Why Invest in Australia?
Economic Strengths:
Australia is internationally recognised as a world leading economy with sound fundamentals and strong performance. The IMF has praised Australia's growth record amid the global slowdown and has concluded that Australia's "skilful economic management" is directly attributable to this performance.
The facts speak for themselves:
- Australia's economy is the most resilient in the world (source: The World Competitiveness Yearbook 2002) - a decade of economic reforms has lifted Australia's ability to weather global downturns.
- Australia's economic growth has been described as "remarkable", averaging around 3.5% in the last five years, with continued growth of around 4% in 2003.
- Australia jumps into the top 10 most desirable destinations for FDI (source: AT Kearney 2002)
- 5th in the world in terms of growth competitiveness.
Democratic & Stable:
Investors are looking for security and Australia provides just that.
"Jumping into the top 10 best investment destinations, Australia's rise in popularity is a direct result of a shift in investor sentiment to countries with greater security or lower political risks". (source: Dr Paul Kerin, A T Kearney's managing director for Australia)
Australia has one of the most stable economic, political and social environments in the region. Globally, Australia is considered more stable than the US, UK and most of the OECD (source: The World Competitiveness Year Book 2002). Our government and regulatory institutions are reliable, transparent and internationally competitive - providing you with a safe and secure business framework.
Australia provides your business with the certainty you need to make strategic investment decisions and take calculated risks.
Highly Skilled & Diverse:
Australians are renowned for their diversity, innovative approach to problems and the ability to think outside the square.
- We are ranked second in the region for the availability of skilled labour (source: The World Competitiveness Year Book 2002), with a ready supply of ICT, engineering, legal, accounting and management skills.
- Around 42% of the working age population has a university degree, diploma or trade qualification;
- Australia's higher education enrolment rate, at around 80%, is one of the highest in the world - only Canada and the US have higher rates Global Competitiveness Report, 2001-02).
- Australia has the widest range of native Asian language skills in the region.
- When IBM chose Sydney over Singapore for its e-Innovation Centre, Singapore's Straits Times reported that "it is understood that Singapore offered a better incentive package in dollar terms but IBM was swayed by the large pool of experienced IT professionals in Australia".
Cost Competitive:
Australia's business inputs are highly competitive - from lower property, construction and R&D costs to competitive wage, transport and utility costs, Australia consistently presents a better business case.
- Australia is a lower cost location in terms of CEO and employee remuneration than the USA, Japan, the UK, Hong Kong, Germany and Singapore (source: The World Competitiveness Year Book 2002);
- International call costs in China and Japan are between three to five times more expensive than those in Australia (source: The World Competitiveness Year Book 2002);
- Office rental costs in Australia's major cities are amongst the lowest in the developed world, lower than Beijing, New York, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, and Singapore (source: The World Competitiveness Year Book 2002).
- A commitment to ongoing microeconomic, taxation and industrial relations reform, means that Australia will continue to be a highly attractive investment location.
Sophisticated IT Systems:
The powerful combination of our world class IT infrastructure and our high level technological adaptability across all industry sectors provides an excellent environment for investment.
- Australia's IT skills are ahead of Singapore, Hong Kong and the UK;
- We have one of the highest number of secure servers, ranked third in the world;
- Our e-business readiness position is considered world class;
- Our internet costs are lower than Hong Kong, Canada and UK;
- Australia's e-government services are world beating, second only to the US (UN On-line Network in Public Admin and Finance); and
- Our IT spending as a proportion of GDP is the 4th highest in the world.
Innovative Culture:
Australian innovations are world renowned - from medical breakthroughs that are dominating world markets, such as the bionic ear and revolutionary flu treatments, through to the world's first nanomachine and contactless smartcards.
Our high value, low cost technology and innovation mean that many international companies benefit from the collaborative effort with Australian researchers.
In fact, Australia has a higher than average proportion of foreign-owned manufacturers conducting R&D in Australia. The OECD's Science, Technology and Innovation Scorecard for 2001 shows that 38 per cent of foreign owned manufacturers in Australia conduct R&D activities, compared with an OECD average of 18 per cent.
R&D expenditure by government agencies in Australia, as a percentage of GDP, is among the highest in the OECD, including higher than the US.
And with the launch of Backing Australia's Ability, the Federal Government has introduced substantial R&D tax concessions (up to 175%), plus other incentives and support programs to enhance our commercialisation effort.
