Transport, defence and construction technologies

Victoria is Australia’s fastest growing state with abundant opportunities in transport, defence and construction technologies.

Victoria is a leading centre of advanced manufacturing. Over 10 per cent of Victoria’s workforce is employed in manufacturing and manufacturing is Victoria’s third largest industry, after financial and professional services.

The Victorian Government is making major investments in transport, infrastructure, industry and urban development. Significant opportunities exist for workers, businesses and investors in transport, defence and construction technologies.

Transport technologies

Victoria has a vibrant and diverse transport technologies industry. Victorian businesses make and maintain trams, trains, buses, trucks, trailers, cars and recreational vehicles – either as manufacturers or as suppliers of components. They also provide engineering and design services and develop the new technologies and intelligent transport systems that are transforming the sector.

The Victorian Government has committed $2 billion to build new, locally-made trains and trams as part of the Trains, Trams, Jobs 2015-2025 – Victorian Rolling Stock Strategy. Beyond this initial investment, Trains, Trams, Jobs 2015-2025 identiﬁes a pipeline of train and tram delivery to meet the needs of the public transport network for decades to come - creating long-term opportunities for workers, businesses and investors.

Construction industry

Victoria’s construction industry employees almost 240,000 people and contributes A$21.6 billion to the Victorian economy – driven by a continuing increase in Victoria's population and the need to provide housing and related infrastructure.

Three key areas are transforming our construction sector, improving productivity and boosting our economy:

off-site construction technologies
digital technologies used in construction processes
new construction materials and products.

A leader in off-site construction

Victoria is the national leader in off-site construction, and is well placed to become a globally relevant centre for these technologies. Victoria is host to a number of leading organisations in the sector such as:

the headquarters for Australia’s most dynamic off-site construction firms and the national industry association, PrefabAus
The Australian Research Centre’s Training Centre for Advanced Manufacturing of Prefabricated Housing at the University of Melbourne
The headquarters of the Innovative Manufacturing Cooperative Research Centre
Strong engineering and materials science capabilities at the universities of Melbourne, Monash, Deakin, RMIT, Swinburne, and the CSIRO.

Well placed to capitalise on digital technologies

Digital technologies are reshaping markets and processes across all sectors of the economy, and the construction sector is now exception. Victoria is well placed to take advantage of this phenomenon. It is home to significant global IT firms specialising in construction, has strong incubator and mentoring resources, and has an established IT research base.

There has been significant focus nationally and globally on the adoption and advancement of Building Information Modelling (BIM) within the construction sector. The Victorian Government has now committed to developing a plan with industry to provide for the greater uptake of Building Information Modelling (BIM) with a view to positioning Victoria as a leading user of BIM. The Government will release a statement that clearly identifies the Government’s own utilisation of BIM in early 2017.

Building Australia’s science and innovation future

Melbourne’s construction industry has outstanding material science capabilities at its universities, CSIRO's Clayton facility and the Carbon Nexus facility.

Melbourne is projected to be Australia's largest city as early as 2030.

Infrastructure investment in Australia’s fastest growing city

To prepare for Melbourne’s growth, the Victorian Government is making major infrastructure investments.

New infrastructure projects for residential, non-residential and engineering construction include urban renewal at the Ballarat West Employment Zone and the Queen Victoria Market Precinct. There are also large investments across health services, such as the ongoing A$250 million Monash Children's Hospital redevelopment.

The Victorian Government has also committed to several major rail projects including delivering a new, nine-kilometre, underground, high-capacity rail tunnel servicing Melbourne's south (located under the city centre with services through to The University of Melbourne and health precinct in the city's north), and removing 50 of Melbourne's level crossings over the next eight years.

Industry associations

Defence industry

Victoria has more than 300 defence industry businesses, contributes A$8 billion to our economy and employs 7,000 professionals in manufacturing and services. Twenty per cent of the national defence workforce is based in Victoria.

Victoria is an attractive destination for defence sector opportunities thanks to our internationally-competitive defence industry, our highly skilled workforce, and our world-class research and development (R&D) institutes.

We are recognised as a:

leading Australian state for the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) global supply-chain work
national hub for R&D of emerging defence-related technologies, including advanced composites, simulation, autonomous systems, and ICT
leading Australian state for military vehicle design, manufacture, assembly and integration
centre for naval shipbuilding, systems design, engineering and through-life-support
leading national manufacturer of ballistic munitions and explosives
major centre for ballistic protection for personnel, vehicles, aircraft and naval vessels
leader in complex system design, development, integration and support
provider of world-class testing facilities for new defence technologies
prime location for training of ADF personnel and military trade skills.

You can find out more about these industries in the following documents:

Useful websites

Business and investment

Business and investment visas

Industry associations

Please note: The information, services and views expressed that may appear on any linked websites are not necessarily endorsed by the Skilled and Business Migration Program and the Victorian Government. It is recommended that you make your own enquiries as to the appropriateness and suitability of the information on this site for your particular circumstances.