Every day, industrious Australians are working, saving and investing to transition our country from the investment mining boom to a stronger, more diversified economy.
A stronger transitioning economy provides our society with more jobs and higher incomes, as well as the opportunity and conditions to foster enterprise and innovation.
The Government is backing Australians to make the transition by driving innovation and technological development; by backing the individuals, businesses and organisations generating the products and services that create value. New and enhanced offerings, products or technologies create new markets and improve efficiency. Above all, they unlock demand and lead to greater prosperity.
The sheer scale of the resources boom, of course, means the transition to a new, more diverse economy will take time and there will be challenges. The Australian people understand this and are already out there making it happen. The Government’s economic plan recognises those transitions as well as those of our key trading partners, particularly China.
With the slowing of the resources boom, workers and investors are being attracted to the services sector. Services industries now account for more than $900 billion of Australia’s $1.6 trillion economy. The services sector accounts for a significant share of employment. Around 9.5 million (80 per cent) of employed Australians work in the services sector. Australian exports of services represent around a fifth of exports, much more than rural exports, and are of a similar size to manufactures exports.
At the same time, financial services exports only make up around five per cent of Australia’s services exports. It is clear that we must further develop these opportunities. That is why the Government is working with the FinTech sector to help make the exciting new ideas and innovations of creative and clever Australians a reality.