S3B announces Australia's first Semiconductor Roadmap

The Semiconductor Sector Service Bureau (S3B) has announced it is leading the development of Australia’s first National Semiconductor Roadmap, a 15‍-‍year strategic plan designed to strengthen the nation’s semiconductor capability, competitiveness and supply-chain resilience.

S3B is a joint venture between The University of Sydney, Macquarie University and The University of New South Wales and was established in July 2022 through the Office of the Chief Scientist & Engineer to enhance the capability, workforce, market connectedness and competitiveness of the NSW and Australian semiconductor sector.

Semiconductors power the technologies Australians rely on every day — from smartphones and cars to medical devices, communications systems and renewable energy infrastructure. They are also critical to our defence capabilities and emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and quantum.

Globally, semiconductors are considered essential infrastructure. Yet Australia has no coordinated national plan to guide capability development or future resilience. For the first time, that is changing.

Governments around the world are investing heavily to strengthen semiconductor capability and supply chains. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, more than US$500 billion in public funding has been committed globally, with major initiatives launched in the United States, the European Union, Japan, Korea, India and Singapore.

Associate Professor Tara Hamilton, S3B Director, said Australia now faces a critical moment to define its long-term direction.

“Australia is heavily dependent on global supply chains. Strengthening semiconductor capability is not just a sector issue: it is fundamental to the resilience and competitiveness of Australia’s most important industries,” she said. “Without a shared direction, Australia risks missed investment, capability gaps and reduced sovereign resilience.

“The Roadmap is the critical next step in supporting and growing the sector, safeguarding our technology industries and enabling broader economic diversification.”

Scheduled for release later this year, the Roadmap will be an industry-led, evidence-based plan, built on rigorous analysis and strategic insight, and designed to provide pathways for policy, investment and capability development.

S3B will undertake a stakeholder engagement phase to ensure the Roadmap reflects the full breadth of Australia’s semiconductor ecosystem.

“Insights gathered from members and partners will inform the starting point for the Roadmap, ensuring the sector’s voice is embedded from the outset. There will be further opportunities for the entire ecosystem including key industry sectors that rely on semiconductors to contribute and help establish a unified national direction,” Hamilton said.

Formal mechanisms, including a strategic advisory group spanning industry, research, academia and government, will provide expert guidance throughout the process. Members include former Australian Chief Scientist Professor Cathy Foley and NSW Chief Scientist and Engineer Professor Hugh Durrant-Whyte.

S3B Board Chair Professor David Skellern said the Roadmap marks an important step forward for the sector and for Australia.

“Building sovereign semiconductor capability and secure, resilient supply chains is essential to Australia’s national security and long-term economic prosperity,” he said. “Australia has many of the foundations, including world-class research, critical materials, exceptional talent and an emerging industrial base, but we also need to scale capability and infrastructure to reduce reliance on global supply chains.

“The Roadmap will bring these strengths together under a clear national direction. It will position Australia to contribute meaningfully to a critical global industry, support industry growth, build enduring capability and move us from vulnerability to resilience, and from potential to purposeful action.”

Stakeholders, organisations and individuals across Australia’s semiconductor and adjacent technology ecosystem are encouraged to connect with S3B to participate in the national engagement process.

Image credit: iStock.com/HAKINMHAN