As a result, many companies from around the world are choosing to locate their R&D facilities in Australia. Companies like Glaxo Wellcome and Unilever from the UK; Fujitsu and Toshiba from Japan; Hoechst and Siemens from Europe and Kodak and Motorola from USA, to name just a few.
Open, Efficient Regulations:
Australia's regulatory system is one of the most transparent and efficient in the world.
That means you can invest with the knowledge that it's easy to do business and that our systems are more transparent and secure than most other locations in the region.
Australia's commitments to continuous improvements in areas like intellectual property reform and business immigration gives you the benefit of a streamlined, business-focused regulatory environment.
Australia is also recognised as having one of the most effective and modern intellectual property rights regimes in the world, ranked 10th in the world - higher than Singapore, the UK, Japan and Hong Kong in patent and copyright protection (source: The World Competitiveness Year Book 2002).
IP protection is integral to business planning, marketing strategy planning and product and/or service development, and Australia provides you with protection and certainty.
Strategic Time Zone:
Companies based in Australia are ideally positioned to do business within the Asia Pacific region - and worldwide. Located within the Asia Pacific time zone, Australia can provide European and US companies with the ability to conduct continuous operational systems.
Australian based companies can 'follow the sun' from the US and Europe, and operate 24 hours a day.
The 14-hour time difference between the United States and Australian east coasts means that just as the work day is finishing in the US, it is starting in Australia.
In Australia, our ease of interaction and cultural affinity allows you to seamlessly integrate your business activities, while operating within the same time zone as much of Asia.
In fact, the time difference between Australia and most of Asia, including Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia is only 2-3 hours.
With about 47% of global trade now focused in this part of the world, the region plays a pivotal part in organisational success.
Our status as a regional economic leader provides you with a compelling reason to base your Asia Pacific operations in Australia.
Quality of Life:
Australia offers the highest quality of life in the world - it is the place where expatriate staff want to live and work (World Competitiveness Yearbook 2002, executive opinion survey).
We have comparatively low-cost and high-standard accommodation, commuting is easy and safe, education and health systems are second to none in the region, and our great physical environment and lifestyle is the envy of the rest of the world.
In fact, Australia's living costs are lower than most other countries, including the US, China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Canada.
Australia consistently rates in the top three destinations for travellers, so it's not surprising that business finds the same benefits.
Welcoming Attitude:
The Australian Government encourages foreign investment and has a strong commitment to supporting investment within Australia.
Overseas companies are treated just like domestic businesses.
There are no imposts on foreign firms seeking credit or loan facilities and there are no restrictions on capital flows, profit remittances, capital repatriation, transfer of royalties or trade-related payments - meaning you can remit your capital and profits freely and easily.
Stocks of direct investment into Australia have almost doubled in just the last decade to more than AUD $200 billion in 1999-2000. And almost 99% of proposals for foreign investment were approved by the Australian government in 1999-2000 (FIRB Annual Report).
As the Australian Government's national investment agency, Invest Australia attracts productive foreign direct investment to support sustainable growth and development.
Australia has a non-discriminatory immigration policy, which means that anyone from any country can apply to migrate, regardless of ethnic origin, gender, or religion.
There are different criteria for different categories of applicants, as set out in Australia's Migration Regulations. If a person satisfies Australia's selection criteria, he or she stands an equal chance of being selected, unless there is a cap imposed on the number of visas allocated to the particular category.
All applicants for permanent entry to Australia must be assessed against Australia's health and character requirements, which are designed to exclude any person whose presence in Australia would not be in the interest of the Australian community.
People who may be excluded from entry on character grounds include criminals or associates of criminal organisations, war criminals and any person likely to vilify a segment of the community.
Applicants are selected in three major streams:
- Skill - applicants must satisfy a points test, have particular work skills, be nominated by particular employers or have other links to Australia, or have successful business skills and/or significant capital to bring to Australia to establish a business of benefit to thiscountry;
- Family - selected on the basis of the family relationship to a sponsor in Australia - essentially spouses, fiancés, dependent children, and parents who meet the "balance of family" test (a test designed to give an indication of how strong the parents' family links are with Australia compared with other countries); and
- Humanitarian - refugees and other Humanitarian Program arrivals - must satisfy the criteria concerning refugee or humanitarian cases.
