Terms of Reference

The future of Australia’s automotive industry, with particular reference to:

  1. maintaining the capacity for Australia to engage in advanced manufacturing, by ensuring skills and industrial capabilities that have been sustained by the automotive industry are not lost;
  2. reducing Australia’s dependency on commodity exports by diversifying the country’s economic base, noting the importance of advanced manufacturing, including the automotive industry, in this diversification;
  3. the role of all sectors of the automotive industry, including, but not limited to, motor vehicle production, component making, after-market manufacturing, engineering, servicing, retail motor trades, other forms of sales support, and the training of apprentices, in supporting an advanced broad-based economy;
  4. the special difficulties faced by component makers in the transition to global supply chains and to other forms of manufacturing, especially as a result of the closure announcements made by the motor vehicle producers;
  5. new technologies influencing the automotive industry, both in Australia and internationally, especially new and developing forms of propulsion, such as hydrogen, electric engines and hybrid engines;
  6. new business models for the industry, including employee share models and attracting international venture capital and private investment;
  7. the possible effects of early closure of motor vehicle producers, including risks and consequences for the industry, skills, capabilities and the broader economy, including social consequences, and what policy actions could mitigate or exacerbate these risks and consequences;
  8. the need to synthesise and consolidate the findings, recommendations and knowledge of other reviews and inquiries pertinent to the automotive industry, in order to identify key policy inconsistencies, regulatory burdens and factors for growth and investment;
  9. the importance of long-term, stable employment for workers in the automotive industry, and the need for greater access to transitional training and career opportunities; and
  10. any other related matters.

Committee Secretariat contact:

Senate Standing Committees on Economics
PO Box 6100
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600

Phone: +61 2 6277 3540
economics.sen@aph.gov.au

Past Public Hearings

08 Oct 2015: Melbourne
01 Oct 2015: Adelaide
15 Apr 2015: Canberra

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Inquiry Status

Submissions Closed

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