with insights into their markets
• Transport and logistics: the ability to use supply chain 
technologies as part of existing transport and logistics 
networks to track and trace transactions from the farm 
to the consumer
• Wholesale and retail: opportunities to enhance the 
transparency of wholesale and retail transactions 
through the use of supply chain technologies
• Mining and resources: translation opportunities for the 
mining and resources sector to repurpose technologies 
developed for tracking agricultural and waste for 
resource supply chains
• Waste management, treatment, and remediation: 
supporting the management of recyclable materials by 
using supply chain technologies to track the end-to-end 
lifespan of these materials
• Advanced manufacturing: drawing upon advanced 
manufacturing capabilities to develop the technologies 
needed to support this industry




8 Disaster resilience and 
response technologies

Disaster resilience focuses on understanding and 
forecasting the impact of natural hazards and mitigating 
their impacts on communities. Queensland is the most 
disaster-prone state in Australia and these impacts are 
predicted to worsen as natural hazard events become more 
frequent due to climate change.325 Digital technologies 
provide new avenues for pre-empting, responding and 
recovering from a disaster event. For example, robots can 
assist humans in performing challenging tasks in a disaster, 
improving the safety and efficiency of disaster responses.326 
During or following a disaster event, drones could be 
used to capture images on properties and AI could be 
applied to compare these images with previous images to 
determine the extent of the damage. Insurance companies 
could use this information to verify damages, speeding up 
recovery times for individuals and companies and providing 
assurances for insurance companies. Machine learning 
could also be used to analyse and predict the occurrence of 
and response to natural hazards.326 

The increasing frequency and intensity of natural 
hazards and their associated economic costs highlight 
the importance of investing in this seed industry.327 
Advancements made in Queensland can and should be 
translated across Australia and internationally, supporting 
other jurisdictions in responding to the social, economic 
and environmental impacts of wildfires, droughts, 
heatwaves, floods, cyclones and other natural hazards. This 
presents an opportunity for Queensland to export these 
solutions to other countries experiencing similar challenges 
. Queensland’s research expertise not only covers disaster 
resilience and natural hazards, but the state also has strong 
complementary capabilities in robotics and environmental 
modelling. South-East Queensland is also home of a 
growing network of start-ups actively working to develop 
and apply technologies in this space. Fuelled by the 2019–20 
Black Summer bushfire season and the 2011 Brisbane floods, 
disaster resilience is an area that is attracting significant 
public and private investment. 

There were 365 disaster resilience and response technology 
businesses in Queensland as at 30 June 2019 and this is 
projected to increase to 927 by 2030 (see Figure 20). These 
reflect firms that directly form part of the disaster resilience 
and response technologies industry, acknowledging that 
there will be other firms that form part of this new industry 
value chain, which also create economic and employment 
opportunities. These businesses are estimated to have 
created 1,693 direct FTE jobs and 1,314 indirect FTE jobs for 
Queensland currently and this is estimated to increase to 
4,298 direct and 3,335 indirect FTE jobs by 2030 (see Figure 
20). These projections are based on the estimated adjusted 
average annual growth rate of 7.9% over the next 10 years. 
To illustrate the potential growth of this sector based on 
current global growth rates, the number of firms and jobs 
were forecast using insights derived from published global 
growth estimates from a comparable or related sector. For 
this sector, the global incident and emergency management 
market, which is expected to grow by an average annual 
rate of 5.9% from 2020 to 2024,328 was used as an index of 
the potential global growth rate.

2019

2030

546 
businesses

107
businesses

508 
direct FTE jobs

79 
indirect FTE jobs

2,595
direct FTE jobs

402
indirect FTE jobs



Figure 20. Historical and projected (based on historical Queensland growth rate and global growth rate) number of GST‑registered 
firms and total full-time equivalent jobs (including direct and indirect jobs) in the disaster resilience and response technologies 
industry in Queensland

Note. Years denoted by an asterisk (*) reflect forecasted years.



QUEENSLAND’S POTENTIAL DISASTER RESILIENCE AND RESPONSE TECHNOLOGIES INDUSTRY AT A GLANCE

Demand 
drivers

• Natural disasters are costly for Queensland and Australia, as well as other countries such as China, the United States 
and developing countries
• Natural hazards have a significant environmental burden (e.g. landmass destroyed, emissions generated) and social 
burden (e.g. lives lost, long-term mental health impacts)
• The need to protect the future livelihoods of Queensland industries that are vulnerable to variable weather patterns 
(e.g. agriculture, retail, tourism)
• Opportunities to improve the safety outcomes for humans in responding to disaster events using robots and 
autonomous systems


Supply 
drivers

• Existing expertise and research capabilities in disaster risk reduction, resilience and post-disaster response and 
recovery, covering JCU, CQU, QUT, USQ and UQ
• Opportunities to draw upon local strengths in robotics to develop innovative disaster technologies, such as the 
OzBot Titan firefighting robot, the Hovermap inspection and mapping drone, and autonomous tree-planting fleets, 
Growbots
• The 2019–20 Black Summer bushfires triggered significant public-sector and private-sector investment in disaster 
technologies
• An emerging cluster of fire-tech start-ups on the Sunshine Coast with links to international companies across 
Australia, the United States, Canada and Asia


Challenges 
and future 
opportunities

• The boundaries of this industry are blurry, but this presents an opportunity to define and set the strategic direction 
and vision for the industry
• Opportunities to repurpose existing robotic and autonomous systems technologies for disaster purposes and an 
audit of existing innovations could help identify potential opportunity areas
• Current gaps in the manufacturing supply chain for robotics, but opportunities to draw upon the state’s strong 
advanced manufacturing network to fill this void
• Uncertainty around how growth in the disaster resilience and response technologies sector might impact the 
insurance sector, with the potential to reduce premiums or drive innovation in insurance products






Why Queensland?

Demand drivers

Queensland’s costly natural disasters. Queensland has 
the highest rate of natural disasters in Australia,329 costing 
the Queensland economy an average of $6.2 billion per 
year between 2007 to 2016.330 These costs are predicted 
to rise to $18 billion per year by 2050.330 Floods are the 
most costly natural disaster for Queensland (65% of costs), 
followed by cyclones (25%). The damage bill is even higher 
in the United States, China and Japan, with these countries 
making up almost two-thirds of the total global economic 
damage caused by natural disasters (see Figure 21). After 
China and the United States, developing countries also bear 
a large share of the social impacts of disaster events (e.g. 
Philippines, India, and Vietnam), even though the economic 
damage bill is less given the level of development in these 
countries.331 The high costs associated with natural hazards 
signal an imperative for greater preparedness, response and 
recovery capabilities for natural disasters in Queensland. 
There is also an opportunity to export these solutions to 
other jurisdictions with similar challenges. 

Figure 21. Estimated economic damage of natural disasters 
across selected jurisdictions, 2008–17

Data source: International Federation of Red Cross and Red 
Crescent Societies331 



Social and environmental burdens of natural hazards. 
While extreme natural disasters can be costly, they also 
have significant social and environmental impacts. 
For example, the excessive smoke generated by the 
Black Summer bushfires of 2019–20 in Australia resulted 
in 417 excess deaths and 3,151 hospitalisations due to 
cardiovascular and respiratory problems and an additional 
1,305 emergency department presentations for asthma 
across New South Wales, Queensland, the Australian 
Capital Territory and Victoria.332 The fires also burnt 
approximately 18.9 million ha of land across Australia 
(2.5 million ha in Queensland),332 destroyed 3,113 houses 
(48 in Queensland),332 killed over 1 billion animals,332 and 
generated around 830 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent.333 
Extreme weather is also a significant psychological 
stressor: hot days have a similar impact on mental health 
as unemployment,334 and extreme weather events like the 
2011 Brisbane floods have been associated with long-term 
heightened levels of psychological distress.335 Increasingly 
frequent and severe weather events in Australia could 
challenge the health and well-being of its communities and 
the capacity of its environment to regenerate. 

Queensland industries vulnerable to variable weather 
patterns. Primary industries such as agriculture, forestry 
and fishing as well as retail and tourism are among some 
of Queensland’s most climate-sensitive sectors. These 
sectors are significant contributors to the Queensland 
economy, with agriculture generating $12.9 billion in gross 
value‑added production in 2018–19,238 and rural exports 
making up 11.2% of Queensland’s total exports in 2019–20.336 
Moreover, Queensland’s tourism sector contributed a 
total of $28.3 billion to GSP in 2018–19, making up 7.7% of 
Queensland’s economic activity.153 Disruptions to these 
industries as a result of extreme weather or a natural 
disaster, among other factors, could have a significant 
impact on the Queensland economy. For example, the 
2019–20 Black Summer bushfires were estimated to cost the 
tourism, retail and agriculture sectors between $2–3 million 
in lost income and production.337 Building resilience to 
natural disasters will be critical in supporting the long-term 
economic prosperity of Queensland industries.

The need to make disaster preparedness, response and 
recovery better. Robots or other autonomous systems 
could substitute for humans in disaster events to reduce 
health and safety risks. Although pandemics would not be 
considered natural disasters, there are some parallels that 
we can draw from using technologies in these events too. 
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers from 
Texas A&M University and the Center for Robot-Assisted 
Search and Rescue analysed social media reports and 
identified uses of ground and ariel robots for quarantine 
enforcement, the disinfection of public and clinical spaces, 
delivery services and handling of infectious materials.338 For 
example, Blue Ocean Robotics have developed ultra‑violet 
disinfection robots (UVD Robots) that can be used to 
prevent the spread of infections in hospital settings.339 
Robots can also be used in disaster events for tasks that 
cannot be completed, or completed safely, by a human 
and to help human workers better manage their increased 
workload.338 Compared to humans, robots can also be 
more efficient, precise and do not experience suffering or 
tiredness under crisis.

Supply drivers

Deep expertise on natural disasters. Queensland is home 
to research groups with expertise in disaster risk reduction, 
resilience and post-disaster response and recovery. For 
example, JCU’s Centre for Disaster Studies researches climate 
adaptation, disaster risk reduction and management, and 
post-disaster assessments, with a focus on cyclones.340 
This Centre is also a partner in the Bushfire and Natural 
Hazards CRC, along with CQU, QUT and USQ, which aims 
to coordinate national research around natural disasters.341 
UQ’s Wind Research Laboratory also has capabilities in 
characterising and modelling the potential impacts and 
emergency response requirements of natural hazards, like 
wind storms and cyclones,342 and has previously applied 
novel radar technologies in the detection and ‘nowcasting’ 
of hail storms.343 In addition to Queensland’s research 
expertise in natural hazards and disasters, the state also 
houses JCU’s Cyclone Testing Station, which is used to test 
the robustness of homes and low-rise buildings to extreme 
weather events.344 Queensland’s deep knowledge of natural 
hazards offers fertile grounds for more advanced disaster 
resilience and response capabilities using cutting-edge 
modelling and technologies.



Queensland’s strength in innovative robotics. Queensland 
is home to nation-leading robotics research, CSIRO Data61’s 
Robotics and Autonomous Systems Group and QUT’s 
Centre for Robotics, along with Queensland Robotics 
– Australia’s first robotic cluster345 – and the Australian 
Centre for Robotic Vision.263 The ARM Hub is also based 
in Brisbane and works with industry and academia to 
design and manufacture robotic solutions.234 Queensland 
has active robotic research programs in areas such as 
aerospace, defence, agriculture, logistics, infrastructure, 
marine and environmental monitoring and response, 
healthcare and mining. Given the significant burden of 
natural hazards, there could be opportunities to deploy 
robots as first responders, working alongside emergency 
response teams to provide situational awareness, locate 
people in danger, clear debris and gather information.346 
Examples of disaster‑related robots developed in 
Queensland include the OzBot Titan firefighting robot 
developed by BIA5,347 inspection and mapping robots such 
as Emesent’s Hovermap (a spin-out of CSIRO’s Data61),348 
and Sky Grow’s Growbots, autonomous tree-planting fleets 
for reforestation.349

Disaster technologies attract investment. Like in Australia, 
global investment in disasters has traditionally focused 
on post-disaster emergency response and recovery rather 
than disaster risk reduction and resilience.350,351 Following 
the Black Summer bushfires, however, the Australian 
Government has announced an $88.1 million investment 
in bushfires and natural hazards research.352 This funding 
will transition the current Bushfire and Natural Hazards 
CRC into a new 10-year national research centre focused 
on world-leading research into natural hazard resilience 
and disaster risk reduction.352 A further $100,000 has 
been announced by the Australian Government to help 
fund ‘FireTech Connect’ – a world-first commercialisation 
program based on the Sunshine Coast that is designed to 
support Australian start-ups in commercialising innovative 
technology solutions for predicting, preventing, fighting 
and managing bushfire emergencies.353 Australian 
entrepreneurs and investors have also invested in growing 
climate-focused start-ups, providing $75,000 for successful 
start-ups through the Startmate start-up accelerator.354 

Emerging cluster of fire-tech start-ups on the Sunshine 
Coast. The Sunshine Coast is home to a growing network 
of start-ups focused on commercialising technologies to 
address natural disasters.355 Examples include Fireball.
International, which uses satellites and sensor technologies 
to quickly and accurately detect fires close to the point of 
ignition.356 Fireball.International evolved from research 
conducted by USQ and the company has previously been 
contracted by the State of California in a $14.4 million 
deal to use their satellite technologies, which was able 
to detect the ignition of the 2019 Kincade fire within 66 
seconds.355 Others include Noosaville-based Helitak, which 
develops and manufactures compact and efficient water 
pumps and tanks for firefighting helicopters.357 The bushfire 
technology incubator, FireTech Connect, is also based on 
the Sunshine Coast and has brought together a diverse 
range of companies working in bushfire technologies across 
Australia, the United States, Canada and Asia.358 The local 
Noosa Shire Council has a vision for the region to become a 
leader in bushfire preparedness,358 and this could represent 
the beginning of a broader disaster resilience and response 
technologies industry for Queensland. 

Challenges and future opportunities

Defining the blurry boundaries of the industry. Disaster 
resilience and response technologies cover a broad 
spectrum of potential solutions, from the testing and 
development of disaster-resilient buildings and the 
prediction of extreme weather events, through to the use 
of autonomous systems in responding to a natural hazard 
and post-event monitoring and assessment. Given the 
breadth of activities and the industry’s level of maturity, its 
boundaries and identity are yet to crystallise. However, this 
nascent industry reflects an opportunity for Queensland as 
there is a clear, current and increased urgency for dealing 
with future natural disasters due to their associated costs. 
In growing this industry, there may be value in focusing 
on specific areas of specialisation to accelerate scaling. 
For example, a specialisation in cyclone response and 
preparedness technologies could take advantage of 
Queensland’s existing expertise in cyclones. Alternatively, 
Queensland could leverage its diversity of natural hazard 
expertise and experience to develop general-purpose 
disaster preparedness, response and recovery technologies. 
Government, in collaboration with industry and academia, 
could play a role in shaping this strategic direction and 
vision for the industry.



Repurposing existing technologies for disaster purposes. 
Queensland has developed a diverse portfolio of robotic 
technologies that are designed to function in harsh 
environments, such as mining and construction sites. Rather 
than developing new robots for disaster purposes, a greater 
return on investment could be achieved by designing robots 
that are reconfigurable and capable of being deployed for 
other uses. As a potential starting point for further research 
and development into this industry, the government 
could conduct an audit of existing robotic and other 
technologies to explore if and how these could be applied 
for disaster preparedness, response or resilience purposes. 
For example, DroneDeploy has applied their mapping 
and monitoring technologies developed for agriculture, 
construction and mining to monitor the Great Barrier Reef 
and assist with disaster recovery efforts.359 This approach 
could have transferrable benefits for other industries that 
would benefit from robotic applications too. The United 
Kingdom’s roadmap for emergency response and disaster 
relief robots similarly outlines opportunities to leverage 
existing research into autonomous vehicles that could be 
deployed in an emergency or disaster scenario.360

Building robotic manufacturing capabilities to address 
supply chain gaps. The ARM Hub was set up to support 
researchers and businesses in co-designing and developing 
commercial robotic solutions,234 however, experts believed 
that there are still significant gaps in the manufacturing 
supply chain for robotics in Queensland. This can deter 
companies from coming to Queensland, as they would need 
to import parts from overseas, which gives rise to several 
risks. These limitations extend beyond disaster resilience 
and response technologies and impact Queensland’s 
ability to design, develop and scale most types of industrial 
robots. Queensland has a strong advanced manufacturing 
network, which has been recognised by the World 
Economic Forum as a global Advanced Manufacturing 
Hub, providing opportunities to connect the sector with a 
global network of advanced manufacturing companies.117 
As the coordinators of this network, the Queensland 
Government could explore opportunities to capitalise on 
these capabilities to support the scalability and translation 
of disaster resilience and response robots and other robotic 
technologies from prototype to practice. 

