Australia is committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2050 to create cleaner, more resilient, and healthier communities now and into the future.
This means making the most of our abundant natural resources like critical minerals, wind and solar, and investing in and expanding a cleaner energy system.
The government will ensure the people and regions that have powered the nation for generations are supported through the transition.
The Australian Government is investing $399.1 million over five years from 2023–24 (and an additional $616.8 million from 2028–29 to 2034–35 and $93.4 million per year ongoing) to support workers, regions and communities in the economy-wide net zero transformation.
This investment will include:
- $209.3 million over four years from 2024–25 (and $53.3 million per year ongoing) to establish and expand the Net Zero Economy Authority to coordinate policy and deliver across government, broker investments that create jobs in regions, and support workers affected by the net zero transition
- $134.2 million over four years from 2024–25 and $377.8 million over the medium term (and $40.1 million per year ongoing from 2035–36) for the Net Zero Economy Authority and the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations to provide workforce transition support for impacted workers and the broader communities affected by the net zero transition
- $44.4 million over four years from 2024–25 to deliver the Energy Industry Jobs Plan, to assist employees impacted by the closure of relevant coal-and gas-fired power stations to access new employment by supporting job and skills matching and providing onboarding and early retirement incentives to employers
- $10.0 million over two years from 2023–24 to deliver public information on the net zero transition and ensure affected workers and communities are aware of the support available
- $1.3 million over four years from 2024–25 for Treasury to develop and publish high-quality guidance on best practices for Australian businesses when developing net zero transition plans.
The Authority’s role in supporting workers
The government will consult with regional communities on the Net Zero Jobs Plan, which will set out the government’s vision of achieving a smooth workforce transition as Australia moves to a net zero economy.
The Authority will deliver the Energy Industry Jobs Plan to support the Net Zero Jobs Plan. This measure will facilitate redeployment arrangements for workers impacted by the closure of eligible coal- and gas-fired fired power stations, including in some impacted businesses in power stations’ supply chains.
Under the Energy Industry Jobs Plan, employers will have obligations to support their employees to seek and obtain new employment, including access to training, career planning and financial advice. The Energy Industry Jobs Plan will help ensure an orderly transition, reducing the risk of closing and dependant employers losing staff that are necessary to safely operate facilities until closure.
Government funding in the 2024-25 Budget will encourage voluntary participation of employers who may offer jobs to affected workers. Incentives for these receiving employers will include early retirement packages to create vacancies for redeployed workers, and on-boarding payments to encourage recruitment from the redeployment pool.
To complement the redeployment plans, the Authority will work with the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations in consultation with state and local government, unions, employers, workers and communities to design Regional Workforce Transition Plans.
The Regional Workforce Transition Plans will help workers, their families and communities impacted by the net zero transition, to know what employment and skills supports are available and how and where to access them. For example, people might need information about how to gain skills for a particular job, how to get existing skills recognised or how to apply for new opportunities in clean energy jobs.
Next steps
The Energy Industry Jobs Plan will commence with the passage of the Net Zero Economy Authority Bill 2024. For more information, please visit the Parliament of Australia website for details on the establishing legislation for the Authority.
The government will continue to engage with people and businesses in regions on the best way to support communities to successfully navigate the opportunities arising from new clean energy industries and to develop more diverse regional economies.
In the coming weeks and months more information will be released about the employment and skills supports and services.
You can get the latest updates on our work by following the Net Zero Economy Agency on LinkedIn.