South Australia will provide additional funding for the Whyalla Steelworks

The state budget provides for funding of $228.5 million for the 2026/2027 financial year

The South Australian state government will provide an additional A$319 million ($228.5 million) in funding over the next two years to support the sale and operation of the Whyalla steelworks, according to Argus Media.

This support is included in the state budget for 2026/2027.

The steelworks has been under external administration since February 2025. Since then, the plant has received over A$2.88 billion in state and federal funding to secure sovereign steel production capabilities and support low-emission production.

The South Australian government has also allocated 6.5 million Australian dollars over two years to support Whyalla’s transition to low-carbon steel production. The transformation will be supported by a gas agreement with the Australian oil and gas exploration and production company Santos.

Gas from this company will enable Whyalla to implement direct reduced iron (DRI) technology for processing magnetite ore, Santos CEO Kevin Gallagher stated in February this year.

On 27 May, the state government announced a shortlist of two bidders for the steelworks: the Australian independent company M Resources and the Indian firm Jindal Steel.

It should be recalled that the Australian government officially launched the process of selling Whyalla Steelworks in June last year. The plant was once a key asset of Sanjiv Gupta’s GFG Alliance.