Understanding the impact on and role of the insurance 
sector. The insurance sector plays a key role in post‑disaster 
recovery, with natural disasters costing Australian insurers 
an average of $1.2 billion in insured losses each year 
(2010–12 average).361 Rather than supporting disaster 
preparedness and resilience, insurance is used as a disaster 
response measure and low-income households who are 
underinsured or uninsured can be disproportionately 
disadvantaged in recovering from disasters.362 A reduction 
in insured losses through improved disaster preparedness 
and mitigation could impact the affordability of insurance 
for households, potentially reducing risks and premiums.362 
These improvements, driven in part by improved data 
and digital technologies, could also drive innovation 
within the insurance sector to provide novel insurance 
options,362 potentially as a compensation for reduced 
revenues. Suncorp and RACQ have already introduced 
premium discounts to incentivise households to improve 
the cyclone‑resilience of their homes.362,363 The number 
of insurance technology companies in Australia is also 
growing rapidly, up 53% from 2018–19, driving innovation in 
insurance products and developing new ways to personalise 
and deliver value to customers.364



Related industry opportunity areas

• Green metal manufacturing: potential overlap 
between these industries in terms of their workforce 
requirements and enabling technologies (e.g. robotics, 
autonomous systems)
• Resource recovery technologies: the e-waste generated 
by this sector could be repurposed through resource 
recovery processes
• Construction technologies: potential overlap 
between these industries in terms of their workforce 
requirements and enabling technologies (e.g. robotics, 
autonomous systems)
• AI-enabled healthcare: opportunities to use AI in health-
related responses to natural disasters and in managing 
acute increases in demand for healthcare services
• Insurance: opportunities to support the insurance sector 
in managing risk and responding to disaster events, 
whilst also potentially driving change and innovation in 
this sector
• Agriculture: potential beneficiaries of growth in this 
sector through improved tools for building preparedness 
and resilience to natural disasters
• Tourism: potential beneficiaries of growth in this sector 
through improved tools for building preparedness and 
resilience to natural disasters
• Public administration and safety: potential beneficiaries 
of growth in this sector through improved tools for 
building preparedness and resilience to natural disasters
• Advanced manufacturing: drawing upon advanced 
manufacturing capabilities to develop the technologies 
needed to support this industry




9 Construction technologies

Construction is an area that is ripe for robotics and other 
digital technologies, with analysis of Queensland industries 
identifying construction as one with a high potential for 
automation.365 Construction workers can be exposed to 
harsh work environments and potential safety risks (e.g. 
lifting heavy loads or completing work in precarious 
environments) – tasks that may be actionable by a robot 
instead, improving worker efficiency and safety. A recent 
analysis by Sydney-based AI scale-up, Faethm, and the 
Australian Computer Society revealed that fixed robotics 
(i.e. robots that can handle and manipulate objects in a 
pre-specified manner), navigation robots (i.e. robots that 
use reinforcement learning and sensors to autonomously 
move around an unstructured environment) and process 
automation (i.e. algorithms that can complete tasks that 
are fixed, logical and rule-based) are likely to be the top 
technologies that will impact the construction sector over 
the next 15 years.366

Similar to robotic mining applications, there are 
opportunities for robots to take on the dull, dangerous 
and dirty tasks within the construction sector. For 
example, autonomous systems could be used to inspect 
established buildings or those under construction, or lift, 
handle and place heavy loads. Other applications include 
the use of robots or autonomous systems to monitor 
construction sites for record-keeping purposes. Future 
construction technologies could also include the use 
of new materials, such as the replacement of steel and 
concrete with timber in built environments, which has 
the potential to significantly reduce construction-related 
emissions.367 This industry development opportunity draws 
upon Queensland’s strong construction sector, as well its 
strengths in enabling expertise and research capabilities in 
robotics and autonomous systems and built environments. 
Construction technologies also present new opportunities 
to manage the challenges facing the construction sector, 
including using automation technologies on-site and 
off‑site to better manage the waste generated by the sector.

There were 245 construction technology businesses in 
Queensland as at 30 June 2019 and this is projected to 
increase to 444 by 2030 (see Figure 22). These reflect firms 
that directly form part of the construction technologies 
industry, acknowledging that there will be other firms 
that form part of this new industry value chain, which also 
create economic and employment opportunities. These 
businesses are estimated to have created 1,164 direct FTE 
jobs and 2,243 indirect FTE jobs for Queensland currently 
and this is estimated to increase to 2,109 direct and 4,064 
indirect FTE jobs by 2030 (see Figure 22). These projections 
are based on the estimated adjusted average annual growth 
rate of 5% over the next 10 years.

To illustrate the potential growth of this sector based on 
current global growth rates, the number of firms and jobs 
were forecast using insights derived from published global 
growth estimates from a comparable or related sector. The 
‘smart building’ market, which uses sensor and automation 
technologies to automate building functions to improve 
efficiency, safety and sustainability, is expected to grow at 
an average annual rate of 23% between 2020 and 2025.368 
Smart infrastructure is also being incorporated into cities, 
with the Consumer Technology Associations predicting 
that spending on smart cities will grow at 8.7% per year 
between 2015 and 2025.368 Other estimates from Allied 
Market Research expect that the global market for IoT in 
construction will grow by 14% annually between 2020 to 
2027.369 The average of these figures was used to inform the 
estimate of global growth rates.

Demand drivers

Desire for safer workplaces. The construction industry 
has the one of the highest rates of workplace fatalities and 
injuries, with an average of 8 fatalities and 8,465 general 
workplace injuries each year between 2009–14.370 Safe Work 
Australia estimates the national impact of injuries and illness 
in the construction sector to be $5.8 billion (2012–13 figure).371 
While robotics could provide significant productivity gains 
for the construction sector, the potential safety benefits are 
the main driver of robotic applications.346 Laing O’Rourke, a 
multinational construction and engineering company, has 
developed Toolbox Spotter, a workplace safety product that 
uses AI to detect people and objects and alert operators 
if they are in a blind spot.372 The company estimates that 
15.4% of its recorded incidents between 2008–18 could 
have been prevented using this technology.346 To improve 
safety outcomes, there are likely to be opportunities for the 
construction sector to adopt technologies and solutions 
developed in other heavy industries, like mining, that have 
similar safety concerns and operate in harsh environments.

2019

2030

444 
businesses

245
businesses

1,164 
direct FTE jobs

2,243 
indirect FTE jobs

2,109
direct FTE jobs

4,064
indirect FTE jobs



QUEENSLAND’S POTENTIAL CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGIES INDUSTRY AT A GLANCE

Demand 
drivers

• Reducing the safety risks for workers in the construction industry through assistive technologies
• Improving productivity in the construction sector, which has been on the decline since the 2013–14 peak in the 
resources boom
• Using automated technologies as a solution to potential future labour shortages brought about by a declining 
apprenticeship base and an ageing workforce
• The imperative to address the sizeable waste problem for the construction sector and the opportunities to use 
robotics to improve resource recovery efforts
• Alternative building materials, such as engineered wood products, would reduce the carbon footprint associated 
with building and construction 


Supply 
drivers

• Research capabilities in digital and information technologies for built environments
• Queensland’s strengths in robotics and autonomous systems research
• A network of regional advanced manufacturing hubs and good railway connectivity as the foundations to expand 
the state’s prefabrication building activities


Challenges 
and future 
opportunities

• Identifying opportunities to develop or repurpose existing technologies for other construction applications to 
improve the return on investment for companies
• Opportunities to use public procurement criteria to incentivise companies to adopt construction technologies and 
leverage productivity and safety gains






Figure 22. Historical and projected (based on historical Queensland growth rate and global growth rate) number of GST‑registered 
firms and total full-time equivalent jobs (including direct and indirect jobs) in the construction technologies industry in 
Queensland

Note. Years denoted by an asterisk (*) reflect forecasted years.

Why Queensland?



Potential for efficiency gains in the construction sector. 
The construction sector is a significant component of 
Queensland’s economy, employing 221,802 people as 
of August 2020 (9.1% of the labour force).36 The sector 
generated $26.6 billion in gross value-added production 
in 2018–19 (7.5% of GSP), making construction the third-
largest contributor to the Queensland economy behind 
mining (12.2%) and healthcare (7.6%).104 Productivity in the 
construction sector peaked in 2013–14 from the resources 
investment boom, but has since shown a downwards 
trajectory, with productivity levels in 2019 dropping to the 
levels previously seen in 2000.373 Robotics and automation 
are expected to provide significant dividends for the 
Queensland economy, with research by Synergies Economic 
Consulting and QUT estimating these technologies will 
provide an additional $77.2 billion in GSP and 725,810 jobs 
over the next 10 years under the ‘most likely’ scenario.365 
While there is no estimate for the impact of robotics and 
automation on the construction sector, the sector’s share of 
this additional GSP could be equivalent to $5.8 billion over 
the next decade, assuming these technologies will enable 
the sector to generate similar, if not better, economic 
contributions in the future.104

Potential future labour shortages. While the number of 
apprentices and trainees in-training in the construction 
sector is increasing, commencements and completions have 
plateaued or declined (see Figure 23). The construction 
labour force is also ageing, with the proportion of 
employed persons aged 55 years or over increasing 
from 10.6% in 2000 to 15.9% in 2020.36 These trends 
pose a potential risk to the future talent pipeline for the 
construction sector.36 An ageing workforce has been a 
strong driver of automation in the construction sector 
in Japan, which has experienced accelerated impacts of 
an ageing population.374 Leading Japanese construction 
technology companies, such as Komatsu, Shimizu and 
Fujita, have developed a range of autonomous and 
software tools for the construction sector.374 For example, 
Shimizu has used construction robots in high-rise building 
sites to assist with moving materials, welding and installing 
ceiling boards.375 Robots could help fill labour shortages in 
Queensland’s construction sector and provide solutions to 
countries facing similar challenges.375 

Figure 23. Number of commencements, completions and 
in‑training for construction trade worker apprentices and 
trainees in Queensland

Data source: Queensland Government Department of 
Employment, Small Business and Training376 

Improve resource recovery for the construction sector. 
Queensland generated around 5.2 million tonnes of 
construction and demolition waste in 2018–19, 42% of 
which ended up in landfill.144 While resource recovery rates 
have been improving for construction and demolition 
waste, particularly for concrete, asphalt and ferrous 
metal,144 this waste stream remains the largest contributor 
to landfill waste in Queensland (see Figure 24). Robots and 
other automation technologies could be used to improve 
resource recovery rates in the construction sector. Exemplar 
global leaders in automated recycling technologies include 
AMP Robotics – a Canadian firm that uses computer vision, 
machine learning and robotic automation to sort a range of 
waste streams377 – and ZenRobotics – a Finnish AI-powered 
waste robotics company, which has recently partnered 
with a Finnish environmental management firm, Remeo, 
to develop a fully automated resource recovery facility for 
commercial waste streams, including construction and 
demolition waste.378 Both companies have been successful 
in securing venture capital funding of approximately 
$23 million and $17 million, respectively.377,379 The benefits 
provided by automating waste management processes in 
the construction sector are likely to have flow-on benefits 
for broader resource recovery efforts too. 



Figure 24. Amount of disposed and recovered waste generated 
in Queensland by waste stream

Source: Queensland Government144

Reduce emissions by switching to timber. The Queensland 
building sector accounts for 14% of the state’s total 
carbon emissions.380 A key driver of the embodied 
emissions associated with the building sector is the 
construction materials that are used, with concrete, 
cement, plasterboard, brick, iron and steel making up a 
large share of emissions.381 Engineered wood products 
in the form of cross- or glue-laminated timber have been 
suggested as alternative building materials given timber 
is associated with fewer CO₂ emissions, is lighter weight, 
faster to install, aesthetically pleasing and adaptable for 
prefabricated modular design, whilst still maintaining 
comparable strength to conventional materials.382 The 
engineered wood products market in Australia is nascent, 
generating approximately 50,000 m3 of cross-laminated 
timber per year and valued at around $100 million in 
2020.382 There are signs of growth in engineered wood 
products in Queensland, with Hyne Timber recently 
opening a $23 million glue-laminated timber processing 
plant in Maryborough.383 These industry developments 
have the potential to add greater value to Queensland’s 
existing wood resources and generate novel regional job 
opportunities. Moreover, growth in building materials 
that are more suitable to prefabricated modular design 
might support greater uptake of both on-site and off-site 
automated construction technologies (see Network of 
regional advanced manufacturing hubs driver below).

Supply drivers

Queensland’s expertise in applying technologies in built 
environments. QUT researches the use of information 
technologies in building and infrastructure projects, 
particularly building information modelling,384 and are 
partners in the Building 4.0 CRC, focusing on the use of 
emerging technologies, data science and AI to develop 
new building processes.385 Other relevant research 
groups include Bond University’s Centre for Comparative 
Construction Research, which conducts research into the 
design and construction of built environments and uses 
virtual and augmented reality technologies to improve 
the safety and productivity of the sector,172 and UQ’s 
Centre for Future Timber Structures, which is developing 
innovative technologies for timber-based construction.386 
CSIRO Data61’s Robotics and Autonomous Systems Group 
has also developed a range of autonomous and intelligent 
technologies that could be deployed in the construction 
sector.387 These include Magnapods – legged robots that are 
highly flexible and can be used to inspect ferrous structures 
and confined environments – and Zebedee – a handheld 
laser scanner that quickly maps difficult 3D environments.387 
This expertise in built environments and enabling 
technologies could support Queensland’s construction 
sector in becoming more digitally enabled.

Opportunities to draw upon strengths in computer 
vision and grasping robotics. The Australian Centre for 
Robotic Vision has world-leading capabilities in robotic 
vision, which can support the development of robots 
that are capable of understanding and navigating their 
environment.263 The Centre’s capabilities in robotic vision 
and grasping were demonstrated at the 2017 Amazon 
Robotics Challenge, where a team of researchers from the 
Centre won the challenge for a robot that was capable of 
picking up and stowing items in a warehouse – a difficult 
task for Amazon to automate in its warehouse.388 These 
technologies were spun out through LYRO Robotics, which 
has recently secured seed funding from Toyo Kanetsu, a 
Japanese manufacturer, to commercialise their products.389 
These capabilities, combined with Queensland’s broader AI 
and robotic capabilities, could be leveraged to support the 
development of construction technologies that can monitor 
progress on sites for quality and safety purposes; fetch tools 
and supplies; accurately scan and photograph sites; process 
scans against 3D building models; and complete routine 
tasks like bricklaying, painting and building timber or 
steel trusses.346,365,366



Network of regional advanced manufacturing hubs. 
Prefabrication (also referred to as offsite manufacturing) 
is not a novel concept, but has gained traction with 
developments in advanced manufacturing technologies.390 
It offers the potential for triple-bottom-line benefits for 
the construction sector, improving the quality and safety of 
construction, reducing construction time and decreasing 
waste.390,391 Australia has been slow to adopt prefabricated 
housing and buildings compared with global leaders like 
Sweden.392,393 An analysis of the construction sector in 
Western Australia identified manufacturing, transportation, 
logistics and site operations as key areas underpinning its 
success in building its prefabrication industry.390 With a 
network of regional advanced manufacturing hubs,394 and 
rail connectivity between major coastal regions, there is 
an opportunity for Queensland to grow its prefabrication 
building industry, potentially using robotic technologies 
to assist with onsite construction.395 The technology in 
Queensland has the potential to be exported to countries 
that highly rely on prefabrication, such as Asia, Europe and 
North America.

