COVID-19

AMTIL (Australian Manufacturing Technology Institute Limited) has announced next year’s Australian Manufacturing Week (AMW) exhibition will relocate and reschedule from Melbourne in March to Sydney in June. 

A new $1 million NanoAssemblr machine has arrived in Victoria to enable the production of Australia’s first COVID-19 mRNA vaccines, which is due to begin in the coming months. 

A Monash University Biomedicine Discovery Institute researcher, Dr Gavin Knott, has developed a CRISPR-based COVID-19 diagnostic test with other international scientists to detect results in 20 minutes, using a smartphone camera. 

COVID-19 has shined a light on just how inflexible supply chains are in the event of global crises. Many manufacturing and distribution businesses in Australia, and around the world, were forced to adapt during the height of the pandemic and struggled to keep up with the growing needs of consumers. With awareness brought to the … Continue reading COVID-19 and Australia’s need for supply chain resilience →

Anti-viral textile technology, developed by Australian materials technology company Xefco, with support from Deakin’s Institute for Frontier Materials (IFM), will be used by HeiQ Materials AG to produce medical-grade face masks. The masks will incorporate new patent-pending technology, called MetalliX, invented by Xefco and further tested and refined with help from IFM researchers. Independent studies … Continue reading Deakin partners launch new medical-grade face mask →

The federal government has released a new strategy to help Australians take up jobs in resources industries and ensure there are enough skilled workers needed to meet future demand. The resources sector represents half of Australia’s exports and directly employs over 260,000 people in Australia, while supporting more than one million other jobs across the … Continue reading New strategy to drive Australian jobs in the resources sector →

In the first half of 2020, Australia suffered our first recession in over 30 years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Recovery commenced in Q3, but the economic fallout from this event for Australian business will continue well into 2021 and beyond. According to an Ai Group report released at the end of last year – Business … Continue reading COVID-19: A shock for business and it’s far from over →

More than $253 million in cash grants has been paid to thousands of small businesses and not-for-profits across SA to help them trade through COVID-19. Businesses have described the grants as a ‘lifeline’, providing ‘generous and vital support’ to help protect and secure local jobs during uncertain times. Of the 20,885 businesses and not-for-profits to … Continue reading SA government cash grants for small businesses →

Researchers at RMIT have shown how disposable face masks could be recycled to make roads, in a circular economy solution to pandemic-generated waste. Their study shows that using the recycled face mask material to make just one kilometre of a two-lane road would use up about 3 million masks, preventing 93 tonnes of waste from … Continue reading RMIT researchers develop road making material from disposable face masks →

Lockheed Martin Australia has released an independent report into the company’s impact on building resilience in Australian sovereign capability. Lockheed Martin’s Economic Impact in Australia (the Report), produced by advisory firm AlphaBeta, now part of Accenture, shows that with a workforce of over 1,100, Lockheed Martin Australia delivers substantial economic benefits to Australia. The report’s analysis … Continue reading Lockheed Martin Australia grows presence and boosts high-value Australian jobs →

Federal Deputy Opposition Leader and Shadow Minister for Defence Richard Marles has visited DECO Australia at their manufacturing facility in Minto, NSW. Marles toured DECO’s facility to observe firsthand their extensive defence capabilities, including surface finishing, protective coatings and non-combustible aluminium building products. DECO founder and director Ross Doonan met with the Deputy Opposition Leader … Continue reading Shadow Minister for Defence Richard Marles visits DECO Australia →

A nasal treatment for COVID-19, common colds and the flu is being taken to the next stage of testing, with backing from the federal government’s $500 million Biomedical Translation Fund. Developed by Australian biotech company Ena Respiratory, INNA-051 works by stimulating the innate immune system, the first line of defence against the invasion of pathogens … Continue reading Nasal spray to fight COVID-19 could be manufactured in Australia →

As the world entered March 2020 battling the COVID-19 pandemic, it became clear that global shortages of vital medical equipment could impact efforts to respond to the escalating crisis in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW). Following a call to industry and university partners, NSW Health embarked on a Rapid Innovation Project to … Continue reading Two specialists collaborate to quickly create ventilators for COVID-19 treatment →

Thousands of large Australian businesses have been invited to register early for the federal government’s new Payment Times Reporting Scheme, which requires businesses with a total annual income of over $100 million to publicly report their payment terms and practices to their small business suppliers. From January 1st, 2021, large businesses must start reporting on how … Continue reading New payment scheme to benefit small business suppliers →

Business leaders within APAC and global manufacturing and distribution sectors have shown urgency in embracing digital transformation to overcome the disruption caused by the pandemic. This is according to new research that has been released by SYSPRO, a leading global provider of ERP software. In order to understand the impact of the pandemic on manufacturers … Continue reading Manufacturers and distributors gear up for digital transformation in the new normal →

National employer association Ai Group has welcomed easing of Victoria’s COVID-19 restrictions on metropolitan Melbourne. Victorian Head of the Ai Group, Tim Piper, said the move will allow businesses to serve the public and restart the state’s manufacturing. “Ai Group welcomes the easing of restrictions to allow retailers, restaurants, cafes, manufacturers, the construction industry and … Continue reading Ai Group welcomes easing of COVID-19 restrictions in Victoria →

Bosch Australia’s Manufacturing Solutions Division (BAMS), a supplier of factory automation for the medical device industry, has announced that digital diagnostics company, Ellume, will introduce BAMS technology to automate the high volume production of its COVID-19 diagnostic tests. Brisbane-based Ellume has developed a suite of COVID-19 tests for use by laboratories, doctors and consumers that … Continue reading Ellume enlists Bosch Australia to automate manufacturing for high-performance COVID-19 test →

The domestic and international effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have had impacts on energy prices and emissions that look positive at first glance – a pre-existing decline in wholesale electricity prices has steepened; a global oil price crash and weak East Asian gas demand have pushed spot gas prices far down; and early signs are … Continue reading Reinvigorating Australia’s national climate policy →

A UNSW student is building one of the world’s most advanced robotic hands for use on construction sites. A UNSW Master’s student has designed the world’s first soft robotic hand that can pick up, put down, paint and hammer with greater ease than current models in the workforce. “Industrial robots are so dangerous the way … Continue reading Betty and Arnold gets a hand from an inventive UNSW student →

Ansell is sharing manufacturing expertise with qualified manufacturers in the US and Canada so that other companies can begin to produce the PPE that is needed most. The company is providing detailed toolkits with step-by-step instructions, patterns and informative videos to manufacturers with the right capabilities in the US and Canada, to guide them through … Continue reading Ansell helps manufacturers produce protective clothing against COVID-19 →