Australian Government’s Covid recovery plan includes investments in Blockchain 

Corona Virus continues to accelerate government interest in digital technologies as Australia announces budget to invest in Blockchain-related tech 

Last Tuesday, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison just announced that in next week’s budget plans, the government is including digital technologies as part of its Covid-19 recovery plan, setting aside around A$800 million for the project. The government intends to invest in tech in the hope of creating new jobs and facilitate and secure interaction with government services.  

With regards to Blockchain specifically the Prime Minister said that the plan is to outline A$4.95 million in aid of “two blockchain pilots directed at reducing business compliance costs”, and another A$480 million that are reserved for several technological initiatives that include DLTs, making this the biggest investment made by the government in the sector to date.  

The PM also said that the country acted in unison, with both the state and the people trying their best to fight the crisis, saying that 

“many businesses moved online quickly when the pandemic hit, undergoing a decade of change in months, finding new customers or new ways of doing things.”  

This year the governemnt’s interest in distributed ledger technology has surged, with a recent report predicting that the potentially blockchain technologies will get an estimate of A$175 billion annually in five years and A$3 trillion by the year 2030.