The New South Wales 2025–26 State Budget will make several investments to boost the mining industry, including $100 million in funding to attract new investment and retain jobs.
The Association of Mining and Exploration Companies (AMEC) said the $17.7 million investment into the Investment Delivery Authority (IDA) is a promising sign for NSW’s large-scale projects.
“Tasked with speeding up major projects statewide, the mineral exploration and mining industry looks forward to receiving further information about the IDA initiative,” AMEC chief executive officer (CEO) Warren Pearce said.
“It’s promising to see the (NSW) Government prioritising approvals for large projects. These are the types of defining projects that bring with them new opportunities, new jobs and new growth sectors across the state economy.”
The IDA is expected to assist up to 30 major projects annually, targeting investments over $1 billion and potentially bringing forward up to $50 billion in economic activity each year.
The Budget also confirmed a royalty deferral scheme worth up to $250 million for eligible critical minerals projects, aligning with the NSW Critical Minerals and High-Tech Metals Strategy.
“The royalty deferral for critical minerals demonstrates an acute awareness for the strong headwinds and international tensions hitting many mineral commodities,” Pearce said.
“This is an important measure that AMEC advocated for, to provide support for this crucial part of our industry.”
NSW Minerals Council CEO Stephen Galilee also gave praise for the State Budget, as mining royalties are forecast to deliver $13.2 billion over the forward estimates to 2028–29 to NSW.
“The NSW Treasurer should be commended for delivering a budget that reduces debt and charts a path back to modest surplus,” Galilee said.
“Today’s budget also contains several measures the treasurer’s budget papers say are intended to ‘…reduce regulation, fast-track investment and generate the jobs and prosperity of the future’.”
However, both AMEC and the NSW Minerals Council emphasised the need to streamline land access and approvals to unlock further investment.
“Today’s royalty deferral is a step in the right direction to capitalise on the state’s diverse mineral resources,” Pearce said.
“But the priority must remain to fix the land access and approval timeframe processes.”
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