New South Wales Government Invests A$2 Million to Scale Hemp-Based Construction

The New South Wales Government has committed A$2 million to support the establishment of a large-scale industrial hemp processing and prefabricated panel manufacturing facility, marking a step towards expanding lower-carbon construction materials in Australia. The funding will help Living Canvas scale its hemp-based manufacturing operations in regional New South Wales and strengthen the use of Australian-grown hemp in construction.

The investment is being provided through the New South Wales Government's Agriculture Industries Innovation and Growth Program and will support new plant and equipment for the facility. The project is expected to create a regional manufacturing hub capable of processing locally grown hemp and producing prefabricated construction panels, helping develop a domestic supply chain for alternative building materials.

Industrial hemp has potential environmental benefits through its use in building materials and its ability to provide biomass for applications such as soil improvement and carbon storage. The New South Wales Government's Hemp Industry Development Plan has also identified construction materials as an area with potential to expand the state's emerging hemp industry.

The initiative comes as New South Wales seeks to develop new industries that can support sustainable regional growth while contributing to the transition towards lower-carbon construction. By combining agricultural production with local processing and innovative building applications, the project could help diversify Australia's construction-materials supply chain and encourage the adoption of more sustainable alternatives.

Hemp-based construction is a genuinely interesting embodied-carbon play, if it scales enough to affect LEED and BREEAM material sourcing at project level. Our climate-action and impact-assessment teams help developers and material suppliers evaluate low-carbon construction opportunities and disclosure implications.