Challenges and future opportunities

Ensuring construction technologies are fit for purpose. 
Robots and autonomous systems traditionally perform 
well in routine, structured environments, but advances in 
robotic vision mean robots can now take on increasingly 
complex and unstructured tasks.346 But experts noted that 
not all routine tasks will be automatable as the nature of 
the task depends on the context, which adds complexity. 
Consequently, it can be difficult for construction companies 
to justify the return on investment for a robotic system if 
it can only be used for a specific purpose or in a specific 
context.396 Similar to the disaster resilience and response 
technologies industry, there may be value in identifying 
opportunities to repurpose existing robots for construction 
purposes or developing robots that have multiple functions 
to improve the return on investment. As robotic vision 
improves, however, construction technologies are likely to 
become more sophisticated and capable of completing or 
assisting in increasingly complex tasks. Moreover, adoption 
of construction technologies could also be enhanced by 
designing structures or construction activities for robotic 
construction, which could improve the safety and efficiency 
of assembly onsite.397

Using public procurement criteria to incentivise adoption 
of construction technologies. Robotic applications are 
currently costly for construction companies, which is one 
of the top factors that can act as a deterrent to adoption.396 
Even though these technologies could provide productivity, 
it is challenging for companies to fund the upfront 
investment required to test new technologies, particularly 
for small-to-medium-sized firms.396 Infrastructure contracts 
can be highly competitive and construction companies 
will often have to reduce their costs to be competitive, 
meaning that there is limited incentive to invest in costly 
new technologies.396 Having said that, as the construction 
workforce ages and retires over the next decade, and as 
the cost-competitiveness of technologies improves, experts 
felt the uptake of construction robotics and automation 
technologies may become more attractive for companies 
to fill this productivity void. One way that the government 
could accelerate the uptake of construction technologies 
and stimulate demand in this sector could be by adding 
criteria to tenders, such as technical and innovative 
merits, which encourage investment in innovation in the 
construction sector.396

Related industry opportunity areas

• Green metal manufacturing: potential overlap 
between these industries in terms of their workforce 
requirements and enabling technologies (e.g. robotics, 
autonomous systems)
• Disaster resilience and response technologies: potential 
overlap between these industries in terms of their 
workforce requirements and enabling technologies (e.g. 
robotics, autonomous systems)
• Resource recovery technologies: the e-waste generated 
by this sector could be repurposed through resource 
recovery processes
• Construction: construction technologies have the 
potential to improve the safety outcomes of the 
construction sector and protect against productivity 
challenges in the future
• Advanced manufacturing: drawing upon advanced 
manufacturing capabilities to develop the technologies 
needed to support this industry
• Waste management, treatment and remediation: using 
construction technologies to better manage the waste 
generated by the construction sector




Conclusions

This report presents a set of emerging seed industries that 
could support the next evolution of Queensland’s knowledge 
economy, providing new sources of industry growth and 
attraction, job creation, regional development and export 
diversification. These nine candidate opportunity areas, 
while not exhaustive of all the potential opportunities 
available to Queensland, reflect the intersection of supply 
and demand drivers that point to emerging shifts in 
local, national and international markets and landscapes. 
Queensland’s science and research sector sits at the core 
of each of these opportunities, providing the knowledge 
engine needed to drive innovations, discoveries and enabling 
technologies to give the state its competitive edge.

The potential size of each industry opportunity was 
quantified in terms of the number of firms and direct and 
indirect FTE jobs. Out of the nine seed industries identified 
in this report, green metal manufacturing has the potential 
to generate the largest number of firms and jobs for the 
state based on the current growth trajectory observed 
across Queensland firms. Other industries with sizeable 
job creation opportunities include AI-enabled healthcare 
and agricultural sensors and automation industries, which 
each have the potential to generate over 10,000 FTE jobs 
for Queensland. A significant share of these opportunities 
would likely be in the form of indirect FTE jobs arising from 
the flow-on impacts of these industry developments on 
other related industries.

Importantly, the seed industries presented in this 
report do not reflect an exhaustive list of areas where 
Queensland has a comparative advantage for new industry 
developments. Instead, it reflects a starting point for 
exploring new sources of diversification and growth 
for the state’s economy. Other opportunity areas could 
include green cement and concrete, which, similar to metal 
manufacturing, are currently carbon-intensive. Current 
work at USQ is exploring opportunities for sustainable 
concrete using industrial waste.398 Moreover, Queensland 
has leading capabilities in infectious disease research and 
vaccine development, which have been highlighted in the 
course of the COVID-19 vaccine development.399 As such, 
vaccine development, therapeutics and immunotherapies 
could reflect another potential seed opportunity . 
Finally, protected cropping could provide new avenues 
for Queensland horticulture producers to mitigate the 
impacts of pests and climate variability. The Queensland 
Government is a partner in the CRC for Developing 
Northern Australia’s protected cropping project, which 
is testing the technologies and agronomic practices that 
would support a scalable commercial cropping sector in 
tropical Australia.400

This report explored the current challenges that 
could limit the future growth and development of the 
knowledge‑driven seed industries, highlighting a range of 
barriers and potential solutions in areas such as regulation, 
public policy, access to skilled workers and the capabilities 
and cost of enabling technologies, among others. While the 
challenges facing each opportunity will be unique, several 
common themes emerged across this cluster of potential 
seed opportunities. These areas of overlap include:

• The need to develop strong business ecosystems that 
consist of mature, established firms, innovative start-
ups and cutting-edge researchers. While many of the 
industry opportunities discussed in this report have a 
small but growing cluster of firms, these firms are often 
small-to-medium-sized enterprises that may lack the 
capital needed to invest in scaling their innovations 
and technologies. By leveraging the supply drivers that 
position Queensland well to grow these seed industries, 
the state could focus its sights on attracting larger 
international firms to the state to drive momentum 
around a given industry.
• The transferability of skilled workers from other existing 
industries in Queensland, particularly those that may be 
at risk of future decline. Indeed, many of the knowledge-
driven seed industries draw upon core capabilities 
found in industries such as manufacturing, professional, 
scientific, and technical services, agriculture, construction 
and engineering. With the right education, training and 
upskilling pathways, workers could find opportunities to 
transfer their capabilities into new industries. Moreover, 
these industries present new job creation opportunities 
for the next generation of graduates too, which will 
likely be in skilled, knowledge-driven domains. These 
new opportunities could assist traditional industries in 
attracting emerging talent and shifting out-dated negative 
perceptions around career pathways.
• The positioning of advanced manufacturing at the core 
of the majority of emerging knowledge-driven seed 
industries. While the Australian manufacturing sector 
operates on a smaller scale and complexity than other G20 
countries, it has the necessary drivers (e.g. technology 
and innovation, human capital, institutional framework, 
etc.) needed to accelerate growth and leapfrog into a new 
paradigm.401 The combination of Queensland’s strengths 
in manufacturing and its other geographical, workforce 
and research and development strengths position the 
state in a strong position to gain a competitive edge, 
both domestically and globally. In the case of robotics 
manufacturing, this could involve expanding current 
advanced manufacturing capabilities into new domains, 
such as high-value robotic manufacturing.




• The role for government in supporting and incentivising 
the growth of new markets. Given the emerging nature of 
the seed industries presented in this report, the domestic 
markets for some of these sectors are small, but with 
potential export opportunities. There could be a role for 
government in seeding initial domestic demand for these 
industries; for example, by procuring products made using 
recycled content, or incentivising uptake of clean energy 
sources in green metal manufacturing. Alternatively, 
government, in collaboration with industry, could support 
firms within these seed industries in developing strategies 
that are specifically focused on the emerging export 
opportunities associated with these sectors.
• The need for contemporary and adaptive regulatory 
systems that encourage growth and innovation. Each 
of the knowledge-driven seed sectors are underpinned 
by technologies that are constantly evolving, which 
presents a challenge for the government to ensure 
the regulatory environment keeps pace. By working 
with industry and academia to explore the potential 
future risks and opportunities presented by these 
emerging technologies, government can proactively 
ensure it strikes the right balance between protecting 
economic, social and environmental interests whilst 
still encouraging the future growth and development of 
these seed sectors. 
• The transferability between the knowledge-driven seed 
industries and existing industries. None of the seed 
industries explored in this report operate in isolation. 
Rather, the growth of any one of these seed industries 
will likely have flow-on benefits for other emerging 
and established sectors through the increased demand 
for firms that form part of the industry’s value chain or 
the stimulation of research and development activities 
that can be applied in other industrial applications. For 
example, growing Queensland’s robotic manufacturing 
capabilities will not only benefit applications in disaster 
resilience and response, but will also prove useful in 
applying robotic technologies in other sectors (e.g. 
construction, agriculture, healthcare, mining, advanced 
manufacturing, etc.).


For any of the nine knowledge-driven seed industries 
presented in this report, strong leadership, strategic 
direction and collaboration across government, industry 
and academia will be needed to drive the opportunities 
forward. Instead of relying on incremental changes, these 
industries present opportunities to seed new sources of 
economic growth and job creation for Queensland, driven 
by cutting-edge science, technology and innovation. The 
COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant disruption to the 
Queensland economy and abroad, but with this disruption 
comes an opportunity to set a new strategic direction for 
the state towards a ‘new normal’ for economic development 
that has knowledge at its core.



Appendix: Project methodology

Defining knowledge‑driven 
seed industries

In 2019, CSIRO’s Data61 released the New Smarts report, 
which outlined a set of knowledge-intensive industry 
clusters that are likely to emerge in Queensland over the 
coming decade. Building on this previous work, this project 
commenced by reviewing the meta-themes within the New 
Smarts report to define the scope of the present study, 
understand the current state of Queensland landscape and 
identify any changes that have emerged since the release 
of the report in 2019, particularly in the event of recent 
disruptions (e.g. the 2019–20 Black Summer bushfires, the 
global COVID-19 pandemic, geopolitical shifts).

The scoping review was followed by a detailed horizon 
scan, where the project team conducted a series of 
scoping interviews with key domain-general experts to 
identify broad opportunity areas, which were interrogated 
further with desktop research. This stage identified 
potential candidate knowledge-driven seed industry 
opportunities and explored the trends, drivers and 
areas of comparative advantage supporting the future 
growth of these opportunity areas for Queensland. These 
candidate seed industries were then screened, refined 
and prioritised according to their feasibility (e.g. existing 
business ecosystem, research and development capabilities, 
workforce availability, etc.), scalability (e.g. size of local and 
global markets, use of existing Queensland supply chains, 
transferability of opportunity to other contexts) and novelty 
(e.g. absence of existing industry development initiatives). 
This resulted in the identification of nine knowledge-driven 
seed industries.

To validate and gain more detailed insights into these 
selected industry opportunities, the project team conducted 
a series of investigative interviews with domain-specific 
experts who were actively working in the nine selected 
seed industries. These consultations served to identify 
additional trends, drivers and areas of comparative 
advantage. The experts also provided comments on 
the current barriers limiting future growth and industry 
attraction, and potential solutions for addressing these 
challenges in the future. These insights were complemented 
with further intensive desktop research to characterise 
and define each of the knowledge-driven seed industries 
and estimate the potential size of each sector in 2019 
and projected out to 2030 (see Estimating the size of seed 
industries section). 

Estimating the size of 
seed industries 

Accurately understanding the number of firms operating 
directly within emerging seed industries and estimating 
their potential impact on the economy is critical for 
advocacy for the industry and monitoring progress of 
initiatives. Using standard traditional top-down satellite 
accounting approaches to define industry categories 
using the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial 
Classification (ANZSIC) scheme, however, can result in 
gross overestimation of the size of these seed industries. 
Conversely, developing lists of known companies, 
without an underpinning population framework, such 
as the Australian Business Registrar (ABR), can result in a 
significant underestimation.

To determine the size of each knowledge-driven seed 
industry in this report, we adopted ‘data-driven satellite 
proxy’ analysis, which implements text mining and 
bibliometrics402 to identify and flag businesses with 
characteristics of the seed industry. Keywords that describe 
the industry, as well as exemplar firms that operate within 
the industry currently, were identified through extensive 
desktop audits and consultation with key experts in 
each seed industry (see Table 2 for list of keywords). The 
approach identifies seed industry ‘characteristic firms’. 
Characteristic firms are firms with an Australian Business 
Number (ABN) that would cease to exist in their present 
form, or would be significantly affected, if the seed 
industry did not exist (e.g. due to no demand or market 
intervention). This definition is similar to the characteristic 
firms identified by satellite accounting frameworks, which 
apply a general approach to determine the contribution of 
non-standard industries to an economy, generally through 
a top-down data allocation approach (see, for example, the 
tourism satellite account403). Unlike traditional top‑down 
satellite accounting approaches, however, the proxy 
technique provides greater granularity in identifying and 
estimating the number of firms that precisely form part 
of an emerging industry. It also provides opportunities 
to assess the impact of policy, programs and initiatives 
specifically on the industry.



JOB TYPE

PROCEDURE

Direct FTE jobs

To calculate direct FTE jobs, the following procedure was used:

• Divide the number of employed people in Queensland by the number of businesses in June 2019 to derive 
average employees per firm.405,406
• Separate this average number of employees into full-time and part-time employment based on 69% full-time 
and 31% part-time as per the original series in the labour force statistics for Queensland.405
• Multiply the average number of full-time and part-time jobs by the number of seed industry businesses.
• Calculate FTE jobs: Full-time jobs + (Part-time jobs / 2)


Indirect FTE jobs

To calculate indirect FTE jobs, the value-added indirect benefits were divided by the value-added required to 
create an FTE job either at the Queensland level for broad economic, social and environmental benefits, or the 
industry sub-division level for the value chain indirect benefits. 





To count the number of ABN firms, a ‘data-driven satellite 
proxy’ flag was constructed for each new seed industry 
by applying the keywords to various text variables in the 
Longitudinal Australian Business Integrated Intelligence 
(LABii) datavault (e.g. name of firm, procurement 
description, patent, trademark, plant breeder or design 
description, etc.) to flag the firms and derive a count of the 
number of Australian Business Number (ABN) unique firms. 
LABii is a micro-datavault developed by Moyle, Pandey 
and Stern in QUT’s Australian Centre for Entrepreneurship 
Research and Centre for Data Science.404 LABii is comprised 
of separate public and non-public datasets like ABR, 
Intellectual Properties Australia (i.e. a register on patents, 
trademarks, design and plant breeder’s rights), listings of 
the Australian Stock Exchange, the Register of Australian 
Mining exports and data on exports, mergers and 
acquisitions. LABii is longitudinal, including business entries 
since June 1999, and all data used in this analysis are current 
to the year ending June 2019. 

Once the number of firms in each seed industry were 
identified, the list was verified by two researchers. For 
this analysis, we excluded non-GST-registered ABN firms, 
included only those firms that are ABN active at 30 June in 
a given year and count an ABN once for Queensland, even 
if they may have multiple trading locations in the state. 
Table 1 details the methodology for calculating the standard 
full‑time equivalent (FTE) jobs associated with the seed 
industry firms. 

Table 1. Standard full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs methodology

As with all research, there are limitations with the 
methodology implemented in this report. The estimation 
of the seed industry may not have captured all ABN firms 
in the seed industries or may have erroneously captured 
others. Given the emerging nature of these seed industries 
and the limited amount of information on them, combined 
with the gross overestimation of the top-down approach 
to identify these sectors, the approach we have adopted is 
considered to be leading edge.

In addition, accurate projection of the growth path of 
fast‑emerging, transformative seed industries is difficult as 
it is influenced by many factors and nuances of the diffusion 
of the new sector within the context of the external 
environment. While prior studies in evolutionary economics 
suggest that the diffusion of new sectors commonly starts 
slow, speeds up, then finally converges, this trajectory is 
not always consistent.407 Indeed, riskier and more novel 
technologies tend to have a longer initial kick-off time, 
sometimes as long as 20 years before a convergence 
commences.408 Consequently, taking into account both 
historical growth rates and global trends is considered to be 
the most appropriate predictor of sectoral growth. 



