The NSW Nationals in the state government have ramped up their commitment to COVID safety, introducing a $5 million grants scheme to locally manufacture critical Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and create jobs.
Deputy Premier John Barilaro launched a program to support domestic manufacturing of PPE in NSW by providing grants to local companies to help fund equipment, raw materials and recruitment of skilled staff.
“This scheme is part of the NSW Nationals in the state government’s commitment to ramping up domestic manufacturing in NSW, developing regular supply and creating vital jobs to meet the long haul challenge of COVID-19,” Mr Barilaro said.
“In NSW and across Australia we should never have insufficient access to PPE and this funding will go towards maintaining the critical supply of equipment to our frontline health workers and communities.
“In April and May, nearly 2000 companies from across NSW answered our call to register their ability to supply PPE through the Government’s Emergency Supplies Portal, including 235 in regional NSW.”
Local manufacturers and suppliers who registered to provide PPE have also been listed in a directory on the Buy NSW website with the list having already been downloaded over 4000 times.
“We have seen some great success stories such as Snowy Mountains Tech Store, a manufacturer of 3D printed parts, which pivoted to make face shields and masks,” Mr Barilaro said.
“As domestic capacity increases, we encourage NSW businesses to buy local and support our manufacturing sector.
“It has been incredible to see so many companies answering the call to help. This new package is the latest step in our efforts to create jobs and high-quality protective equipment for the people of NSW.”
The new grants will be awarded to manufacturers who can demonstrate their ability to ramp up or repurpose manufacturing of items including masks, gowns, disinfectant, hand-wash and soap or their components, reducing our dependence on imports and providing a secure source for Australia’s future needs.
For more information visit: business.nsw.gov.au/ppe-manufacturing-grants.
