Medical and Scientific Equipment Industries

About the Inquiry

The Industry Commission was asked to report on:

• emerging trends in local and global markets for the industries;
• the international marketing environment, including tariff and non-tariff barriers to Australian exports, and the effectiveness of Government efforts to improve market access for the industries;
• the current structure and competitiveness of the industries, including an identification of strengths and weaknesses, drawing international comparisons where appropriate;
• the role of research and development programs, universities and other training and research institutions and linkages with the domestic and international scientific community;
• the advantages and disadvantages of Australia as an investment location for all phases of medical and scientific equipment activity, from research and development through to manufacturing and export;
• the potential for further development of the industries, including the scope for further value adding, exports and import replacement;
• the impact of the current institutional and regulatory measures, including the Therapeutic Goods Administration regime, on industry structure, performance, international competitiveness, resource allocation and growth prospects;
• any measures which could be undertaken to remove impediments or otherwise contribute to the efficiency, growth or export development of the industries;
• the identification of groups which would benefit from, or be disadvantaged by, any measures flowing from the previous point above, and implementation strategies for proposed measures; and
• the effects on the industries, and the economy in general, of any measures recommended by the Commission;