SEED INDUSTRY

KEYWORDS

CONNECTED ANZSIC SUB-DIVISIONS

Additive 
biomanufacturing

3D digital scan*; 3D model; 3D implant; 3D organ; 
3D print*; 3D system; additive biomanufact*; binder 
jet*; biofab*; bioink; biomanufact*; bio-manufact*; 
biomechanic; biomed*; biomimetic; bionic; 
biopolymer; bioprint*; bioscan*; custom implant; 
custom surgical; electron melting; energy simulation; 
fused deposition model*; implant; material extrusion; 
material jetting; medical tech*; medtech; metal 
laser sintering; multi jet fusion; personalised device; 
personalised health; precision health; regenerat* 
medic*; reinforcing natural fibre; selective laser 
melting; selective laser sintering; tissue morph*

18 Basic Chemical & Chemical Product Manufacturing; 
19 Polymer Product & Rubber Product Manufacturing; 
20 Non-Metallic Mineral Product Manufacturing; 
21 Primary Metal & Metal Product Manufacturing; 
22 Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing; 
24 Machinery & Equipment Manufacturing; 
34 Machinery & Equipment Wholesaling; 42 Other 
Store‑Based Retailing; 59 Internet Service Providers, 
Web Search Portals & Data Processing Services; 
66 Rental & Hiring Services (ex. Real Estate); 
69 Professional, Scientific & Technical Services 
(ex. Computer System Design & Related Services); 
70 Computer System Design & Related Services; 
81 Tertiary Education; 84 Hospitals; 85 Medical & 
Other Health Care Services

AI-enabled 
healthcare

agile health; artificial intelligence; automated health; 
clinical data; digital health; elder* monitor*; electronic 
health record; medical records; health computer 
vision; deep learning; health device; health genomics; 
health imaging; health imagery; health surveillance; 
health interoperability; machine learning; health 
monitoring; natural language; pattern recognition; 
health robotics; health equipment; intelligen* health; 
medical record automation; precision medicine; 
telehealth; wearable health; electronic health record; 
wearable; medical device; medical equipment; medical 
laboratory; health data; health analytics; health 
digitisation; health innovation; health 4.0; health 5.0;

24 Machinery & Equipment Manufacturing; 
34 Machinery & Equipment Wholesaling; 
58 Telecommunications Services; 59 Internet Service 
Providers, Web Search Portals & Data Processing 
Services; 63 Insurance & Superannuation Funds; 
66 Rental & Hiring Services (ex. Real Estate); 
69 Professional, Scientific & Technical Services 
(ex. Computer System Design & Related Services); 
70 Computer System Design & Related Services; 
75 Public Administration; 81 Tertiary Education; 
84 Hospitals; 85 Medical & Other Health Care 
Services; 86 Residential Care Services; 87 Social 
Assistance Services

Green metal 

manufacturing

carbon free aluminium; carbon free energy; carbon 
free iron; carbon free manufact*; carbon free metal; 
carbon free steel; carbon free zinc; carbon free; 
carbon low aluminium; carbon low energy; carbon low 
iron; carbon low manufact*; carbon low metal; carbon 
low steel; carbon low zinc; carbon neutral; clean 
aluminium; clean energy; clean energy; clean iron; 
clean manufact*; clean metal; clean steel; clean zinc; 
emission aluminium; emission energy; emission iron; 
emission manufact*; emission metal; emission steel; 
emission zinc; fossil free aluminium; fossil free energy; 
fossil free iron; fossil free manufact*; fossil free metal; 
fossil free steel; fossil free zinc; green aluminium; 
green energy; green iron; green manufact*; green 
metal; green steel; green zinc; hydrogen; hydropower; 
low carbon; low emissions

solar; sustainable aluminium; sustainable energy; 
sustainable iron; sustainable manufact*; sustainable 
metal; sustainable steel; sustainable zinc; wind power; 
zero emissions;

06 Coal Mining; 07 Oil & Gas Extraction; 08 Metal Ore 
Mining; 09 Non-Metallic Mineral Mining & Quarrying; 
10 Exploration & Other Mining Support Services; 
18 Basic Chemical & Chemical Product Manufacturing; 
19 Polymer Product & Rubber Product Manufacturing; 
21 Primary Metal & Metal Product Manufacturing; 
22 Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing; 
23 Transport Equipment Manufacturing; 24 Machinery 
& Equipment Manufacturing; 26 Electricity Supply; 
27 Gas Supply; 30 Building Construction; 31 Heavy 
& Civil Engineering Construction; 32 Construction 
Services; 59 Internet Service Providers, Web Search 
Portals & Data Processing Services; 66 Rental & Hiring 
Services (ex. Real Estate); 69 Professional, Scientific 
& Technical Services (ex. Computer System Design & 
Related Services); 81 Tertiary Education





Table 2. Keywords and connected Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC) sub-division 
codes used to define firms in the nine knowledge-driven seed industries and their value chain



SEED INDUSTRY

KEYWORDS

CONNECTED ANZSIC SUB-DIVISIONS

Resource recovery 

technologies

agricultural waste; agrochemical; anaerobic digestion; 
battery waste; bioeconomy; bioenergy; biofertiliser; 
biofuture; biomanufacturing; biomass; bioprocessing; 
bioproducts; biowaste; by-product; circular economy; 
circular practice; compost; construction waste; 
containers for change; demolition waste; digestate; 
electr waste; emission; e-waste; food organic; food 
security; food waste; garden organic; gasification; 
greenhouse gas; green waste; high value product; life 
cycle assessment; methane; municipal solid waste; 
nitrous oxide; nutrient security; organic recycling; 
organic waste; plastic waste; pyrolysis; recycled 
material; recycled plastic; recycled textile; recycling; 
resource recovery; supply chain; techno-econom*; 
waste buil*; waste conversion; waste energy; waste 
glass; waste manag*; waste recovery; waste stream; 
waste water;

01 Agriculture; 05 Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing 
Support Services; 11 Food Product Manufacturing; 
12 Beverage & Tobacco Product Manufacturing; 
13 Textile, Leather, Clothing & Footwear 
Manufacturing; 15 Pulp, Paper & Converted Paper 
Product Manufacturing; 16 Printing (include. 
Reproduction of Recorded Media); 17 Petroleum & 
Coal Product Manufacturing; 18 Basic Chemical & 
Chemical Product Manufacturing; 19 Polymer Product 
& Rubber Product Manufacturing; 20 Non-Metallic 
Mineral Product Manufacturing; 21 Primary Metal & 
Metal Product Manufacturing; 22 Fabricated Metal 
Product Manufacturing; 24 Machinery & Equipment 
Manufacturing; 26 Electricity Supply; 27 Gas Supply; 
28 Water Supply, Sewerage & Drainage Services; 
29 Waste Collection, Treatment & Disposal Services; 
44 Accommodation; 45 Food & Beverage Services; 
46 Road Transport; 59 Internet Service Providers, Web 
Search Portals & Data Processing Services; 66 Rental 
& Hiring Services (ex. Real Estate); 69 Professional, 
Scientific & Technical Services (ex. Computer System 
Design & Related Services); 75 Public Administration; 
81 Tertiary Education

Microalgal and 
macroalgal

algae; algal; aquaculture; asparagopsis; biofertliser; 
bioflora; biofuel; bioremediation; bioresearch; 
bioscience; biosynthetic; biotechnology; food 
supplements; functional food; high-value food; 
livestock feed; nutraceuticals; seaweed; therapeutic; 
value-added product; wastewater bioremedi*; 
wastewater remedi*; wastewater treat;

01 Agriculture; 02 Aquaculture; 04 Fishing, Hunting & 
Trapping; 05 Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing Support 
Services; 11 Food Product Manufacturing; 
17 Petroleum & Coal Product Manufacturing; 18 Basic 
Chemical & Chemical Product Manufacturing; 
26 Electricity Supply; 27 Gas Supply; 28 Water Supply, 
Sewerage & Drainage Services; 29 Waste Collection, 
Treatment & Disposal Services; 69 Professional, 
Scientific & Technical Services (ex. Computer System 
Design & Related Services); 81 Tertiary Education

Agricultural sensors 

and automation

agricultur* sensor; agricultur* 4.0; agricultur* 5.0; 
agricultur artificial intelligence; agricultur* fintech; 
agricultur* digital; agricultur* cloud; artificial 
intelligence; agritech; agridigital; agtech; auto 
steer; automat farm; vertical farm; automat crop; 
automat drone; automat tractor; automat vehicle; 
automat weed; bioeconomy; biosecurity; blockchain 
prevenance; cloud computing; crop model; crop 
reflectance; agricultur* data; agricultur* analytics; 
agricultur* decision; agricultur* intelligen; agricultur* 
precision; decision support; deep learning; digital 
connectivity; digital farm; digital marketplace; 
driverless tractor; drone; edge computing; farm 
management; farm software; farm optimisation; 
farm robot; farm sensor; farm data; farm analytics; 
high-tech food; high-tech farm; high-tech agricultur*; 
indoor farm; precision irrigation; precision planting; 
precision spray; agricultur* mapping; farm mapping; 
protected farm; proximal sensing; remote cropping; 
remote sensing; sense and spray; sensor sprayer; smart 
contract; smart farm; smart pesticide; smart spray;

smart tractor; soil sensor; survey drone; targeted 
pesticide; thermal image; unmanned aerial; variable 
rate technolog*; yield mapping

01 Agriculture; 02 Aquaculture; Forestry & Logging; 
04 Fishing, Hunting & Trapping; 05 Agriculture, 
Forestry & Fishing Support Services; 09 Non-Metallic 
Mineral Mining & Quarrying; 20 Non-Metallic Mineral 
Product Manufacturing; 23 Transport Equipment 
Manufacturing; 24 Machinery & Equipment 
Manufacturing; 34 Machinery & Equipment 
Wholesaling; 42 Other Store-Based Retailing; 
58 Telecommunications Services; 59 Internet Service 
Providers, Web Search Portals & Data Processing 
Services; 66 Rental & Hiring Services (ex. Real Estate); 
69 Professional, Scientific & Technical Services 
(ex. Computer System Design & Related Services); 
70 Computer System Design & Related Services; 
81 Tertiary Education







SEED INDUSTRY

KEYWORDS

CONNECTED ANZSIC SUB-DIVISIONS

Supply chain 
provenance 
technologies

authenticity; automat* agricultur*; biosecurity; 
blockchain; consumer intermedia*; crypto; counterfeit 
good; cross-border trade; digital storytelling; 
distributed ledger; farm authenticity; farm to 
fork; food fraud; food safety; food credentialing; 
food tracking; genetic testing; image recognition; 
international trade; internet of things; paddock 
to plate; produce fraud; produce safety; produce 
credentialing; produce tracking; producer intermedia*; 
prosumerisation; provenance; remote surveillance; 
sensors; smart contract; supply chain; traceability; 
traceable markers; trust

01 Agriculture; 02 Aquaculture; Forestry & Logging; 
04 Fishing, Hunting & Trapping; 05 Agriculture, 
Forestry & Fishing Support Services; 06 Coal Mining; 
07 Oil & Gas Extraction; 08 Metal Ore Mining; 
09 Non‑Metallic Mineral Mining & Quarrying; 
10 Exploration & Other Mining Support Services; 
20 Non-Metallic Mineral Product Manufacturing; 
24 Machinery & Equipment Manufacturing; 
25 Furniture & Other Manufacturing; 28 Water Supply, 
Sewerage & Drainage Services; 29 Waste Collection, 
Treatment & Disposal Services; 34 Machinery & 
Equipment Wholesaling; 36 Grocery, Liquor & Tobacco 
Product Wholesaling; 42 Other Store-Based Retailing; 
58 Telecommunications Services; 59 Internet Service 
Providers, Web Search Portals & Data Processing 
Services; 66 Rental & Hiring Services (ex. Real Estate); 
69 Professional, Scientific & Technical Services 
(ex. Computer System Design & Related Services); 
70 Computer System Design & Related Services; 
81 Tertiary Education

Disaster resilience 
and response 
technologies

adaptation; bushfire; climate; disaster resilience; 
drought; emergency resilience; environmental 
modelling; extreme heat; extreme weather; firetech; 
fire tech; flood (& != light); hail; hazard; heatwave; 
natural disaster; natural hazard; pandemic; recover; 
response; safety risks; storm tide; tropical cyclone; 
wildfire

09 Non-Metallic Mineral Mining & Quarrying; 
21 Primary Metal & Metal Product Manufacturing; 
22 Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing; 
23 Transport Equipment Manufacturing; 26 Electricity 
Supply; 28 Water Supply, Sewerage & Drainage 
Services; 29 Waste Collection, Treatment & Disposal 
Services; 30 Building Construction; 31 Heavy & Civil 
Engineering Construction; 32 Construction Services; 
34 Machinery & Equipment Wholesaling; 35 Motor 
Vehicle & Motor Vehicle Parts Wholesaling; 
42 Other Store-Based Retailing; 47 Rail Transport; 
58 Telecommunications Services; 59 Internet Service 
Providers, Web Search Portals & Data Processing 
Services; 66 Rental & Hiring Services (ex. Real Estate); 
70 Computer System Design & Related Services; 
75 Public Administration; 76 Defence; 77 Public Order, 
Safety & Regulatory Services; 81 Tertiary Education; 
85 Medical & Other Health Care Services; 87 Social 
Assistance Services

Construction 

technologies

3D mapping; building 4.0; built environment; 
commercial build*; construct* 4.0; construct* 
automat*; construct* robot; construct* technolog*; 
construct* waste; demolition waste; fixed robot; harsh 
environment; heavy industr*; laser scan*; magnapod; 
nail detection; navigat* robot; prefabricat*; process 
automat*; residential building; robotic grasping; 
robotic vision; screw detection; site monitor; 
unstructured environment; welding robots; 
workplace safety; zebedee

09 Non-Metallic Mineral Mining & Quarrying; 
20 Non-Metallic Mineral Product Manufacturing; 
21 Primary Metal & Metal Product Manufacturing; 
22 Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing; 
24 Machinery & Equipment Manufacturing; 
29 30 Building Construction; 31 Heavy & Civil 
Engineering Construction; 32 Construction Services; 
34 Machinery & Equipment Wholesaling; 42 Other 
Store-Based Retailing; 58 Telecommunications 
Services; 59 Internet Service Providers, Web Search 
Portals & Data Processing Services; 66 Rental & Hiring 
Services (ex. Real Estate); 67 Property Operators & Real 
Estate Services; 69 Professional, Scientific & Technical 
Services (ex. Computer System Design & Related 
Services); 70 Computer System Design & Related 
Services; 73 Building Cleaning, Pest Control & Other 
Support Services; 81 Tertiary Education





*All variations of the ending of the word were incorporated in the text mining and bibliometrics.



References

1 Naughtin C, Horton J, Pham H (2019). New smarts: 
Supporting Queensland’s knowledge-intensive 
industries through science, research and innovation. 
Brisbane, Australia: CSIRO.

2 Department of State Development (2017). Queensland 
biomedical: 10-year roadmap and action plan. 
Brisbane, Australia: Queensland Government.

3 Department of State Development (2018). Queensland 
advanced manufacturing 10-year roadmap and 
action plan – Invested in Queensland manufacturing. 
Brisbane, Australia: Queensland Government.

4 Mordor Intelligence (2020). Additive manufacturing 
and materials market: Growth, trends, COVID-19 
impact, and forecasts (2021–2026). Hyderabad, India: 
Mordor Intelligence.

5 World Bank (2020). Population estimates and 
projections. Washington, D.C., United States: 
World Bank.

6 ABS (2018). Population projections, Australia, 2017 
(base) – 2066. Canberra, Australia: Australian Bureau of 
Statistics.

7 AIHW (2020). Deaths in Australia. Canberra, Australia: 
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.

8 ABS (2012). Australian health survey: First results, 2011–12. 
Canberra, Australia: Australian Bureau of Statistics.

9 ABS (2019). National health survey: First results, 2017–18. 
Canberra, Australia: Australian Bureau of Statistics.

10 Queensland Health (2020). The health of 
Queenslanders 2020. Brisbane, Australia: 
Queensland Government.

11 Agyeman A A, Ofori-Asenso R (2015). Perspective: Does 
personalized medicine hold the future for medicine? 
Journal of Pharmacy & Bioallied Sciences, 7(3): 239–244.

12 Finkel A, Wright A, Pineda S, Williamson R (2018). 
Precision medicine (Occassional paper, October 2018). 
Canberra, Australia: Office of the Chief Scientist.

13 Aimar A, Palermo A, Innocenti B (2019). The role of 
3D printing in medical applications: A state of the art. 
Journal of Healthcare Engineering, 2019: 5340616.

14 Franchetti M, Kress C (2017). An economic analysis 
comparing the cost feasibility of replacing injection 
molding processes with emerging additive 
manufacturing techniques. The International Journal of 
Advanced Manufacturing Technology, 88(9): 2573–2579.

15 Global Market Insights. Precision medicine market size 
by technology (big data analytics, bioinformatics, gene 
sequencing, drug discovery, companion diagnostics), 
by application (oncology, immunology, cns, 
respiratory), by end-use (pharmaceutical companies, 
diagnostic companies, healthcare it companies), 
industry analysis report, regional outlook, application 
potential, competitive market share & forecast, 
2020–2026 (cited 18 January 2020). Available from: 
https://www.gminsights.com/industry-analysis/
precision-medicine-market.

16 Ministers for the Department of Industry, Science, 
Energy and Resources (2018). New investment in 
advanced manufacturing and research infrastructure 
[Media Release]. Canberra, Australia: Australian 
Government, 9 May 2017.

17 Premier and Minister for Trade, Minister for Regional 
Development and Manufacturing (2020). $50 million 
to back essential medical supplies manufacture in 
Queensland [Media Release]. Brisbane, Australia: 
Queensland Government, 19 May 2020.

18 Australian Government. Medical Research Future Fund 
(cited 12 November 2020). Available from: https://
www.health.gov.au/initiatives-and-programs/medical-
research-future-fund.

19 Australian Government. Biomedical Translation Fund 
(BTF): Get investment to develop and commercialise 
your biomedical discoveries (cited 12 November 
2020). Available from: https://www.business.gov.
au/Grants-and-Programs/Biomedical-Translation-
Fund#key‑documents.

20 Herston Biofabrication Institute. Home page (cited 13 
November 2020). Available from: https://metronorth.
health.qld.gov.au/herston-biofabrication-institute/.

21 Queensland Cardio-Respiratory Biofabrication Centre. 
Home page (cited 13 November 2020). Available from: 
https://ccrg.org.au/qcrb/.

22 Translational Research Institute (2019). The Hon Karen 
Andrews MP, officially opens MTP office in TRI building 
[Media Release]. Brisbane, Australia: Translational 
Research Institute, 4 October 2019.

23 ARC Industrial Transformation Training Centre in 
Additive Biomanufacturing. Home page 
(cited 13 November 2020). Available from: 
http://additivebiomanufacturing.org/.



24 The University of Queensland. Australian Institute 
for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology. Home page 
(cited 13 November 2020). Available from: 
https://aibn.uq.edu.au/.

