Jobs and Manufacturing

Under the Albanese Labor Government, more Australians are working, earning more and keeping more of what they earn, with over a million jobs created since we came to office in 2022.

The average Australian full-time worker is now earning $159 extra per week under an Albanese Labor Government, alongside a tax cut of $44 per week because of our cost-of-living tax cuts. For Australians on minimum wage, we’ve increased their yearly wage by $7451 since 2022, and early childcare workers have received a 15% pay rise from the government.

We’ve introduced new industrial relation laws since we came to Government, including the right to disconnect from unreasonable contact outside of work hours, criminalising wage theft, a pathway for casuals who want to become permanent and properly defined casual work to reduce exploitation, introduced minimum standards for gig workers, and closed the labour hire loophole.

But we’re not done. Labor has a plan for a Future Made in Australia, and it’s very simple: we want Australia to be a country that makes more things here. Because making more things in Australia, means a stronger Australian economy, and the creation of more Australian jobs.

A Renewable Energy Future

Australia has everything it needs to meet our goal of Net Zero emissions by 2050. That’s why the Albanese Labor Government wants to make Australia into a renewable energy superpower. Our Future Made in Australia plan will turbocharge clean manufacturing, industry and energy through $22.7 billion over the next decade in funding commitments.

Because renewable jobs are long-term, stable jobs, we’re supporting local innovators and manufacturers to build the next generation of solar cells, batteries and clean energy technology. This effort extends to integrating more wind and solar power into our grid, ensuring sustainable energy for home and businesses. Additionally, we are boosting investments in green hydrogen and critical minerals, leveraging our natural advantages for economic growth.

Backing Australian Innovation

A future made in Australia means investing in Australian ideas, Australian innovation, Australian people, and Australian places.

Some of those ideas and innovations we’re investing in include $466.4 million to build quantum computing capabilities, $556 million in open science by supporting Geoscience Australia to map Australia’s endowments of critical minerals and national groundwater systems.

We’re investing $91 million in the clean energy workforce through expanding access to the New Energy Apprenticeship Program and investments in VET clean energy courses, along with $55.6 million to support women training in male-dominated industries, and $38.2 million to support diversity in science, technology, engineering and maths.

The Albanese Labor Government is investing $178.6 million in worker transition support, including the Energy Industry Jobs Plan and place-based Regional Workforce Transition Plans, to ensure that no Australian worker is left behind in the transition to a renewable economy.