Recognised brand that places Australian services front- of- mind globally

The Government and industry agree the promotion of Australian services firms abroad as high-quality, innovative and solutions-driven operators is an important adjunct in boosting Australia’s services exports.

Industry considers an established national brand can provide a critical ‘pull factor’ that generates offshore client interest in Australian services providers and gives export-oriented SMEs the confidence to ‘go international’.

As industry strengthens its narrative to promote Australian services, the Australian Government should ensure the Nation Brand initiative aligns strongly with the whole spectrum of Australian services capabilities to benefit the breadth of our services sectors. It is important any industry-developed narrative and Australia’s Nation Brand are interlinked and mutually-supportive.

More should be done to promote services sectors where Australia had established or emerging comparative advantage, for example cyber expertise. This should include building on the work done by CSIRO to develop trust and understanding of cutting-edge and foundational technologies like artificial intelligence, blockchain and quantum computing.

Similarly, creative industry representatives believed the development of a creative industry export strategy would help benefit the Australian economy by generating income, creating jobs and empowering artists and people. In 2014, Australia’s creative service industry is estimated to have generated exports of $5.1 billion.

Industry emphasised the importance of virtual trade missions and industry events during COVID-19 to help services providers engage with new clients and re-engage with existing ones. Travel restrictions in response to COVID-19 have removed normal face-to-face networking channels for engaging key players in export markets. In these unprecedented times, diplomatic channels can potentially have an important role to play in positioning Australia front and centre as a country that can assist COVID-19 recovery. The convening power of Ambassadors and High Commissioners could be leveraged by hosting online events and participating in industry webinars.

The Government recognises the importance of promoting Australian capabilities to help our exporters succeed. We continue to promote Australian businesses in overseas markets, showcasing their expansive range of products, services, capabilities and investment opportunities.

We encourage industry to work collectively to strengthen its narrative to promote Australian services, including the development of a creative industries export strategy by industry.

We will continue to work with and support industry-led promotional initiatives through Australia’s new Nation Brand. As part of the Nation Brand, we have developed a unifying and consistent library of assets for Australian businesses and industry to use when promoting their services, products and experiences and capabilities internationally. Australia’s Nation Brand assets and resources will be freely available to Australian businesses of all sizes to use when targeting international audiences.

In the wake of the global pandemic, Austrade is pivoting toward new digital marketing initiatives. This includes the virtual delivery of trade missions and trade and investment promotion activities to maintain business relationships and continuing to pursue commercial opportunities.

The Government recognises Australia’s cyber sector is critical and growing. The sector has the potential to almost triple by 2026. We actively promote the Australian cyber security and critical technologies sectors, including through CSIRO’s first overseas office in Silicon Valley and Austrade’s San Francisco Landing Pad. These initiatives accelerate innovation in Australia through engagement with the world’s leading centre of tech excellence.

In particular, Austrade engages with international cyber security and critical technology firms to attract productive direct investment, foster research collaboration and link technology ecosystems.