25 Griffith University. Advanced Design and Prototyping 
Technologies Institute (cited 13 November 2020). 
Available from: https://www.griffith.edu.au/advanced-
design-prototyping-technologies-institute.

26 Kruger K (2019). Gold Coast set to be medical software 
and device hub [Media Release]. Gold Coast, Australia: 
Griffith University, 24 January 2019.

27 Griffith University. Griffith Centre of Biomedical and 
Rehabilitation Engineering (cited 13 November 2020). 
Available from: https://www.griffith.edu.au/menzies-
health-institute-queensland/our-institute/disability-
and-rehabilitation/gcore.

28 Field Orthopaedics. Home page (cited 13 November 2020). 
Available from: https://www.fieldorthopaedics.com/.

29 iOrthotics. Home page (cited 27 October 2020). 
Available from: https://www.iorthotics.com.au/
enviropoly.

30 Life Sciences Queensland (2020). 61medical to drive 
Australian medical innovation with a focus on local 
advanced manufacturing [Media Release]. Brisbane, 
Australia: Life Sciences Queensland, 20 August 2020.

31 O2Vent. Home page (cited 13 November 2020). 
Available from: https://o2vent.com/.

32 Stryker. Home page (cited 13 November 2020). 
Available from: https://www.stryker.com/au/en/
index.html.

33 Horst A, McDonald F, Hutmacher D W (2019). A clarion 
call for understanding regulatory processes for 
additive manufacturing in the health sector. Expert 
Review of Medical Devices, 16(5): 405–412.

34 Therapeutic Goods Administration. Regulation 
impact statement: Proposed regulatory scheme for 
personalised medical devices, including 3D-printed 
devices (cited 16 November 2020). Available from: 
https://www.tga.gov.au/publication/regulation-impact-
statement-proposed-regulatory-scheme-personalised-
medical-devices-including-3d-printed-devices.

35 Department of Health. Medical Research Future Fund 
(MRFF) grant recipients (cited 17 November 2020). 
Available from: https://www.health.gov.au/resources/
publications/medical-research-future-fund-mrff-
grant‑recipients.

36 ABS (2020). Labour force, Australia, detailed, 
August 2020. Canberra, Australia: Australian Bureau 
of Statistics.

37 Life Sciences Queensland (2020). Unlocking advanced 
biomanufacturing in Queensland. Brisbane, Australia: 
Life Sciences Queensland.

38 Lowy Institute. Covid performance index (cited 2 
February 2021). Available from: https://interactives.
lowyinstitute.org/features/covid-performance/#region.

39 D’Souza G (2020). Labour market policy after COVID-19: 
Immigration and COVID-19. Melbourne, Australia: 
Committee for Economic Development of Australia.

40 Hajkowicz S, Karimi S, Wark T, Chen C, Evans M, 
Rens N, Dawson D, Charlton A, Brennan T, Moffatt 
C, Srikumar S, Tong K (2019). Artificial intelligence: 
Solving problems, growing the economy and 
improving our quality of life. Brisbane, Australia: 
CSIRO Data61.

41 Koopman B, Bradford D, Hansen D (2020). Exemplars 
of artificial intelligence and machine learning in 
healthcare: Improving the safety, quality, efficiency 
and accessibility of Australia’s healthcare system. 
Brisbane, Australia: CSIRO.

42 Grand View Research (2019). Artificial intelligence 
in healthcare market size, share & trends analysis 
report by component (hardware, software, services), 
by application, by region, competitive insights, and 
segment forecasts, 2019–2025. San Francisco, CA, 
United States: Grand View Research.

43 Markets and Markets (2020). Artificial intelligence in 
healthcare market. Pune, Maharashtra, India: Markets 
and Markets.

44 AIHW (2019). Health expenditure Australia 2017–18. 
Canberra, Australia: Australian Institute of Health 
and Welfare.

45 ABS (2020). National, state and territory population. 
Canberra, Australia: Australian Bureau of Statistics.



46 Duckett S (2016). Don’t just blame older Australians for 
increased hospital demand. 20 July 2016, 
The Conversation.

47 Goss J (2008). Projection of Australian health care 
expenditure by disease, 2003 to 2033 Canberra, 
Australia: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.

48 OECD (2019). Health expenditure and financing. Paris, 
France: Organisation for Economic Co-operation 
and Development.

49 AIHW (2018). Australia’s health 2018. Canberra, 
Australia: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.

50 Swerissen H, Duckett S (2016). Chronic failure in 
primary care. Melbourne, Australia: Grattan Institute.

51 Australian Health Ministers’ Advisory Council (2017). 
National strategic framework for chronic conditions. 
Canberra, Australia: Australian Health Ministers’ 
Advisory Council.

52 Pearce C, Rychetnik L, Wutzke S, Wilson A (2019). 
Obesity prevention and the role of hospital and 
community-based health services: A scoping review. 
BMC Health Services Research, 19(1): 453.

53 Fatehi F, Menon A, Bird D (2018). Diabetes care in the 
digital era: A synoptic overview. Current Diabetes 
Reports, 18(7): 38.

54 ARC (2018). ERA outcomes. Canberra, Australia: 
Australian Research Council.

55 Bourke D (2018). Introducing IOP: Immunotherapy 
outcome prediction [Media Release]. Brisbane, 
Australia: Max Kelson, 5 November 2020.

56 Crockford T (2018). Brisbane AI to help with cancer 
treatment in an Australian first. 29 July 2018, 
Brisbane Times.

57 Lynch L (2020). New AI hub to fill Queensland’s talent 
shortage. 1 May 2020, Brisbane Times.

58 Minister for Health (2020). $19 million for artificial 
intelligence health research projects [Media Release]. 
Canberra, Australia: Australian Government, 4 
November 2020.

59 Digital Health CRC. Introducing the Digital Health CRC 
(cited 19 February 2021). Available from: https://www.
digitalhealthcrc.com/introducing-the-digital-health-crc/.

60 Digital Health CRC. Project to create roadmap for 
Queensland’s digital health future (cited 4 November 
2020). Available from: https://www.digitalhealthcrc.
com/joint-media-release-project-to-create-roadmap-
for-queenslands-digital-health-future/.

61 Raghupathi W, Raghupathi V (2014). Big data 
analytics in healthcare: Promise and potential. Health 
Information Science and Systems, 2(1): 1–10.

62 Queensland Health (2017). Digital health strategic 
vision for Queensland 2026. Brisbane, Australia: 
Queensland Government.

63 Queensland Health (2015). 21st century healthcare: 
eHealth investment strategy. Brisbane, Australia: 
Queensland Government.

64 Queensland Audit Office (2018). Digitising public 
hospitals – Report 10: 2018–19. Brisbane, Australia: 
Queensland Government.

65 PriceWaterhouseCoopers (2018). Funding for value. 
Sydney, Australia: 

66 Department of Health (2019). My Health Record 
statistics by primary health network (PHN) February 
2016 – May 2019. Canberra, Australia: Department of 
Health & Australian Government.

67 Schneider E C, Sarnak D O, Squires D, Shah A, 
Doty M M (2017). Mirror, mirror 2017: International 
comparison reflects flaws and opportunities for better 
U.S. health care. New York City, NY, United States: 
The Commonwealth Fund.

68 ANDHealth (2020). Digital health: The sleeping giant 
of Australia’s health technology industry. Melbourne, 
Australia: ANDHealth.

69 Maxwell Plus. Home page (cited 16 November 2020). 
Available from: https://maxwellplus.com/.

70 Datarwe. Home page (cited 16 November 2020). 
Available from: https://datarwe.com/.

71 Biarri Health. Home page (cited 16 November 2020). 
Available from: https://www.biarrihealth.com/.

72 IntelliHQ. Home page (cited 16 November 2020). 
Available from: http://www.intellihq.com.au/.

73 Nelson A. The current status of the Brisbane AI scene 
(cited 7 July 2020). Available from: https://biarri.com/
brisbane-ai-scene/.



74 Kuek A, Hakkennes S (2019). Healthcare staff digital 
literacy levels and their attitudes towards information 
systems. Health Informatics Journal, 26(1): 592–612.

75 Wiljer D, Hakim Z (2019). Developing an artificial 
intelligence-enabled health care practice: Rewiring 
health care professions for better care. Journal of 
Medical Imaging and Radiation Science, 50(4 Suppl 2): 
S8–S14.

76 Queensland Government Chief Information Office 
(2017). Digital 1st: Advancing our digital future. 
Brisbane, Australia: Queensland Government.

77 Office of the Australian Information Commissioner 
(2018). Publication of MBS/PBS data: Commissioner 
initiated investigation report. Canberra, Australia: 
Australian Government.

78 Reddy S, Allan S, Coghlan S, Cooper P (2019). A 
governance model for the application of AI in health 
care. Journal of the American Medical Informatics 
Association, 27.

79 Department of Industry, Science, Energy and 
Resources. AI ethics principles (cited 17 November 
2020). Available from: https://www.industry.gov.au/
data-and-publications/building-australias-artificial-
intelligence-capability/ai-ethics-framework/ai-ethics-
principles.

80 Fior Markets. Global digital health market is expected 
to reach USD 623.20 billion by 2027 (cited 16 November 
2020). Available from: https://www.globenewswire.
com/news-release/2020/09/16/2094218/0/en/Global-
Digital-Health-Market-Is-Expected-to-Reach-USD-623-
20-Billion-by-2027-Fior-Markets.html.

81 Cambridge Centre for AI in Medicine. Home page 
(cited 19 February 2021). Available from: https://ccaim.
cam.ac.uk/. 

82 Australian Research Council (2020). Australian 
Research Council Grants Database. Canberra, Australia: 
Australian Research Council.

83 Hatmaker T (2020). White House announces $1B 
investment for AI and quantum computing hubs. 26 
August 2020, Tech Crunch.

84 IP Australia (2019). Machine learning innovation: 
A patent analytics report. Sydney, Australia: Australian 
Computer Society.

85 Beyond Zero Emissions (2020). The million jobs plan: 
A unique opportunity to demonstrate the growth 
and employment potential of investing in a 
low‑carbon economy. Melbourne, Australia: 
Beyond Zero Emissions.

86 Wood T, Dundas G (2020). Start with steel: A practical 
plan to support carbon workers and cut emissions. 
Melbourne, Australia: Grattan Institute.

87 World Steel Association (2019). Steel statistical yearbook 
2019. Brussels, Belguim: World Steel Association.

88 Herrington R (2013). Road map to mineral supply. 
Nature Geoscience, 6(11): 892–894.

89 OECD (2019). Global material resources outlook to 
2060. Paris, France: Organisation for Economic 
Co-operation and Development.

90 Van Heusden R. Why addressing the aluminium 
industry’s carbon footprint is key to climate action 
(cited 28 January 2021). Available from: https://www.
weforum.org/agenda/2020/11/the-aluminium-industry-
s-carbon-footprint-is-higher-than-most-consumers-
expect-heres-what-we-must-do-next/.

91 Keller J. The green energy revolution: Driving copper 
demand into the future (cited 28 January 2021). 
Available from: https://investingnews.com/innspired/
copper-driving-green-energy-revolution/.

92 United Nations Climate Change. The Paris Agreement. 
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate 
Change (cited 4 December 2020). Available from: 
https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-
agreement/the-paris-agreement.

93 Department of Environment and Heritage Protection 
(2017). Pathways to a clean growth economy: 
Queensland Climate Transition Strategy. Brisbane, 
Australia: Queensland Government.

94 Essential Research. Home page (cited 30 October 
2020). Available from: https://essentialvision.com.au/
category/essentialreport.

95 ABCB (2019). Energy efficiency: NCC 2022 and beyond 
– Outcomes report. Canberra, Australia: Australian 
Building Codes Board.

96 NABERS. Home page (cited 30 October 2020). Available 
from: https://www.nabers.gov.au/.



97 Green Building Council Australia. Green Star 
eliminating natural gas and electrifying buildings 
(cited 30 October 2020). Available from: https://new.
gbca.org.au/news/gbca-media-releases/green-star-
eliminating-natural-gas-and-electrifying-buildings/.

98 Volkswagen. Borneo, Green Energy & Co.: What 
Volkswagen is doing for the environment (cited 
30 October 2020). Available from: https://www.
volkswagenag.com/en/news/stories/2019/12/what-
volkswagen-is-doing-for-the-environment.html#.

99 Daimlier. Ambition 2039: Our path to CO₂-neutrality 
(cited 30 October 2020). Available from: https://www.
daimler.com/sustainability/climate/ambition-2039-our-
path-to-co2-neutrality.html.

100 Lord M (2019). From mining to making: Australia’s 
future in zero-emissions metal. Melbourne, Australia: 
Energy Transition Hub.

101 Elshkaki A, Graedel T E, Ciacci L, Reck B K (2018). 
Resource demand scenarios for the major metals. 
Environmental Science & Technology, 52(5): 2491–2497.

102 United Nations Global Compact (2010). Supply chain 
sustainability: A practical guide for continuous 
improvement. New York City, NY, United States: United 
Nations Global Compact.

103 Smith T M (2013). Climate change: Corporate 
sustainability in the supply chain. Bulletin of the 
Atomic Scientists, 69(3): 43–52.

104 ABS (2019). Australian national accounts: State 
accounts. Canberra, Australia: Australian Bureau 
of Statistics.

105 ABS (2020). Characteristics of Australian exporters, 
2018–19. Canberra, Australia: Australian Bureau 
of Statistics.

106 Ker P (2020). China’s biggest steel maker explores 
hydrogen substitute. 5 March 2020, Australian 
Financial Review.

107 Rio Tinto. Rio Tinto signs MOU with Chinese 
partners to explore ways to improve environmental 
performance across the steel value chain (cited 30 
October 2020). Available from: https://www.riotinto.
com/en/news/releases/MOU-with-Chinese-partners.

108 SSAB. SSAB to be first to market with fossil-free steel 
(cited 30 October 2020). Available from: https://www.
ssab.com/news/2019/11/ssab-to-be-first-to-market-
with-fossilfree-steel.

109 SSAB. HYBRIT: SEK 200 million invested in pilot plant 
for storage of fossil-free hydrogen in Luleå (cited 30 
October 2020). Available from: https://www.ssab.com/
news/2019/10/hybrit-sek-200-million-invested-in-pilot-
plant-for-storage-of-fossilfree-hydrogen-in-lule.

110 Dell R M, Bridger N J (1975). Hydrogen – The ultimate 
fuel. Applied Energy, 1(4): 279–292.

111 Hydrogen Council (2020). Path to hydrogen 
competitiveness: A cost perspective. Brussels. 
Belguim: Hydrogen Council.

112 Finkel A (2019). Australia’s national hydrogen strategy. 
Canberra, Australia: Australian Government.

113 International Renewable Energy Agency (2019). 
Hydrogen: A renewable energy perspective. Abu Dhabi, 
United Arab Emirates: International Renewable 
Energy Agency.

114 The University of Queensland. HBIS-UQ Innovation 
Centre for Sustainable Steel (ICSS) (cited 2 November 
2020). Available from: https://www.chemeng.uq.edu.
au/icss.

115 Baosteel-Australia Joint Research and Development 
Centre. About us (cited 2 November 2020). Available 
from: http://www.bajc.org.au/about-us.

116 The University of Queensland. UQ Dow Centre: 
Research (cited 2 November 2020). Available from: 
https://www.chemeng.uq.edu.au/dowcsei/research.

117 Queensland Government (2020). Queensland declared 
World Economic Forum Advanced Manufacturing Hub. 
19 April 2020, Queensland Government.

118 Thurtell D, Pitts N, Harvey E, Gibbons M, Drahos 
N, Philalay M, Nguyen T, Martin K, Lewis C (2020). 
Resources and energy quarterly: March 2020. Canberra, 
Australia: Department of Industry, Science, Energy 
and Resources.

119 Vorrath S (2019). Queensland looks to extra 
hydropower from water storage after reboot of 
Somerset Dam. 27 May 2019, Renew Economy.

120 Mazengarb M (2020). Sun Metals to add green 
hydrogen facility to zinc refinery and solar farm. 25 
June 2020, Renew Economy.

121 Rio Tinto (2020). RenewAl: A cleaner start to your 
product lifecycle – Low CO₂ aluminium. London, 
United Kingdom: Rio Tinto.



122 USGS (2020). Mineral commodity summaries 2020. 
Reston, VA, United States: U.S. Geological Survey.

123 Australian Aluminium Council Ltd. Australian industry 
(cited 3 November 2020). Available from: https://
aluminium.org.au/australian-industry/.

124 Ker P, Ludlow M (2018). Rio Tinto, Apple and Alcoa in 
zero carbon aluminium push. 11 May 2018, Australian 
Financial Review.

125 Evans S, Thompson B (2020). Game-changer needed 
to unpick tough carbon chemistry. 6 January 2020, 
Australian Financial Review.

