CASE STUDY IGF Guidance For Governments: Leveraging Local Content Decisions for Sustainable Development

This case study examines Australia's historical attempts to develop a domestic steel industry through government intervention, protectionism, and downstream beneficiation requirements, ultimately highlighting the challenges of maintaining global competitiveness after protective measures are removed.

• Australia successfully established a domestic steel industry that met domestic demand for over 80 years using government interventions, including steel import restrictions, bounties, and an iron ore export ban that lasted from 1938 to 1960.
• The domestic steel industry struggled with low productivity due to long-term protection. Despite a recovery in the 1980s under the 'Steel Plan'—which guaranteed a domestic market share of 80 to 90 per cent in exchange for corporate investment and union harmony—the industry remained less productive than competitors like South Korea.
• In 1996, the State of Western Australia attempted to force downstream beneficiation through the Iron Ore Beneficiation Agreement Act and The Iron Ore Direct Reduced Iron Agreement Act. This led to the construction of the AUD 2.6 billion Boodarie hot briquetted iron plant by BHP and a AUS 400 million pig iron plant by Rio Tinto in 2003, but both projects failed to reach economic viability and were written off.
• The Australian steel industry declined following the removal of protective barriers in 2011 and the 2008 financial crisis. Factors contributing to this demise included a high Australian dollar, global overcapacity, and an increasingly globalized market, leading BlueScope to stop exporting steel and close facilities at Western Port and Port Kembla.

APA

Maennling, N., & Toledano, P. (2018). CASE STUDY IGF Guidance For Governments: Leveraging Local Content Decisions for Sustainable Development. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/sites/default/files/publications/case-study-australia-downstream-linkages.pdf

Chicago

Maennling, Nicolas, and Perrine Toledano. CASE STUDY IGF Guidance For Governments: Leveraging Local Content Decisions for Sustainable Development. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2018. https://www.iisd.org/sites/default/files/publications/case-study-australia-downstream-linkages.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Maennling |first1=Nicolas |last2=Toledano |first2=Perrine |title=CASE STUDY IGF Guidance For Governments: Leveraging Local Content Decisions for Sustainable Development |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=2018 |url=https://www.iisd.org/sites/default/files/publications/case-study-australia-downstream-linkages.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{maennling2018case, author = {Maennling, Nicolas and Toledano, Perrine}, title = {{CASE STUDY IGF Guidance For Governments: Leveraging Local Content Decisions for Sustainable Development}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2018}, url = {https://www.iisd.org/sites/default/files/publications/case-study-australia-downstream-linkages.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }