The Northern Australia Action Plan 2024-2029 builds on the 2015 Our North, Our Future: White Paper on Developing Northern Australia. The Action Plan reaffirms the Australian Government’s commitment to the north and recognises the potential of northern Australia to build on its comparative advantages of natural resources, strategic location, unique and environment and cultural heritage and resilient communities.
The Action Plan outlines how the Australian Government is working with partners to capitalise on new and emerging industries while ensuring benefits are shared and the north’s communities and businesses build the prosperous, sustainable and liveable communities they want and need.
Introductions
Development of the Action Plan
From September 2023 to February 2024, the Office of Northern Australia engaged with stakeholders to gain a contemporary understanding of their views on priorities, opportunities and challenges for northern Australia. The Office of Northern Australia used 4 types of engagement:
- one-on-one sessions with key stakeholders
- virtual sessions – 9 sessions were held with over 200 participants
- on-ground sessions – 39 sessions were held with key local organisations to understand place-based variances
- an online survey with over 500 respondents.
Key engaement partners included, First Nations organisations, businesses, industry representatives and peak organisations, academia, community organisations and all levels of government.
As part of the online survey, participants were asked to rank the priorities most important to them. Housing availability and engagement with First Nations people were ranked as the 2 most important priorities. Workforce skills and training development, justice reinvestment, diversification that responds to climate change, and transformational and complex projects were also ranked in the top 6 priorities.
Development of the Action Plan also considered:
- the outcomes of the 2 recent parliamentary inquiries into the development of northern Australia: the Senate Select Committee inquiry into the effectiveness of the Australian Government’s Northern Australia agenda; and the Joint Select Committee inquiry into northern Australia workforce development
- advice and input from the Northern Australia Indigenous Reference Group and the outcomes of the review of the Northern Australia Indigenous Development Accord
- the priority areas and policies being progressed by the Australian Government
- the priority areas identified by the Northern Australia Ministerial Forum (NAMF) in 2022
- regional information and data.
The 6 policy priority areas
The Action Plan identifies 6 policy priority areas designed to enhance the prosperity and wellbeing of northern communities.
Central to all 6 priority policy priority areas is the commitment to advance First Nations outcomes, which is vital to the success of the northern Australia agenda. Specific action to achieve this goal is embedded across each of the following 6 policy priority areas.
1. Activating the northern economy
2. Infrastructure to unlock growth
3. A safe and secure north
4. Growing the northern Australia workforce
5. Livable, healthy and resilient communities