126 Rio Tinto. Rio Tinto and Alcoa announce world’s 
first carbon-free aluminum smelting process (cited 
3 November 2020). Available from: https://www.
riotinto.com/en/news/releases/First-carbon-free-
aluminium-smelting.

127 Foley M (2021). Hydrogen industry hubs to tap clean 
fuel boom. 1 February 2021, Sydney Morning Herald.

128 Kosturjak A, Dey T, Young M D, Whetton S (2019). 
Advancing hydrogen: Learning from 19 plans to 
advance hydrogen from across the globe. Adelaide, 
Australia: Future Fuels CRC.

129 Queensland Government (2019). Queensland hydrogen 
industry strategy 2019–24. Brisbane, Australia: 
Queensland Government.

130 Minister for State Development, Manufacturing, 
Infrastructure and Planning (2019). Funding to flow 
towards new pipeline of Queensland hydrogen 
projects [Media Release]. Brisbane, Australia: 
Queensland Government, 9 July 2019.

131 Lawrence Consulting (2019). Economic impact of 
minerals and energy sector on the Queensland 
economy 2018/19. Brisbane, Australia: Queensland 
Resources Council.

132 Bruce S, Temminghoff M, Hayward J, Schmidt E, 
Munnings C, Palfreyman D, Hartley P (2019). National 
hydrogen roadmap. Canberra, Australia: CSIRO.

133 Gelsomino E, Griffiths A. Green metals: The journey 
to decarbonisation (cited 2 December 2020). Available 
from: https://www.woodmac.com/news/opinion/
green-metals-the-journey-to-decarbonisation/.

134 Vogl V, Åhman M (2019). What is green steel? Towards 
a strategic decision tool for decarbonising EU steel. 
Dusseldorf, Germany: METEC-ESTAD, 1–10.

135 Irigoyen C (2017). The carbon tax in Australia. London, 
United Kingdom: Centre for Public Impact.

136 Evans S (2019). BlueScope says chemistry a handbrake 
in ‘green’ steel push. 2 December 2019, Australian 
Finanical Review.

137 Thompson B (2021). Forrest reveals plan to replace coal: 
40,000 green steel jobs. 22 January 2021, Australian 
Financial Review.

138 Drewitt Smith A, Fernandez T (2020). BlueScope puts 
$20m toward renewable energy infrastructure supply 
chain in NSW. 18 November 2020, ABC News.

139 Evans S (2020). Gupta plans $1b overhaul of Whyalla 
steelworks. 10 June 2020, Australian Financial Review.

140 Clarke J (2020). GFG to overhaul Australia’s Whyalla 
steelworks. 10 June 2020, Argus.

141 Department of State Development Manufacturing, 
Infrastructure and Planning (2019). Queensland 
resource recovery industries: 10-Year roadmap 
and action plan. Brisbane, Australia: Queensland 
Government.

142 Kaza S, Yao L, Bhada-Tata P, Van Woerden F (2018). 
What a waste 2.0: A global snapshot of solid waste 
management to 2050. Washington, D.C., United States: 
World Bank Publications.

143 Boxall N J, King S, Kaksonen A, Bruckard W, Roberts 
D (2019). Waste innovation for a circular economy. 
Melbourne, Victoria: CSIRO.

144 Queensland Government (2019). Recycling and 
waste in Queensland 2019. Brisbane, Australia: 
Queensland Government.

145 Queensland Government (2018). Transforming 
Queensland’s recycling and waste industry: Discussion 
paper. Brisbane, Australia: Queensland Government.

146 Reardon S, Jeyaretnam T, Heath E (2018). Finding treasure 
in trash: The $324 million wasted opportunity sitting on 
our kerbs. Sydney, Australia: Ernest and Young.

147 RMIT University. New research hub to tackle global 
waste crisis (cited 20 October 2020). Available from: 
https://www.rmit.edu.au/news/all-news/2020/jul/
research-hub-tackle-global-waste-crisis.

148 Pickin J, Randell P (2017). Australian national waste 
report 2016. Canberra, Australia: Department of the 
Environment and Energy.



149 Lasker P, Goloubeva J, Birtles B (2017). China’s ban 
on foreign waste leaves Australian recycling industry 
eyeing opportunities. 10 December 2017, ABC News.

150 Pickin J, Trinh J (2019). Data on exports of 
Australian wastes 2018–19. Melbourne, Australia: 
Blue Environment.

151 Minister for the Environment, Assistant Minister for 
Waste Reduction and Environmental Management 
(2020). Industry update on export ban of waste glass 
[Media Release]. Canberra, Australia: Australian 
Government, 26 May 2020.

152 Australian Government (2019). National waste 
policy: Action plan 2019. Canberra, Australia: 
Australian Government.

153 Tourism Research Australia (2020). State tourism 
satellite accounts, 2018–19. Canberra, Australia: 
Australian Government.

154 The University of Queensland (2020). Research reveals 
the economic contribution of Queensland’s national 
parks [Media Release]. Brisbane, Australia: The 
University of Queensland, 12 October 2020.

155 Driml S, Brown R P C, Silva C M (2020). Estimating the 
value of national parks to the Queensland Economy. 
Brisbane, Australia: The University of Queensland.

156 Deloitte Access Economics (2017). At what price? The 
economics, social and icon value of the Great Barrier 
Reef. Brisbane, Queensland: Deloitte 
Access Economics.

157 Lady Elliot Island Eco Resort. Sustainability (cited 27 
October 2020). Available from: https://ladyelliot.com.
au/sustainability/.

158 CCIQ EcoBiz Queensland. Home page (cited 26 October 
2020). Available from: https://ecobiz.cciq.com.au/.

159 CCIQ EcoBiz Queensland (2014). Case study: 
Manufacturing – CQMS Razer. Brisbane, Australia: 
Queensland Government.

160 CCIQ EcoBiz Queensland (2009). Case study: 
Manufacturing – Beaulieu Australia. Brisbane, 
Australia: Queensland Government.

161 Crimmins F (2017). War on waste: Can Australians kick 
our throwaway habits with a Swedish-style tax break? 
2 July 2017, ABC News.

162 Caldwell F (2018). Waste levy announced for 
Queensland to stem interstate dumping. 1 June 2018, 
Brisbane Times.

163 Department of State Development, Tourism and 
Innovation. Resource recovery industry development 
program (cited 19 October 2020). Available from: 
https://statedevelopment.qld.gov.au/industry/priority-
industries/resource-recovery/industry-development-
program.html.

164 Department of State Development, Tourism and 
Innovation. Queensland Waste to Biofutures Fund 
(cited 19 October 2020). Available from: https://
www.dsdmip.qld.gov.au/industry/priority-industries/
biofutures/queensland-waste-to-biofutures-fund.html.

165 Mirage News (2019). Beaudesert biogas-solar electricity 
project receives $500,000 boost. 15 November 2019, 
Mirage News.

166 Minister for the Environment, Assistant Minister for 
Waste Reduction and Environmental Management 
(2020). $1 billion waste and recycling plan to transform 
waste industry [Media Release]. Canberra, Australia: 
Australian Government, 6 July 2020.

167 CEFE (2019). CEFC welcomes new $100 million 
Australian Recycling Investment Fund [Media Release]. 
Sydney, Australia: Clean Energy Finance Corporation, 
19 December 2019.

168 Department of Agriculture, Water and the 
Environment. The National Product Stewardship 
Investment Fund (cited 19 October 2020). Available 
from: https://www.environment.gov.au/protection/
waste-resource-recovery/publications/product-
stewardship-investment-fund-fs.

169 Queensland University of Technology. Centre for a 
waste-free world (cited 19 October 2020). Available 
from: https://www.qut.edu.au/institute-for-future-
environments/research/centre-for-a-waste-free-world.

170 Queensland University of Technology. Centre for 
agriculture and the bioeconomy (cited 19 October 
2020). Available from: https://www.qut.edu.au/
research/centre-for-agriculture-and-the-bioeconomy.

171 The University of Queensland. Converting agricultural 
waste biomass into commercially viable products (cited 
20 October 2020). Available from: https://aibn.uq.edu.
au/article/2018/03/converting-agricultural-waste-
biomass-commercially-viable-products.



172 Bond University. Centre for comparative construction 
research (cited 25 September 2020). Available from: 
https://research.bond.edu.au/en/organisations/centre-
for-comparative-construction-research.

173 University of Southern Queensland. Organic waste: The 
way of the biofuture (cited 20 October 2020). Available 
from: https://www.usq.edu.au/news/2019/11/organic-
waste-biofertilisers.

174 Fight Food Waste CRC. Home page (cited 23 December 
2020). Available from: https://fightfoodwastecrc.com.au/.

175 Manufacturers’ Monthly. Projects turn biowaste into 
industrial energy (cited 20 October 2020). Available 
from: https://www.manmonthly.com.au/Projects+turn+
biowaste+into+industrial+energy.

176 Energy360. This $1.9m pilot biogas facility will power 
EV charging stations in Bundaberg (cited 20 October 
2020). Available from: https://energy360.com.au/
biofutures-fund-queensland-1-9m-pilot-biogas-facility-
will-power-ev-charging-stations-in-bundaberg-
energy360/.

177 Queensland University of Technology. New virus-
filtering mask material to be fast-tracked to market 
(cited 20 October 2020). Available from: 
https://www.qut.edu.au/institute-for-future-
environments/about/news?id=167748.

178 BlockTexx. Home page (cited 27 October 2020). 
Available from: https://www.blocktexx.com/.

179 Ricardo, Coreo (2019). More than waste: A circular 
economy strategy overview for the Yarrabilba 
community, QLD – 2019. Brisbane, Australia: Coreo.

180 ATSE (2020). Towards a waste free future: Technology 
readiness in waste and resource recovery. Canberra, 
Australia: Australian Academy of Technology 
and Engineering.

181 ASPIRE. Home page (cited 1 February 2021). 
Available from: https://aspiresme.com/.

182 Waste Management Review. Accelerated procurement: 
ResourceCo (cited 7 December 2020). Available from: 
https://wastemanagementreview.com.au/accelerated-
procurement-resourceco/.

183 The Nielsen Company (2020). Global consumers are 
willing to put their money where their heart is when 
it comes to goods and services from companies 
committed to social responsibility [Media Release]. 
New York City, NY, United States: The Nielsen Company, 
17 June 2014.

184 Barbarossa C, Pastore A (2015). Why environmentally 
conscious consumers do not purchase green products. 
Qualitative Market Research: An International 
Journal, 18(2).

185 Queensland Government (2019). Waste management 
and resource recovery strategy. Brisbane, Australia: 
Queensland Government.

186 ABS (2020). Waste account, Australia, experimental 
estimates, 2018–19. Canberra, Australia: Australian 
Bureau of Statistics.

187 International Labour Office (2019). Skills for a 
greener future. Geneva, Switzerland: International 
Labour Office.

188 Randell Environmental Consulting (2018). National 
waste report 2018. Canberra, Australia: Department of 
the Environment and Energy.

189 King S, Boxall N J, Bhatt A I (2018). Lithium battery 
recycling in Australia: Current status and opportunities 
for developing a new industry. Canberra, 
Australia: CSIRO.

190 Sustainability Victoria. National approach to manage 
solar panel, inverter and battery lifecycles (cited 
26 November 2020). Available from: https://www.
sustainability.vic.gov.au/About-us/Research/Solar-
energy-system-lifecycles.

191 Future Battery Industries CRC. Home page (cited 19 
November 2020). Available from: https://fbicrc.com.au/.

192 Australia21 (2016). Opportunities for an expanded 
algal industry in Australia: Report of a roundtable of 
stakeholders in the algal industry. Canberra, 
Australia: Australia21.

193 Chung I K, Beardall J, Mehta S, Sahoo D, Stojkovic 
S (2011). Using marine macroalgae for carbon 
sequestration: A critical appraisal. Journal of Applied 
Phycology, 23(5): 877–886.



194 Research and Markets (2020). Algae: Global market 
trajectory & analytics. Dublin, Ireland: Research 
and Markets.

195 ReportLinker (2019). Global algae products market by 
source, by application, by region, competition, forecast 
& opportunities, 2024. Lyon, France: ReportLinker.

196 FAO (2018). The future of food and agriculture: 
Alternative pathways to 2050. Rome, Italy: Food and 
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

197 U.S. Energy Information Administration (2019). 
International energy outlook 2019 with projections 
to 2050. Washington, D.C, United States: U.S. Energy 
Information Administration.

198 The University of the Sunshine Coast. Seaweed 
research group (cited 14 October 2020). Available from: 
https://www.usc.edu.au/research/animal-and-marine-
ecology/seaweed-research-group.

199 Kim J, Stekoll M, Yarish C (2019). Opportunities, 
challenges and future directions of open-water 
seaweed aquaculture in the United States. Phycologia, 
58(5): 446–461.

200 QPonics. Welcome to Qponics Limited (cited 17 May 
2019). Available from: https://www.qponics.com/#.

201 Institute for Molecular Bioscience. Solar fuels (cited 19 
January 2021). Available from: https://imb.uq.edu.au/
solar-fuels.

202 IPCC (2019). Global warming of 1.5°C. Geneva, 
Switzerland: Intergovernmental Panel on 
Climate Change.

203 Lowy Institute. Climate change and energy 
(cited 13 October 2020). Available from: https://
lowyinstitutepoll.lowyinstitute.org/themes/climate-
change-and-energy/.

204 Fleming S, Hollinger P (2020). Europe to unveil EU-wide 
hydrogen fuel partnership. 9 March 2020, Australian 
Financial Review.

205 Institute for Molecular Bioscience. Welcome to our 
biofuture (cited 13 October 2020). Available from: 
https://imb.uq.edu.au/solar-biotechnology.

206 Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources 
(2018). National Greenhouse Gas Inventory – 
UNFCCC classifications. Canberra, Australia: 
Australian Government.

207 Queensland Government. Agriculture sector 
greenhouse gas emissions (cited 14 October 2020). 
Available from: https://www.stateoftheenvironment.
des.qld.gov.au/pollution/greenhouse-gas-emissions/
agriculture-sector-greenhouse-gas-emissions.

208 Machado L, Magnusson M, Paul N A, de Nys R, Tomkins 
N (2014). Effects of marine and freshwater macroalgae 
on in vitro total gas and methane production. PLOS 
ONE, 9(1): e85289.

209 CSIRO (2020). New company puts foot on the gas to 
reduce cows’ methane [Media Release]. Canberra, 
Australia: CSIRO, 21 August 2020.

210 ABS (2020). Agricultural commodities, Australia, 
2018–19. Canberra: Australian Bureau of Statistics.

211 Global Market Insights (2020). Commercial seaweed 
market report 2020–2026: Global trends. Selbyville, DE, 
United States: Global Market Insights.

212 Buschmann A H, Camus C, Infante J, Neori A, Israel Á, 
Hernández-González M C, Pereda S V, Gomez-Pinchetti 
J L, Golberg A, Tadmor-Shalev N, Critchley A T (2017). 
Seaweed production: Overview of the global state of 
exploitation, farming and emerging research activity. 
European Journal of Phycology, 52(4): 391–406.

213 GENIALG. Home page (cited 15 October 2020). Available 
from: https://genialgproject.eu/.

214 Kelly J (2020). Australian seaweed industry blueprint. 
Wagga Wagga, Australia: AgriFutures.

215 Pacific Bio. Home page (cited 15 October 2020). 
Available from: https://www.pacificbio.com.au/.

216 Pacific Bio (2019). North Queensland project closer 
to plating up prawns [Media Release]. Melbourne, 
Australia: Pacific Bio, 29 April 2019.

217 Xiao X, Agusti S, Lin F, Li K, Pan Y, Yu Y, Zheng Y, Wu 
J, Duarte C M (2017). Nutrient removal from Chinese 
coastal waters by large-scale seaweed aquaculture. 
Scientific Reports, 7(1): 46613.

218 Passos F, Mota C, Donoso-Bravo A, Astals S, Jeison 
D, Muñoz R (2018). ‘Biofuels from microalgae: 
Biomethane’. In: Energy from Microalgae, Jacob-
Lopes Eduardo et al. Cham, Switzerland: Springer 
International Publishing.

219 Queensland Urban Utilities (2018). Enriching quality 
of life: 2017/18 Annual report. Brisbane, Queensland: 
Queensland Urban Utilities.



220 The University of Queensland. Renewable energy from 
wastewater derived microalgae (2018–2022) (cited 
16 October 2020). Available from: https://researchers.
uq.edu.au/research-project/35352.

221 BHP. Working with nature to clean up mining impacted 
lands and water (cited 16 October 2020). Available 
from: https://www.bhp.com/sustainability/community/
community-news/2019/02/working-with-nature-to-
clean-up-mining-impacted-lands-and-water/.

