Australian Government Eyes Business Benefits in New National Blockchain Roadmap

The Australian government recently unveiled plans to ramp up innovation through blockchain technology with an updated national roadmap, released Feb. 7.

The Ministry for Industry, Science, Energy and Resources has formulated a new national strategy aimed at capturing the potential value generated via business-related blockchain activity, with a particular focus on supporting global supply chain management systems and tracking.

The 52-page roadmap focuses on three main areas: "regulation and standards;" "skills, capability and innovation;" and "international investment and collaboration."

The plan is a revision to March 2019’s blockchain objectives, which intended to prioritize blockchain standards related to terminology, governance, security and identity.

Australia’s interest and investment in blockchain as a decentralized, peer-to-peer solution has been gaining ground because of the technology's promise to deliver significant cost savings across a number of industries including finance, energy and manufacturing.

Gartner, as cited in the new roadmap, predicts blockchain will generate a global annual business value of over US$175 billion by 2025 and in excess of US$3 trillion by 2030.

As reported by The Sydney Morning Herald last Friday, Karen Andrews, minister for Industry, Science and Technology, said the potential for blockchain to strengthen export opportunities was “exciting,” with its ability to help Australian producers track their goods and services across the global supply chain.

Within finance, the focus will be on identity checks as part of know-your-customer procedures, while within education the plan eyes "trusted credentials and facilitating trusted information about an individual’s skills and capabilities."

The roadmap was developed in collaboration with industry experts, universities and government, which formed an Advisory Committee that comprised representatives from each of those three sectors.