Future Made in Australia draft guidance now released for consultation

The Australian Government has now released Draft Guidance on how the Community Benefit Principles are to be applied to Future Made in Australia supports, with public feedback due by 2 February 2026.

Background

The Principles were established to decide whether Future Made in Australia support, which we have discussed previously, should be provided under section 10 of the Future Made in Australia Act 2024 (Cth) (the FMA Act).

In particular, the Principles are designed to ensure that the Government’s Future Made in Australia investment, and the private sector investment it attracts, benefits local workers, businesses and communities.

The Principles

The FMA Act defines the Principles:

• Promoting safe and secure jobs that are well paid and have good conditions.

• Developing more skilled and inclusive workforces, including by investing in training and skills development and broadening opportunities for workforce participation.

• Engaging collaboratively with and achieving positive outcomes for local communities, such as First Nations communities and communities directly affected by the transition to net zero.

• Supporting First Nations communities and Traditional Owners to participate in, and share in the benefits of, the transition to net zero.

• Strengthening domestic industrial capabilities, including through stronger local supply chains.

• Demonstrating transparency and compliance in relation to the management of tax affairs, including benefits received under Future Made in Australia supports.

The purpose of the Draft Guidance

The Draft Guidance:

• provides information to proponents, decision-makers, support entities and communities about how the Principles are to be applied to Future Made in Australia supports, including minimum requirements for all projects receiving Future Made in Australia supports and threshold requirements for projects receiving Future Made in Australia supports over a financial threshold;

• outlines how Future Made in Australia plans operate in relation to Future Made in Australia supports; and

• provides information to companies about how the Principles are to be applied to Future Made in Australia production tax incentives.

The operation of the Principles

An overview of the implementation of the Principles (other than in relation to the Future made in Australia production tax incentives), extracted from the Draft Guidance, sets out matters key matters that decision-makers will consider, and proponents must satisfy:

Minimum requirements: Decision-makers must be satisfied that proponents seeking Future Made in Australia supports will meet a set of minimum requirements.

Threshold requirements: Decision-makers must be satisfied that proponents seeking Future Made in Australia supports over the financial threshold will meet a set of threshold requirements.

Monitoring achievement: Proponents will be subject to reporting requirements to demonstrate achievement of community benefit outcomes.

Future Made in Australia plan: Proponents receiving Future Made in Australia supports over the threshold must publish a Future Made in Australia plan. Plans are an important tool for publicly communicating and monitoring commitments made against the Community Benefit Principles.

The focus of the Draft Guidance

The consultation seeks feedback on the clarity, practicality, and effectiveness of the application of the Principles, as well as suggestions for improvement, including:

• the minimum requirements for Future Made in Australia supports, discussed in Appendix A of the Draft Guidance;

• what thresholds should apply to the application of the Principles, discussed in Appendix B of the Draft Guidance;

• the adequacy of Future Made in Australia plan content requirements, discussed in Appendix C of the Draft Guidance. 

Next steps

From a practical perspective, in addition to proponents providing feedback on the consultation, proponents should consider how their particular projects could be best positioned to address the Principles so that they are well placed to take advantage of Future Made in Australia supports.