222 Boretti A, Rosa L (2019). Reassessing the projections 
of the World Water Development Report. npj Clean 
Water, 2(1): 15.

223 Trentacoste E M, Martinez A M, Zenk T (2015). The 
place of algae in agriculture: Policies for algal biomass 
production. Photosynthesis Research, 123(3): 305–315.

224 Moody J W, McGinty C M, Quinn J C (2014). Global 
evaluation of biofuel potential from microalgae. 
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 
111(23): 8691.

225 Bureau of Meteorology. Sunshine: Average daily 
sunshine hours (cited 13 October 2020). Available from: 
http://www.bom.gov.au/watl/sunshine/.

226 James Cook University. Novel aquatic products and 
applications (cited 19 February 2021). Available from: 
https://www.jcu.edu.au/tropical-fisheries-and-
aquaculture/our-research/aquaculture-research.

227 Department of Enviromment and Science. Centre 
for Macroalgal Resources and Biotechnology 
(MACRO) (cited 19 February 2021). Available from: 
https://science.des.qld.gov.au/research/capability-
directory?title=Centre%20for%20Macroalgal%20Resources%20and%20Biotechnology.

228 The University of Queensland. Centre for Solar 
Biotechnology (cited 14 October 2020). Available from: 
https://imb.uq.edu.au/solar.

229 The University of the Sunshine Coast (2019). Burp-
free cow feed drives seaweed science at USC [Media 
Release]. Sunshine Coast, Australia: The University of 
the Sunshine Coast, 14 August 2019.

231 Mazengarb M (2020). Australia already has a net zero 
emissions target, only the Morrison government 
denies it. 25 February 2020, Renew Economy.

232 Australian Government (2015). Australia’s 2030 
emissions reduction target. Canberra, Australia: 
Australian Government.

233 Creative Destruction Lab. Home page (cited 20 
November 2020). Available from: https://www.
creativedestructionlab.com/.

234 Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing Hub. Homepage 
(cited 29 June 2020). Available from: https://www.
armhub.com.au/.

235 Birch D, Skallerud K, Paul N A (2019). Who eats 
seaweed? An Australian perspective. Journal of 
International Food & Agribusiness Marketing, 31(4): 
329–351.

236 Chapman A S, Stévant P, Larssen W E (2015). Food 
or fad? Challenges and opportunities for including 
seaweeds in a Nordic diet. Botanica Marina, 58(6): 
423–433.

237 Grand View Research (2020). Precision farming market 
size, industry analysis report, 2027. Pune, Maharashtra, 
India: Grand View Research.

238 ABS (2020). Value of agricultural commodities 
produced, Australia, 2018–19. Canberra, Australia: 
Australian Bureau of Statistics.

239 FAO (2009). Global agriculture towards 2050. Rome, 
Italy: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United 
Nations.

240 Leonard E, Rainbow R, Trindall J, Baker I, Barry S, 
Darragh L, Darnell R, George A, Heath R, Jakku E, 
Laurie A, Lamb D, Llewellyn R, Perrett E, Sanderson 
J, Skinner A, Stollery T, Wiseman L, Wood G, Zhang A 
(2017). Accelerating precision to decision agriculture: 
Enabling digital agriculture in Australia. Canberra, 
Australia: Cotton Research and Development 
Corporation.

241 KPMG, Queensland Government, Commonwealth Bank 
(2016). Powering growth: Realising the potential of 
Agtech for Australia. Australia: KPMG.

230 Sustainability Matters. Algae biotech research facility 
to launch in Noosa (cited 21 October 2020). Available 
from: https://www.sustainabilitymatters.net.au/ 
content/sustainability/news/algae-biotech-research- 
facility-to-launch-in-noosa-257686188?fbclid=IwAR1SA_ 
xuUQYUvtZARRRELAzKLdvw3zyeUws2VKxNKRBi 
Walqn1mbQ4mtas0.



242 Rahaman M M, Chen D, Gillani Z, Klukas C, Chen 
M (2015). Advanced phenotyping and phenotype 
data analysis for the study of plant growth and 
development. Frontiers in Plant Science, 6(619).

243 Minister for Agriculture, Drought and Emergency 
Management (2020). $86 million for adoption and 
innovation hubs [Media Release]. Canberra, Australia: 
Australian Government, 1 September 2020.

244 ABS (2020). Estimates of industry multifactor 
productivity, Australia. Canberra, Australia: Australian 
Bureau of Statistics.

245 Sullivan K (2020). National Farmers Federation calls for 
Australia to reduce net emissions to zero by 2050. 20 
August 2020, ABC News.

246 Eckard R (2020). Australia’s farmers want more climate 
action – and they’re starting in their own (huge) 
backyards. 20 August 2020, The Conversation.

247 CSIRO. Three online tools for smarter farming (cited 
3 Dec 2020). Available from: https://blog.csiro.au/
farming-apps-online-tools/.

248 Volkofsky A (2017). Farmers turn to hydroponics, 
aquaponics, greenhouses to meet growing demand for 
food using less resources. 13 July 2017, ABC News.

249 Ogg M (2019). Stacked farm, Australia’s first fully 
robotic end-to-end vertical farm. 10 July 2020, Business 
News Australia.

250 ABS (2015). Agricultural commodities, Australia, 2013–14 
Canberra, Australia: Australian Bureau of Statistics.

251 Howe J, Clibborn S, Reilly A, Broek D v d, Wright C 
F (2019). Towards a durable future: Tackling labour 
challenges in the Australian horticulture industry. 
Adelaide, Australia: University of Adelaide.

252 Sullivan K (2020). Farmers fear worker shortage due to 
COVID-19 restrictions despite rising unemployment. 30 
July 2020, ABC News.

253 Ernest & Young (2020). Seasonal horticulture labour 
demand and workforce study. Australia: Ernest & Young.

254 Snape J (2021). International travel off the cards for 
2021, coronavirus border restrictions likely to remain in 
place. 19 January 2020, ABC News.

255 GHD, AgThentic (2018). Emerging technologies in 
agriculture: Consumer perceptions around emerging 
Agtech. Wagga Wagga, Australia: AgriFutures.

256 ABS (2020). Education and work, Australia. Canberra, 
Australia: Australian Bureau of Statistics.

257 Queensland University of Technology. Future farming: 
Research (cited 12 February 2021). Available from: 
https://research.qut.edu.au/future-farming/projects/.

258 Griffith University. ARC research hub for driving 
farming productivity and disease prevention (cited 10 
November 2020). Available from: https://www.griffith.
edu.au/griffith-sciences/farming-productivity.

259 James Cook University. Agriculture technology and 
adoption centre (cited 9 November 2020). Available 
from: https://www.jcu.edu.au/agtac.

260 CQUniversity. Institute for future farming systems 
(cited 9 November 2020). Available from: https://www.
cqu.edu.au/research/organisations/institute-for-future-
farming-systems.

261 University of Southern Queensland. The new era of 
farming – driverless tractors (cited 10 November 2020). 
Available from: https://www.usq.edu.au/research/
agriculture-agribusiness/driverless-tractors.

262 The University of Queensland. Innovation in 
digital agriculture (cited 22 October 2020). 
Available from: http://preview.shorthand.com/
Ua8yoJ7lN7uHCa8K#group-genomics-and-genetics-
JwvYS6ADsl.

263 Australian Centre for Robotic Vision. Home page (cited 
24 September 2020). Available from: https://www.
roboticvision.org/.

264 CSIRO Data61. Robotics and autonomous systems (cited 
23 December 2020). Available from: https://data61.
csiro.au/en/Our-Research/Focus-Areas/Robotics-and-
Autonomous-Systems.

265 CSIRO Data61 Robotics and Autonomous Systems 
Group. AgTech (cited 10 November 2020). Available 
from: https://research.csiro.au/robotics/our-work/
solutions/agtech/.

266 King J (2018). World’s robotics and automation experts 
descend on Brisbane and they’re here to help. 23 May 
2018, ABC News.

267 World of Drones and Robotics Congress. Home page 
(cited 13 July 2020). Available from: https://www.
worldofdrones.com.au/.



268 Minister for State Development, Tourism and 
Innovation (2020). Toowoomba to be home to world 
class ag tech hub [Media Release]. Brisbane, Australia: 
Queensland Government, 25 June 2020.

269 CQUniversity. Bundaberg ag-tech initiative open for 
business (cited 10 November 2020). Available from: 
https://www.cqu.edu.au/cquninews/stories/general-
category/2020-general/bundaberg-ag-tech-initiative-
open-for-business.

270 CSIRO Data61. Robotics innovation centre (cited 10 
July 2020). Available from: https://research.csiro.
au/robotics/who-we-are/our-facilities/robotics_
innovation_centre/.

271 Margolis Z, Butterworth K (2020). Cloncurry earmarked 
for drone testing facility. 22 June 2020, ABC News.

272 Neales S (2018). How a farm in remote Queensland 
became a high tech AI hub. 18 January 2018, Australian 
Financial Review.

273 ABS (2018). Innovation in Australian business. Canberra, 
Australia: Australian Bureau of Statistics.

274 Ceres Tag. Home page (cited 11 November 2020). 
Available from: https://www.cerestag.com/.

275 Univerity of Southern Queensland. USQ and John 
Deere look to future with ag innovation (cited 11 
November 2020). Available from: https://www.usq.edu.
au/news/2019/06/john-deere-visit.

276 RapidAIM. Home page (cited 10 November 2020). 
Available from: https://rapidaim.io/.

277 LYRO Robotics. Home page (cited 10 July 2020). 
Available from: https://lyro.io/.

278 Salt B (2020). Why Australia needs to think big. 14 
November 2020, The Australian.

279 Thomas J, Barraket J, Wilson C, Holcombe-James I, 
Kennedy J, Rennie E, Ewing S, MacDonald T (2020). 
Measuring Australia’s digital divide: The Australian 
digital inclusion index 2020. Melbourne, 
Australia: Telstra.

280 Mochan K, Bennett M (2019). WA farmers fed up with 
slow internet build their own network. 17 March 2019, 
ABC News.

281 Department of Primary Industries and Regional 
Development. WA IoT DecisionAg Grant Program (cited 
20 November 2020). Available from: https://www.agric.
wa.gov.au/internetofthings.

282 KPMG. Australia’s AgTech Finder Platform (cited 20 
November 2020). Available from: https://home.kpmg/
au/en/home/insights/2019/08/australia-agtech-finder-
platform.html.

283 Queensland Government. AgTech Finder (cited 29 
January 2021). Available from: https://www.daf.qld.gov.
au/agtech/start-here/agtech-finder.

284 Food Agility CRC. Projects (cited 28 October 2020). 
Available from: https://www.foodagility.com/projects.

285 Department of Agriculture, Water and the 
Environment. Future Drought Fund (cited Available 
from: https://www.agriculture.gov.au/ag-farm-food/
drought/future-drought-fund.

286 Maughan S, McFarland C, Mondschein J, Saling B, 
Meers Z, Herrmann A (2018). Australian AgTech: 
Opportunities and challenges as seen from a US 
venture capital perspective. Sydney, Australia: United 
States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney.

287 Research and Markets (2019). Global blockchain in 
supply chain market by providers, by applications 
(provenance tracking, payment & settlement, smart 
contracts, inventory management, counterfeit 
detection, compliance management, others), by 
verticals – Forecast up to 2025. Dublin, Ireland: 
Research and Markets.

288 Markets and Markets (2020). Blockchain in agriculture 
and food supply chain market. Pune, Maharashtra, 
India: Markets and Markets.

289 McLeod R (2017). Counting the cost: Lost Australian 
food and wine export sales due to fraud. Werribee, 
Australia: Food Innovation Australia Limited.

290 Lowe A (2018). The race to win the fight against food 
fraud. 10 August 2018, Australian Financial Review.

291 Smith M (2018). Blackmores on board as Alibaba tests 
blockchain in Australian fake food clampdown. 27 
October 2018, Australian Financial Review.

292 Kharas H (2017). The unprecedented expansion of the 
global middle class: An update. Washington, D.C., 
United States: Brookings Institution.

293 FAO (2018). FAOSTAT: Food supply – Livestock and fish 
primary equivalent. Rome, Italy: Food and Agriculture 
Organization of the United Nations.

294 MLA (2020). State of the industry report 2020: The 
Australian red meat and livestock industry. Sydney, 
Australia: Meat and Livestock Australia.



295 MLA (2020). Market snapshot: Beef and sheepmeat. 
Sydney, Australia: Meat and Livestock Australia.

296 Pei X, Tandon A, Alldrick A, Giorgi L, Huang W, Yang 
R (2011). The China melamine milk scandal and its 
implications for food safety regulation. Food Policy, 
36(3): 412–420.

297 BBC News (2014). China suspends McDonald’s and KFC’s 
meat supplier. 21 July 2014, BBC News.

298 Lu F, Wu X (2014). China food safety hits the ‘gutter’. 
Food Control, 41: 134–138.

299 Morris B (2014). Horsemeat scandal: How tastes 
changed. 14 January 2014, BBC News.

300 Soon J M, Liu X (2020). Chinese consumers’ risk 
mitigating strategies against food fraud. 
Food Control, 115: 107298.

301 Kendall H, Kuznesof S, Dean M, Chan M-Y, Clark B, 
Home R, Stolz H, Zhong Q, Liu C, Brereton P, Frewer 
L (2019). Chinese consumer’s attitudes, perceptions 
and behavioural responses towards food fraud. Food 
Control, 95: 339–351.

302 Williamson J (2019). Consumer willingness to pay for 
blockchain verified lamb. Sydney, Australia: Meat and 
Livestock Australia.

303 Department of Agriculture (2019). National Traceability 
Framework: Enhancing Australia’s world-class 
agricultural traceability systems. Canberra, Australia: 
Australian Government.

304 Food and Beverage Industry News (2020). Traceability 
program to build trust in Australia’s food supply chains. 
28 October 2020, Food and Beverage Industry News.

305 Department of Agriculture, Water and the 
Environment. Traceability Grants Program (cited 
28 October 2020). Available from: https://www.
agriculture.gov.au/market-access-trade/traceability-
grants-program.

306 Minister for Agriculture, Drought and Emergency 
Management (2020). Online tool to help producers 
choose best-fit traceability [Media Release]. Canberra, 
Australia: Australian Government, 7 September 2020.

307 Department of Agriculture and Fisheries. Economic 
recovery—support for Queensland producers 
announced (cited 28 October 2020). Available from: 
https://www.daf.qld.gov.au/strategic-direction/
economic-recovery-package-queensland-producers.

308 Queensland University of Technology. BeefLedger: 
Blockchain tracking from paddock to plate (cited 28 
October 2020). Available from: https://research.qut.
edu.au/blockchain/projects/beefledger/.

309 Adams P (2019). China is hungry for Australian beef, 
but every second kilo shoppers buy could be fake. 3 
November 2019, ABC News.

310 CSIRO. T-Provenance: Blockchain technology for food 
exports (cited 28 October 2020). Available from: 
https://www.csiro.au/en/Do-business/Solutions-for-
SMEs/Our-track-record-working-with-SMEs/Kick-Start/
T-Provenance.

311 CRC for Developing Northern Australia. New sensor 
tech tracks mango journey (cited 28 October 2020). 
Available from: https://crcna.com.au/news/new-sensor-
tech-tracks-mango-journey.

312 Queensland University of Technology. Macromolecular 
barcoding for tracing plastic materials for the circular 
economy – a game changer for recycling (cited 
27 November 2020). Available from: https://www.
qut.edu.au/research/study-with-us/student-topics/
topics/macromolecular-barcoding-for-tracing-plastic-
materials-for-the-circular-economy-a-game-changer-
for-recycling.

313 James Cook University (2020). Agriculture and 
aquaculture at JCU. Townsville, Australia: James Cook 
University.

314 ARC Training Centre for Uniquely Australian Foods. 
Shaping Australia’s food identity (cited 28 October 
2020). Available from: https://uniquelyaustralianfoods.
org/2019/11/14/shaping-australias-food-identity/.

315 Gallagher J, Johnston H, Mantilla E, Drury G (2020). 
Consumer trends and storytelling technologies report. 
Wagga Wagga, Australia: AgriFutures.

316 Future Food Systems CRC. Future Food System CRC’s 
first smart trade hubs research project kicks off (cited 
28 October 2020). Available from: https://www.
futurefoodsystems.com.au/future-food-system-crcs-
first-smart-trade-hubs-research-project-kicks-off/?from=groupmessage&isappinstalled=0.

317 BeefLedger. BeefLedger begins collaboration with 
Data61 (cited 28 October 2020). Available from: 
https://beefledger.io/beefledger-begins-collaboration-
with‑data61/.

318 Agrichain. Home page (cited 28 October 2020). 
Available from: https://agrichain.com/.



319 Fenton A (2020). $6m invested in ‘disruptive’ Aussie 
supply chain blockchain. 18 February 2020, Micky.

320 Hill C (2020). Griffith partners with technology 
company Everledger [Media Release]. Brisbane, 
Australia: Griffith University, 22 July 2020.

