The Australian steel manufacturing industry will benefit from a $300 million package as part of the Federal Government’s carbon price policy.

 

The Steel Transformation Plan will encourage investment and innovation in the steel manufacturing industry and will be complemented by a small increase in free permit allocation from 2016-17 onwards.

 

As part of the package to support jobs, the steel industry will be eligible for 94.5 per cent assistance under the Jobs and Competitiveness Program to shield it from the full impact of a carbon price.

 

The Jobs and Competitiveness Program will provide assistance of $9.2 billion over the first three years

from 1 July 2012 to support businesses within emissions-intensive trade-exposed industries that face international competition from companies in countries yet to introduce comparable costs on carbon.

 

The Productivity Commission will review the treatment of the steel industry as part of the EITE assistance review in 2014-15, and three years’ notice will be provided of any changes to assistance arrangements consistent with the treatment of all EITE activities.

 

Further information is available here.