Minister for Resources and Northern Australia Matt Canavan has announced a review of the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility (NAIF) to ensure the loan program can continue to support development and jobs across Northern Australia.

The NAIF is a $5 billion lending facility which provides loans to infrastructure projects that benefit Northern Australia and is part of the Government’s vision for the region as a major contributor to the national economy.

Minister Canavan said members of the public, community organisations and interested stakeholders are invited to make public submissions to inform the statutory review.

“The NAIF review will help the Government make sure the program will continue to meet is objectives to support development across Northern Australia,” Minister Canavan said.

“The NAIF has so far committed to $1.4 billion in investment decisions and conditional approvals, supporting projects across northern Australia which are forecast to create more than 4,000 jobs.

“A diverse range of job-generating projects are being supported, including ports,  airports, tourism, education, agriculture, resources and renewable energy.

“Overall, projects currently subject to an investment decision by NAIF are forecast to return $2.9 billion in public benefit.”

The Review will also consider the 30 June 2021 deadline for investment decisions and the benefit of extending this.

Submissions are due by Friday 13 December 2019.

More information is available on the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science NAIF Review website at https://consult.industry.gov.au/naif/2019-review-of-the-naif or by emailing [email protected].

The Australian Government vision for Northern Australia is set out in the Our North, Our Future: White Paper on Developing Northern Australia.