Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane have announced $50 million in funding for advanced manufacturing, including grants for biotech and pharmaceuticals.
Funding under the Manufacturing Transition Programme will be accompanied by over $200 million in investment by Australian manufacturers.
Nineteen businesses will receive between $1 million and $5 million to support their own investment in new capital equipment and plant improvements.
According to a statement from Mr Macfarlane, the programme seeks to encourage Australian manufacturers to invest in more sophisticated and knowledge-intensive manufacturing.
"This will create high value jobs in areas where the greatest economic opportunities exist," he said.
The $50 million Manufacturing Transition Programme was a pre-election commitment of the Coalition, with the goal of supporting investment in Australian manufacturing that focusses on areas of competitive strength.
The recipients include Cochlear, which received $3.2 million for plant and equipment to build on-shore manufacturing capability for its next-generation hearing implants, and Gelita, which received $1.25 million to purchase capital equipment to increase production of gelatine products and to transition its manufacturing to target the higher-value pharmaceutical market.
GSK received $1 million for investment in new technology, expanding a pilot facility into a full-scale facility for the production of biologicals in Blow Fill Seal packaging. The project will result in their Victorian facility being at the forefront of commercialising this state-of-the-art technology.