Key industry Sectors

NSW is home to highly innovative, competitive and world-leading manufacturers that are vital to the diversity and strength of the Australian economy. NSW manufacturers produce almost 30% of the country’s total manufacturing output, generating around $33 billion in industry value. They also directly employ around 253,000 people, accounting for almost one-third of jobs in the sector countrywide.

Leading agriculture and food companies choose New South Wales because of the state's diverse production systems, rich natural resources and favourable climate. NSW has a global reputation for producing high-quality produce loved by consumers around the world.

NSW's thriving arts, culture and creative sector is the largest in Australia. Creative businesses choose NSW due to its cluster of inventive filmmakers, artists, designers, writers, musicians, dancers, advertising agencies and Australia's largest concentration of arts-related ICT businesses such as animation and design. The industry benefits from a strong pipeline of government funding and private patronage.

The cyber security industry employs around 19,000 people, and Australian businesses spend $4.3 billion on cyber security each year, with much of that activity occurring in NSW. The NSW industry is well placed to harness opportunities for growth by offering a strong ecosystem of related capabilities.

NSW is best placed to meet the complex and evolving needs of the Australian defence industry and is home to the largest number of defence bases and facilities in Australia. These facilities require the construction of considerable infrastructure to service large and complex operations. Large defence contractors employed in these projects give rise to significant opportunities for small to medium-sized enterprises.

New South Wales boasts a dynamic and multicultural education sector that caters for domestic and international students and researchers across a wide range of fields. International students study in a safe, supportive and inclusive environment where course quality is guaranteed through national quality assurance frameworks and regulation by government.

NSW dominates the nation's services industries. Financial Services in NSW contributes 45% of Australia’s financial services output. In NSW, Financial Services is the largest contributor to the economy comprising approximately 13% of the state’s economic output with professional services contributing 9% in 2017. This highlights the strength of the state's knowledge-based economy which centres around banking, insurance and finance, legal and accounting.

Uniquely located, our time zone bridges financial markets closing in the US and opening in the UK. Australia has long-standing links to fast growing Asian markets.

The success of the NSW ICT sector is founded on the state's world-class infrastructure and business networks, with six international fibre optic cable networks linking Australia with Asia, Europe and the United States. The sector benefits from a highly skilled workforce of software engineers, computer scientists and programmers backed by exceptional universities and courses which attract thousands of foreign students every year.

The NSW medical technology industry is the largest in Australia. It generates an estimated $4.8 billion in revenue per year and employs around 7,000 people. While the sector is growing, there are significant opportunities to accelerate this growth.

Mining, resources and energy is a booming part of the New South Wales economy, driven by large and diverse mineral and gas deposits, exploration projects. It is backed by highly developed infrastructure such as ports and rail links, low average operating costs and a sound regulatory regime. It also benefits from NSW's highly skilled workforce.

New South Wales has the largest renewable energy and sustainability sectors in Australia, backed by major government and private sector initiatives. With abundant and world-class renewable energy resources, the state is well positioned to attract future investment, and its leading research and development (R&D) facilities are paving the way for performance improvements across all major renewable energy sources.

New South Wales is the crown jewel in one of the world's premier tourist destinations. More people holiday in NSW than anywhere else in Australia. With 3.1 million international visitors and 79.3 million domestic visitors each year, as well as a large and affluent local population, opportunities abound for new and existing tourism businesses.