321 The Circular Economy Lab. Home page (cited 29 October 
2020). Available from: https://circularecolab.com/.

322 Foth M, McQueenie J (2019). Creatives in the country? 
Blockchain and agtech can create unexpected jobs in 
regional Australia. 13 June 2019, The Conversation.

323 BIS Research. Global blockchain in agriculture & food 
market anticipated to reach $1.4 billion by 2028 (cited 
30 November 2020). Available from: https://www.
prnewswire.com/news-releases/global-blockchain-in-
agriculture-amp-food-market-anticipated-to-reach-1-4-
billion-by-2028-811087622.html.

324 Morello S (2020). Cheap lobsters on offer for Christmas 
tables as prices plummet due to China import ban. 5 
December 2020, ABC News.

325 Nebehay S (2020). Natural disasters are occurring more 
frequently with increased ferocity, UN says [Media 
Release]. Geneva, Switzerland: World Economic Forum, 
14 October 2020.

326 Tadokoro S (2019). ‘Overview of the ImPACT Tough 
Robotics Challenge and Strategy for Disruptive 
Innovation in Safety and Security’. In: Disaster 
Robotics: Results from the ImPACT Tough Robotics 
Challenge, Tadokoro Satoshi. Cham, Switzerland: 
Springer International Publishing.

327 Coronese M, Lamperti F, Keller K, Chiaromonte F, 
Roventini A (2019). Evidence for sharp increase in 
the economic damages of extreme natural disasters. 
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 
116(43): 21450–21455.

328 Research and Markets (2020). Incident and emergency 
management market by component, (solutions 
(emergency/mass notification system, perimeter 
intrusion detection, and fire and HAZMAT), services, 
and communication systems), simulation, vertical, 
and region – Global forecast to 2025. Dublin, Ireland: 
Research and Markets.

329 Wright S, Caldwell F (2019). Millions in Australia’s east 
face natural disaster risk. 1 January 2019, The Sydney 
Morning Herald.

330 Deloitte Access Economics, Australian Bushfire 
Roundtable for Disaster Resilence and Safer 
Communities (2017). Building resilience to natural 
disasters in our states and territories. Australia: Deloitte 
Access Economics and Australian Bushfire Roundtable 
for Disaster Resilence and Safer Communities.

331 International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent 
Societies (2018). Leaving no one behind. Geneva, 
Switzerland: International Federation of Red Cross and 
Red Crescent Societies.

332 Filkov A I, Ngo T, Matthews S, Telfer S, Penman T D 
(2020). Impact of Australia’s catastrophic 2019/20 
bushfire season on communities and environment. 
Retrospective analysis and current trends. Journal of 
Safety Science and Resilience, 1(1): 44–56.

333 Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources 
(2020). Estimating greenhouse gas emissions from 
bushfires in Australia’s temperate forests: Focus on 
2019–20. Canberra, Australia: Australian Government.

334 Ding N, Berry H, O’Brien L (2015). The effect of extreme 
heat on mental health – Evidence from Australia. 20th 
IEA World Congress of Epidemiology; Anchorage, AK, 
USA: International Journal of Epidemiology, 64.

335 Alderman K, Turner L R, Tong S (2013). Assessment 
of the health impacts of the 2011 summer floods in 
Brisbane. Journal of Disaster Medicine and Public 
Health Preparedness, 7(4): 380–386.

336 QGSO (2020). Exports of Queensland goods 
overseas, May 2020. Brisbane, Australia: Queensland 
Government Statistican’s Office.

337 Khadem N (2020). Ross Garnaut’s climate change 
prediction is coming true and it’s going to cost Australia 
billions, experts warn. 8 January 2020, ABC News.

338 Murphy R R, Adams J, Gandudi V B M (2020). Robots 
are playing many roles in the coronavirus crisis – and 
offering lessons for future disaster. 22 April 2020, The 
Conversation.

339 UVD Robots. The UVD Robots story (cited 10 July 2020). 
Available from: https://www.uvd-robots.com/about-us.

340 James Cook University. The Centre for Disaster Studies 
(cited 23 September 2020). Available from: https://
www.jcu.edu.au/centre-for-disaster-studies.

341 CRC Bushfire and Natural Hazards. Home page (cited 23 
September 2020). Available from: https://www.bnhcrc.
com.au/home.



342 The University of Queensland. Wind engineering 
research (cited 24 September 2020). Available from: 
https://www.civil.uq.edu.au/wirl-research.

343 Soderholm J, Protat A, McGowan H, Richter H, Mason 
M (2017). All hail new weather radar technology, which 
can spot hailstones lurking in thunderstorms. 28 
November 2017, The Conversation.

344 James Cook University. The cyclone testing station 
(cited 24 September 2020). Available from: https://
www.jcu.edu.au/cyclone-testing-station.

345 Queensland University of Technology. QUT Centre for 
Robotics: About (cited 24 September 2020). Available 
from: https://research.qut.edu.au/qcr/about/.

346 Australian Centre for Robotic Vision (2018). A robotics 
roadmap for Australia 2018. Brisbane, Australia: 
Australian Centre for Robotic Vision.

347 BIA5. OzBot Titan handles the heat (cited 24 September 
2020). Available from: https://bia5.com/ozbot-titan-
handles-the-heat/.

348 Emescent. Home page (cited 24 September 2020). 
Available from: https://www.emesent.io/.

349 Sky Grow. Home page (cited 20 November 2020). 
Available from: https://www.skygrow.com.au/.

350 Adeniyi O, Perera S, Collins A (2016). Review of 
finance and investment in disaster resilience in the 
built environment. International Journal of Strategic 
Property Management, 20(3): 224–238.

351 Kawasaki A, Rhyner J (2018). Investing in disaster risk 
reduction for resilience: Roles of science, technology, 
and education. Journal of Disaster Research, 13(7): 
1181–1186.

352 Minister for Industry, Science and Technology (2020). 
$88.1 million for new world class disaster research 
centre [Media Release]. Canberra, Australia: Australian 
Government, 23 July 2020.

353 Minister for Industry, Science and Technology (2020). 
World-first hub to develop bushfire emergency 
technology [Media Release]. Canberra, Australia: 
Australian Government, 9 April 2020.

354 Waters C (2019). ‘Supporting wildcards’: Atlassian chief 
backs climate crisis startups. 11 November 2019, The 
Sydney Morning Herald.

355 Koehn E (2020). ‘Coalition of the willing’: Extreme 
weather drives startups to commercialise fire tracking 
tech. 13 January 2020, The Sydney Morning Herald.

356 University of Southern Queensland. Tech used in space 
to help detect fires in Australia (cited 25 September 
2020). Available from: https://www.usq.edu.au/
news/2020/02/space-tech-detect-fires-aus.

357 Helitak. Home page (cited 25 September 2020). 
Available from: https://helitak.com.au/.

358 FireTech Connect. Home page (cited 25 September 
2020). Available from: https://firetechconnect.com/.

359 Koehn E (2019). US drone startup tracking fires, Barrier 
Reef to launch in Australia. 14 November 2019, The 
Sydney Morning Herald.

360 UK Robotics and Autonomous Systems Network 
(2017). Extreme environments robotics: Robotics for 
emergency response, disaster relief and resilience. 
London, United Kingdom: UK Robotics and 
Autonomous Systems Network.

361 Deloitte Access Economics (2013). Building our nation’s 
resilience to natural disasters. Australia: Australian 
Business Roundtable for Disaster Resilience and Safer 
Communities.

362 de Vet E, Eriksen C, Booth K, French S (2019). An 
unmitigated disaster: Shifting from response and 
recovery to mitigation for an insurable future. 
International Journal of Disaster Risk Science, 10(2): 
179–192.

363 Suncorp. Suncorp Cyclone Resilience Benefit (cited 26 
November 2020). Available from: https://www.suncorp.
com.au/insurance/safety/cyclone-resilience.html.

364 EY (2019). An assessment of the Australian Insurtech 
ecosystem. Sydney, Australia: EY and Insurtech Australia.

365 Synergies Economic Consulting (2018). The robotics 
and automation advantage for Queensland. Brisbane, 
Australia: Queensland University of Technology.

366 Faethm, Australian Computer Society (2020). 
Technology impacts on the Australian workforce. 
Sydney, Australia: Australian Computer Society.

367 Sandanayake M, Lokuge W, Zhang G, Setunge S, 
Thushar Q (2018). Greenhouse gas emissions during 
timber and concrete building construction: A scenario 
based comparative case study. Sustainable Cities and 
Society, 38: 91–97.



368 ReportLinker (2020). Smart building market: Growth, 
trends, and forecast (2020–2025). Lyon, France: 
ReportLinker.

369 Pednekar T, Sumant O (2020). IoT in construction 
market outlook – 2027. Pune, Maharashtra, India: Allied 
Market Research.

370 Office of Industrial Relations (2014). Construction: 
Statistical update 2009–10 to 2013–14. Brisbane, 
Australia: Queensland Government.

371 Safe Work Australia (2015). The cost of work-related 
injury and illness for Australian employers, workers 
and the community: 2012–13. Canberra, Australia: 
Safe Work Australia.

372 Gillezeau N (2020). Construction giant spins out AI 
start-up to tackle workplace accidents. 18 May 2020, 
The Australian Financial Review.

373 Queensland Major Contractors Association, 
Infrastructure Association of Queensland (2020). 
Queensland major projects pipeline 2020. Brisbane, 
Australia: Queensland Major Contractors Association 
and Infrastructure Association of Queensland.

374 World Economic Forum. Japan is replacing its ageing 
construction workers with robots (cited 30 September 
2020). Available from: https://www.weforum.org/
agenda/2018/04/japan-is-replacing-its-aging-
construction-workers-with-robots.

375 Design Build. Shimizu to deploy robots for high-
rise building work in Osaka (cited 1 October 2020). 
Available from: https://www.designbuild-network.
com/news/shimizu-deploy-robots-high-rise-building-
work-osaka/.

376 Department of Employment, Small Business and 
Training (2019). Apprentice and trainee participation 
activity data and statistics. Brisbane, Australia: 
Queensland Government.

377 Business Wire. AMP Robotics raises $16 million 
Series A led by Sequoia Capital, joining Alphabet-
backed Sidewalk Infrastructure Partners and leaders 
in sustainable investing (cited 30 September 2020). 
Available from: https://www.businesswire.com/news/
home/20191114005275/en/AMP-Robotics-Raises-16-
Million-Series-A-Led-by-Sequoia-Capital-Joining-
Alphabet-backed-Sidewalk-Infrastructure-Partners-and-
Leaders-in-Sustainable-Investing.

378 Smalley M. ZenRobotics helps equip automated MRF 
in Finland (cited 30 September 2020). Available from: 
https://www.recyclingtoday.com/article/zenrobotics-
remeo-partner-start-automated-robotic-mrf-finland/.

379 Nordic. ZenRobotics raised $17M from investors 
including Invus and Lifeline Ventures (cited 1 October 
2020). Available from: https://nordic9.com/news/
zenrobotics-raised-17m-from-investors-including-invus-
and-lifeline-ventures-news3006626021/.

380 Department of Energy and Public Works. Sustainable 
buildings (cited 20 January 2021). Available from: 
https://www.epw.qld.gov.au/about/strategy/building-
plan/areas-of-reform/sustainable-buildings.

381 Teh S H, Wiedmann T, Schinabeck J, Moore S (2017). 
Replacement scenarios for construction materials 
based on economy-wide hybrid LCA. Procedia 
Engineering, 180: 179–189.

382 Mangan J (2020). Cost benefit appraisal of four ARC 
Future Timber Hub research projects: Final report. 
Brisbane, Australia: The University of Queensland.

383 Minister for State Development, Tourism and 
Innovation (2020). Hyne gets the wood on timber 
imports with new facility [Media Release]. Brisbane, 
Australia: Queensland Government, 6 August 2020.

384 Queensland University of Technology. School of Built 
Environment (cited 25 September 2020). Available 
from: https://www.qut.edu.au/science-engineering/
schools/built-environment.

385 Building 4.0 CRC. Home page (cited 25 September 
2020). Available from: https://building4pointzero.org/.

386 The Univerity of Queensland. Centre for future timber 
structures (cited 22 December 2020). Available from: 
https://www.civil.uq.edu.au/timber.

387 Robotics and Autonomous Systems Group. 
Construction tech (cited 25 September 2020). Available 
from: https://research.csiro.au/robotics/our-work/
solutions/construction-tech/.

388 Macuga T. Centre team wins Amazon robotics 
challenge with low cost robot (cited 10 July 2020). 
Available from: https://www.roboticvision.org/centre-
team-wins-amazon-robotics-challenge/.

389 Trade and Investment Queensland. LYRO Robotics 
secures Japanese investment (cited 10 July 2020). 
Available from: https://www.tiq.qld.gov.au/lyro-
robotics-secures-japanese-investment/.



390 Sutrisna M, Ramnauth V, Zaman A (2020). Towards 
adopting off-site construction in housing sectors as 
a potential source of competitive advantage for 
builders. Architectural Engineering and Design 
Management: 1–19.

391 Sutrisna M, Goulding J (2019). Managing information 
flow and design processes to reduce design risks 
in offsite construction projects. Engineering, 
Construction and Architectural Management, 26(2): 
267–284.

392 Steinhardt D A, Manley K (2016). Adoption of 
prefabricated housing – the role of country context. 
Sustainable Cities and Society, 22: 126–135.

393 Steinhardt D, Manley K, Bildsten L, Widen K (2020). 
The structure of emergent prefabricated housing 
industries: A comparative case study of Australia and 
Sweden. Construction Management and Economics, 
38(6): 483–501.

394 Department of State Development, Manufacturing, 
Infrastructure and Planning (2018). Manufacturing 
hub delivery model: Cairns, Townsville, Rockhampton. 
Brisbane, Autralia: Queensland Government.

395 Minister for Industry, Science and Technology (2019). 
Pre-fab innovation lab for building industry [Media 
Release]. Canberra, Australia: Australian Goverment, 16 
June 2019.

396 Davila Delgado J M, Oyedele L, Ajayi A, Akanbi L, 
Akinade O, Bilal M, Owolabi H (2019). Robotics and 
automated systems in construction: Understanding 
industry-specific challenges for adoption. Journal of 
Building Engineering, 26: 100868.

397 Chea C P, Bai Y, Pan X, Arashpour M, Xie Y (2020). 
An integrated review of automation and robotic 
technologies for structural prefabrication and 
construction. Transportation Safety and Environment, 
2(2): 81–96.

398 University of Southern Queensland. The green 
concrete revolution (cited 22 December 2020). 
Available from: https://www.usq.edu.au/research/
materials-engineering-and-engineering-technology/
green-concrete.

399 Miller B, Dalzell S (2020). Coronavirus vaccine trials run 
by UQ and CSL abandoned due to false positive HIV 
results. 11 December 2020, ABC News.

400 CRC for Developing Northern Australia. Strengthening 
Northern Australia’s horticultural sector through 
assessing protected cropping value chain linkages 
and pathways for adoption (cited 29 January 2021). 
Available from: https://crcna.com.au/research/projects/
strengthening-northern-australias-horticultural-sector-
through-assessing-protected-cropping-value-chain-
linkages-and-pathways-adoption.

401 World Economic Forum (2018). Readiness for the future 
of production report 2018. Geneva, Switzerland: World 
Economic Forum.

402 Moyle B, Moyle C-l, Ruhanen L, Weaver D, Hadinejad 
A (2020). Are we really progressing sustainable 
tourism research? A bibliometric analysis. Journal of 
Sustainable Tourism, 29(1): 106–122.

403 ABS (2020). Microdata: Business Longitudinal Analysis 
Data Environment, BLADE. Canberra, Australia: 
Australian Bureau of Statistics.

404 QUT Australian Centre for Entrepreneurship Research. 
LABii (cited 25 November 2020). Available from: https://
research.qut.edu.au/ace/projects/labii/.

405 ABS (2019). Labour force, Australia, Jun 2019. Canberra, 
Australia: Australian Bureau of Statistics.

406 ABS (2020). Counts of Australian businesses, including 
entries and exits. Canberra, Australia: Australian 
Bureau of Statistics.

407 Pezzoni M, Veugelers R, Visentin F (2019). How fast 
is this novel technology going to be a hit? London, 
United Kingdom: Centre for Economic Policy Research.

408 World Economic Forum. Looking at how technology 
spreads and stimulates economic growth (cited 3 
February 2021). Available from: https://www.weforum.
org/agenda/2019/09/predicting-the-diffusion-curve-
of-new-technologies-heres-how.



For further information

Dr Claire Naughtin

Senior Research Consultant

claire.naughtin@data61.csiro.au

data61.csiro.au