Australia has capabilities along most of the space industry supply chain. By far the strongest areas are in applications where Australia has experience in integrating space sourced data into communications, Earth Observations from Space and Global Navigational Satellite Services (GNSS).

Manufacturing
Australia has no capability in the manufacture of large satellites and limited capability in design and specification of launch vehicles. However it does have capability in the specification and design of communications satellites through Optus and an emerging capability in the design and manufacture of nano- and micro-satellites in universities and emerging start-up companies.

Manufacturing of satellite sub-systems is an emerging capability that has good prospects. This includes high performance optics, radio communications systems, optical communications systems and on-board data handling. Many of these activities build on Australia’s capability in the manufacture of ground-based optical systems for astronomy, satellite laser ranging and space debris tracking.

Australia's new High Speed Rail Authority has come into being. Created by the Albanese government, the authority and its newly named board have been set a challenging task: "bring high-speed rail to reality".

Nearly four decades after it was first proposed, Australia must surely hold the world record for high-speed rail studies with no construction. The cost of all these studies to date is about $150 million (both public and private money, in 2023 dollars). Yet not one kilometre of a land corridor for a high-speed rail track has been reserved.

In 1984, CSIRO proposed the Very Fast Train connecting Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne. A consortium undertook many studies. A Senate committee inquiry was held. However, the proposal failed to win government support and did not proceed.

Next was the pragmatic Speedrail proposal. This was to link Sydney to Canberra using existing track from Sydney to Macarthur and new track to Canberra.

NSW now lags far behind Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia. All these states have trains moving at 160km/h over upgraded tracks. This includes the Queensland electric tilt train, which has been running between Brisbane and Rockhampton since 1998.

A growing population is waiting for Australia to join the 34 countries that have or are about to get high-speed rail.

iMOVE is a national centre for transport and mobility R&D. We work with our partners to deliver high-impact R&D collaborations that improve the transport systems for people and freight nationally.

iMOVE runs the iMOVE Cooperative Research Centre which is funded by the federal government and its government, industry and research partners over 10 years to tackle transport-related challenges in Australia.

The advent of self-driving vehicles offers hope for vastly enhancing human mobility. Self-driving vehicles will share information and act in coordination, improving safety and traffic flow and reducing roadway congestion.

Connected
Modern vehicles increasingly employ significant on-board computing power, sensors, and communications systems. Evolving mobile networks will soon enable V2X (vehicle-to-everything) communications—connecting cars to their environment, to each other, to infrastructure, and to people—exponentially reducing traffic collisions and increasing safety.

Electric
Already a fixture on Australian roads electric vehicles—or EVs— reduce greenhouse emissions, improve urban air quality, and are significantly more energy-efficient than internal combustion vehicles. With advancements in battery technology, EVs are becoming an increasingly more cost-competitive alternative for drivers.

Shared
Current trends toward shared vehicle fleets, multiple passenger ride-sharing, and shared micromobility solutions will continue to grow over the next few years. Shared mobility has the potential to vastly reduce the number of vehicles on the road, easing the strain on transport infrastructure and enable the transition to a decarbonised transport system.

Inclusive
Accessibility is a fundamental element of high-quality, efficient, and sustainable transport systems. ITS Australia is committed to addressing the challenges of building future transport systems that are equitable and accessible to all Australians.

Queensland’s beautiful coastline and world-class marine environments are the envy of the world, and among our state’s leading tourism attractions. These advantages, along with our skilled workforce and excellent marine infrastructure, make us a prime location for superyacht activity.
The Queensland Superyacht Strategy ( 15.3 MB) sets out our support for growing this high-value industry under five priority action areas:
• Supportive policy environment
• Infrastructure for growth
• Promoting Queensland as a global superyacht destination
• Strengthening supply chains
• Promoting superyacht visits for the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The Superyacht Strategy has been extended by five years (the first edition was from 2018-2023) with the addition of the fifth priority noted above.
The strategy envisions that by 2028, Queensland share of the Australian superyacht sector will have grown to 90% and Queensland will be world recognised as a major superyacht hub in the Asia-Pacific region. This growth is expected to create thousands of new highly skilled jobs across the state and contribute hundreds of millions of dollars to our state’s economy.