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Industries in Australia

Find current and historical Australian industry information, including profiles, statistics, and sources of news.

Government bodies

Government bodies often provide reports, reviews and statistics on various industries. To find a relevant government agency or department, check the Commonwealth government directory. Examples include:

  • The Australian Productivity Commission is the Australian Government’s principal advisory body on micro-economic reform. It is a prolific publisher of its research and reports, reviewing whole industries, assessing assistance, and considering industry deregulation. It will often develop a discussion paper, commission or acquire statistics and other data, hold hearings and produce reports. Most publications are free from their website.
  • Tourism Research Australia is a branch within the Australian Trade and Investment Commission. It provides  accurate, timely and strategically relevant statistics and analyses to the tourism industry, government and the community, particularly to assist the industry with its marketing and business decisions.  A range of tourism surveys and forecasts can be found on its website.
  • Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) provides independent data, research, analysis and advice that informs public and private decisions affecting the agriculture, fisheries and forestry industries.
  • Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics (BITRE) provides economic analysis, research and statistics on infrastructure, transport and regional issues to inform both Australian Government policy development and wider community understanding. BITRE holds unique aviation, maritime and, increasingly, land transport data collections, which are made available on the website.
  • Department of Industry, Science and Resources provides analysis, research and data on established and emerging industries in the science and technology sector.

To find publications at the Library produced by government departments and agencies, try searching industry keywords together with the name of the department or agency in the catalogue.

Non-government organisations

  • Australian Industry Group - The Australian Industry Group (AI Group) represents traditional and emerging industries in various sectors including manufacturing, construction, automotive, telecommunications, IT and transport. AI Group offers members a range of support and advice as well as running many training workshops and seminars.
  • Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry -  The Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) is an independent, non-government body. Formerly known as  Victorian  Employees' Chamber of Commerce and Industry, VCCI was started by the business community to represent interests of business at a State level as well as nationally. It has a diverse membership from all levels and sectors of industry including: business services, hospitality, manufacturing, retail, tourism and emerging sectors. VCCI produces a number of useful publications as well as running training seminars, workshops etc. Its quarterly Survey of Business Trends and Prospects, is designed to monitor business performance and expectations with respect to current and expected trends in national and state economic conditions. SLV has incomplete holdings starting in March 1995 to March 2015.

Industry associations

An industry association is a professional body that represents the interests of a particular industry (such as accounting) or group of workers within an industry (for example the housing industry includes builders associations, housing groups, and employer and employee groups). 

Their role is to promote engagement in and on behalf of a group by providing advocacy, news, research, support, networking and learning opportunities

Potential ways to identify organisations relevant to particular industries is by using the Directory of Australian Associations, which State Library Victoria holds in print and online.

Searching for keywords related to an industry in a search engine, along with the terms "industry association" Australia  would also provide relevant results, for example: retail "industry association" Australia.