Aviation and Aerospace - Invest Victoria

Quick facts
Melbourne is the natural home of Australia’s aviation and aerospace industry
with the right mix of industry players, research institutes and education providers
collaborating to continually drive competitiveness.
The world’s third most liveable city, Melbourne offers
investors access to reliable telecommunications and
business infrastructure, a sound regulatory regime,
and a strong manufacturing base with competitive
business costs.
As the capital city of Victoria, Melbourne is the heart
of Australia’s most dynamic and fastest growing state.
A strong aviation and aerospace sector
• Critical mass: Victoria’s aviation and aerospace
sector employs over 22,000 people in more than
500 businesses. The sector is supported by a number
of world-class research institutes and education
providers.
• World-class infrastructure: Melbourne has two high
quality airports, Melbourne and Avalon, with plenty
of space to further increase capacity.
• Highly skilled workforce: Melbourne provides
access to Australia’s most educated workforce with
world-class facilities and the highest number of
engineering and related graduates in the country.
• Cost effective: Melbourne Airport is one of the most
cost effective international airports in the Asia-Pacific,
named ‘Low Cost Airport of the year’ in 2009 by the
Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation.
• Competitive manufacturing capability: Victoria
is the centre of advanced engineering and
manufacturing accounting for around 40% of
Australia’s activity in these fields. In 2008-09 the
Victorian aviation and aerospace sector exported
over $800 1 million of products and services.
• Globally connected: With over 500 international
flights per week and five million international
passengers per annum, capacity at Melbourne
Airport continues to grow.
• Leading logistics hub: Melbourne is Australia’s
leading logistics hub with the airports complemented
by efficient road, rail and port infrastructure networks.
• A supportive government: The Victorian Government
actively supports the growth of the aviation and
aerospace sector, committing $3 million to developing
the business case for a new Aviation Training Victoria
facility in 2010.
• Regional leadership: Melbourne hosts the biennial
Australian International Airshow and Aerospace
and Defence Expo, the southern hemisphere’s largest
aviation, aerospace and defence trade show.
A dynamic economy and lifestyle
• A strong economy: Consistently growing at almost
4% for the past decade, Victoria has an economy
larger than Singapore and the United Arab Emirates.
• Surviving the Global Financial Crisis: Australia
was the only advanced economy to record positive
growth in 2009. Victoria led the nation in job creation
during this time.
• Easy to do business: Australia is rated as one of the
top 10 countries in the world by World Bank for ease
of doing business.
• Low cost real estate: Melbourne has higher
commercial property availability at lower costs than
Shanghai, Singapore, Bangalore, Mumbai, Sydney
and Brisbane.
• Growing: Melbourne is the fastest growing capital
city in Australia with a population of four million.
• Multicultural: Over half of Melburnians were
either born overseas or have a parent who was born
overseas, and 26% usually speak a language other
than English at home. This diversity is a clear strength
for global companies.
• Fantastic lifestyle: The Economist Intelligence Unit
consistently rates Melbourne as one of the world’s
three most liveable cities and the most liveable city in
the Asia-Pacific.
1 Figures provided throughout this publication are in A$. As of April
2010, A$1 is worth approximately US$0.93.
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