Three months on from the Future Made in Australia budget commitments, GME’s Tony Crooke argues policy ambition now needs to become factory-floor reality.
Three months on from the Future Made in Australia budget commitments, GME’s Tony Crooke argues policy ambition now needs to become factory-floor reality.
Three months after the Federal Government reinforced its Future Made in Australia manufacturing agenda in the 2026 Budget, the conversation is moving from policy ambition to practical delivery.
The agenda has been welcomed for its focus on sovereign capability, resilient supply chains, workforce development, and advanced manufacturing. However, for Australian manufacturers, there are still question marks around what these commitments mean on the factory floor.
A successful Future Made in Australia agenda cannot be measured only by the number of announcements made or funding programs established. It must ultimately be judged by whether more products are being designed, engineered, assembled, and supported in Australia and whether manufacturers can invest with confidence.
For manufacturers already operating locally, this shift from commitment to implementation is essential.
The first requirement is policy certainty. Manufacturers make investment decisions over years, not months. Expanding a production line, investing in specialised equipment, developing a new product, or training an apprentice all depend on stable, supportive policy settings.
The Government’s commitments around sovereign capability, supply chain resilience and workforce development therefore need to be translated into a coordinated implementation plan. Manufacturers need clear priorities, defined funding pathways, and measurable outcomes.
Procurement will be one of the most powerful tools available. If the government wants to strengthen domestic manufacturing, it must create dependable demand for Australian-made products in strategically important categories. That means moving beyond broad statements of support and establishing clear procurement signals, faster pathways for locally made goods and, where national resilience is at stake, measurable local content requirements.
This does not mean every product must be manufactured entirely in Australia. In many cases, international sourcing will remain commercially sensible, particularly for commodity components available from multiple suppliers. But the country should be clear about which products, components and capabilities are too important to leave vulnerable to a single offshore source.
Critical electronics, communications equipment, safety products, health supplies, energy infrastructure and other products supporting emergency services and essential infrastructure should be assessed according to their strategic importance, import dependency and exposure to disruption.
A published set of sovereign manufacturing priorities would give businesses greater clarity about where investment and procurement support are likely to be concentrated. It would also help ensure that government assistance is directed towards companies with proven capabilities and a realistic pathway to long-term commercial viability.
Recent global supply chain disruptions demonstrated that resilience is not created when a crisis begins. It must be built in advance through local capability, supplier diversity, inventory planning and the ability to respond quickly when conditions change.
Australian manufacturers have learned several important lessons. Long and concentrated supply chains can create significant exposure. Local design, engineering and assembly provide greater control over quality and timing. And customers are often willing to value certainty, particularly when products must perform reliably in critical situations.
At GME, more than 85 per cent of our revenue comes from Australian-made products. That local manufacturing base has helped the business reduce its exposure to global freight disruptions and support skilled jobs and critical domestic capability. It has also reinforced the commercial value of local production: shorter feedback loops, closer quality control, greater responsiveness and stronger customer confidence.
