Action 4.1B

Supporting clustering initiatives, our Mining Equipment, Technologies and Services Growth Centre – METS Ignited – has held over 40 events since 2019 covering a range of topics including digital analytics, automation and robotics, treating tailings and mine affected waters and the development of SME Export Hubs, with over 1000 attendees in total. 

METS Ignited in conjunction with the Queensland State Government and Western Australia State Government held two major accelerators during 2020/21 as well as a series of 10 smaller regional accelerators. Over 2020/21, METS Ignited accelerators involved 71 sessions and webinars which have been augmented by 19 masterclass events with over 100 participants.

METS Ignited expanded the Queensland-based Scale Up and Take Off accelerator program into a national accelerator program known as the Quantum TX Business Accelerator program. The accelerator program is for start-ups seeking to facilitate the use of scale-up solutions in mining, energy and defence sectors by applying them to the space and advanced manufacturing sectors.

METS Ignited supports ‘MackHack’ in Mackay, Queensland. The annual hackathon invites participants to showcase technologies, concept development and prototype solutions to industry challenges presented by local mining houses and mining equipment, technology and services firms.

The Empowering Business to go Digital program provided seed funding to establish a non-government organisation (Navii) to support small businesses raise their digital capability. The Navii NGO and platform formally launched is services in November 2020 and offers resources, training and advice to guide small and medium businesses on their digital journey. 

The Government is delivering the Digital Readiness Assessment tool under the Government’s Digital Business Plan. The tool helps businesses self-assess their digital maturity and identify the best strategy for digital adoption.

The Industry Support Cell of the Department of Defence’s COVID-19 Task Force and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade assisted mining services firms identify Australian technology options for remote service delivery during COVID-19.

The National Association of Testing Authorities (NATA), the Joint Accreditation System of Australia and New Zealand (JAS-ANZ) and the principal provider of industry barcodes GS1 have released a report entitled: Digitalisation of Conformance and Accreditation Processes: Based on ISO /IEC Global Data Standards. The report, funded by the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources through the SISO 2.0 grants program, proposes a way forward to address the absence of a standardised framework for the digitalisation of conformance and accreditation processes.

The objective of the proposed framework is to move to an approach based on global data standards to deliver international alignment, harmonisation, and interoperability, that leverages the existing data standards used by industry for product traceability. Ultimately the framework will help to align Australia with evolving supply chain traceability systems around the world.

To encourage the adoption of innovation in remote/digital services deliver the South Australian Department of Innovation and Skills has launched the GigCity Program. This program provides affordable ultra-fast digital connectivity for businesses located across 23 innovation precincts in Adelaide and in the regional centres of Whyalla and Mt Gambier. The GigCity program complements the City of Adelaide’s Ten Gigabit Adelaide initiative and the National Broadband Network.

A survey of GigCity users found that the GigCity program has enabled 25 per cent of businesses connected to the GigCity network to service new markets, including internationally. Users are largely high-tech and professional services companies and the digital connection provided assists them effectively access borderless high-value services markets interstate and overseas.

The South Australian Government’s Go2Gov program supports early-stage businesses to pitch their innovative product or service to state government agencies. The Go2Gov program calls on start-ups and early stage businesses to collaborate with government to develop new innovations that modernise service delivery and drive economic growth. The program takes the form of an innovation challenge, requiring participants to pitch novel solutions to public sector challenges.