The National Reconstruction Fund is the first step in Labor’s plan to rebuild Australia’s industrial base.

The National Reconstruction Fund provides a crucial financing vehicle to specifically drive investment in projects that will build prosperity across the country, broadening our industrial base and boosting regional economic development.

The $15 billion Fund will provide loans, guarantees and equity to support projects that create secure well-paid jobs, drive regional development, and invest in our national sovereign capability, broadening and diversifying Australia’s economy.

Australia has suffered nearly a decade of policy drift since the Liberals goaded the car industry to leave. We rank dead last in the OECD when it comes to manufacturing self-sufficiency.

We need to revive our ability to make world-class products and, in the process, create secure well-paid jobs for Australians.

Through the National Reconstruction Fund, Labor will partner with businesses to unlock further potential private investment of more than $30 billion.

This investment will play to our strengths supporting new and emerging industries, transitioning existing industries to net zero emissions and by making it easier to commercialise innovation and technology.

The National Reconstruction Fund will be administered by an independent board with government setting its mandate to drive investment in key sectors focusing on value adding and capability development to leverage Australia’s natural and competitive strengths including:

• Value add in resources: Expand our mining science technology, ensure a greater share of the raw materials we extract are processed here, for example, high purity alumina from red mud in bauxite processing or lithium processing for batteries.
• Value add in the agriculture, forestry and fisheries sectors: Ensure we unlock potential and value add to our raw materials in sectors like food processing, and textiles, clothing and footwear manufacturing.
• Transport: Develop our capabilities in transport manufacturing and supply chains including for cars, trains and shipbuilding.
• Medical science: Fulfil our potential, given our world leading research, in providing essential supplies such as medical devices, and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), medicines and vaccines.
• Renewables and low emission technologies: Pursue commercial opportunities including from; components for wind turbines; production of batteries and solar panels; new livestock feed to reducing methane emissions; modernising steel and aluminium; hydrogen electrolysers, and innovative packaging solutions for waste reduction.
• Defence capability: Maximise our requirements being sourced from Australian suppliers employing Australian workers, whether they be technology, infrastructure or skills, complimenting Labor’s Defence Industry Development Strategy.
• Enabling capabilities: Support key enabling capabilities across engineering, data science, software development including FinTech, EdTech, AI and robotics.

The $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund is the first step in Labor’s plan to rebuild Australia’s industrial base, with dedicated support allocated for investments in:

• Powering Australia: An Albanese Labor Government will allocate up to $3 billion from Labor’s National Reconstruction Fund to invest in green metals (steel, alumina and aluminium); clean energy component manufacturing; hydrogen electrolysers and fuel switching; agricultural methane reduction and waste reduction.
• Medical Manufacturing: An Albanese Labor Government will back Australian medical manufacturing with a dedicated $1.5 billion Medical Manufacturing Fund, building on Labor’s Buy Australian Plan to work with industry to identify ways that government purchasing strategies can help build local medical manufacturing capability to create secure well-paid jobs.
• Value Adding in Resources: An Albanese Labor Government will expand Australia’s mining science technology capability, create jobs and ensure a greater share of our raw materials are processed in Australia, through Labor’s $1 billion Value Adding in Resources Fund.
• Critical Technologies: An Albanese Labor Government will expand Australia’s critical technology capability, in areas like Artificial Intelligence, robotics and quantum computing by setting up a Critical Technologies Fund to deliver $1 billion in investment support through loans, equity and guarantees for businesses in critical technologies. 
• Advanced Manufacturing: An Albanese Labor Government will invest $1 billion in advanced manufacturing, as part of our commitment to create secure well-paid jobs and build a future made in Australia. Labor’s $1 billion investment will rebuild our industrial base creating new capabilities and opportunities to innovate in transport, defence, resources, agricultural and food processing, medical science, renewables and low emission technologies manufacturing.
• Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries, Food and Fiber: An Albanese Labor Government will reserve $500m of funding within our National Reconstruction Fund for Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries, Food and Fiber. This will encourage investment in value adding and growing exports, help diversify the sector and open up new possibilities for trade.