The Australian Fashion Council (AFC) has commissioned a feasibility study into establishing Australia's first clothing smart factory.
The study, announced today, will assess the viability of a next-generation, technology-enabled manufacturing facility designed to bring garment production back onshore for Australian brands. The proposed facility would allow brands to test ideas, conduct research and development, and run small-scale production at a cost currently unviable in Australia.
Three universities — RMIT, Swinburne University of Technology and the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) — are forming a research consortium for the project, combining expertise across advanced manufacturing, textile technology and workforce skills.
Investment NSW, Epson Australia and the NSW Government's Fashion Sector Strategy are backing the study.
The smart factory concept centres on a cut, make and trim (CMT) facility incorporating digital pattern making, digital textile printing, CNC cutting, automated production line machinery and advanced finishing technologies. The completed study will deliver a blueprint for establishing the facility in NSW, covering market demand, technical requirements, workforce and skills needs, financial modelling, and potential government and industry co-investment.
Epson is supporting the study as the AFC's print and projection partner, contributing to the digital textile printing component. Investment NSW is backing the initiative through its Fostering Innovation Sponsorship Program.
“The NSW Government is proud to support initiatives that keep fashion and textile manufacturing right here in New South Wales,” said the NSW Minister for Innovation, Science and Technology, Anoulack Chanthivong.
“A clothing smart factory has the potential to create skilled local jobs, strengthen our advanced manufacturing base and broaden our innovation ecosystem. This feasibility study is an important step in building the networks across academia and industry to enhance our manufacturing expertise and competitiveness in this sector.”
AFC general manager Sam Delgos added that Australia has extraordinary design talent, but is losing these talents after decades of manufacturing going offshore.
“If we're serious about building a globally competitive fashion industry, we need the infrastructure to support it,” Delgos said. “This feasibility study is our blueprint; bringing together industry, government and Australia's leading universities to explore a new model for advanced, on-demand production. We're building the case for long-term investment in sovereign manufacturing, future skills and local production."
Alice Payne, dean of RMIT's School of Fashion and Textiles said the school’s staff work at the intersection of practice and research – as designers, technologists and industry leaders – and that experience is central to shaping a smart factory model that is genuinely viable for Australian brands.
"We're excited to partner with the AFC and our consortium partners to help build a funding model that is sustainable and scalable, and to ensure this facility reflects the ethical, sustainable and regenerative practice our industry needs for the future,” Payne said.
Swinburne School of Design and Architecture executive dean Blair Kuys pointed to on-demand and hyper-personalised fashion as a significant opportunity for Australia's creative and manufacturing economies. UTS Faculty of Design and Society dean James Bennett said the university would complete the workforce analysis component of the study.
Epson Australia and New Zealand managing director Craig Heckenberg said digital textile printing was transforming garment design and manufacturing by reducing waste and water use while enabling local, on-demand production.
The initiative aligns with the NSW Government's Fashion Sector Strategy. The AFC said its longer-term ambition was a scalable, replicable model that could underpin a national network of smart factories over the coming decade, alongside its existing work on Australian Fashion Week, Global Gateways export development, workforce capability and the National Manufacturing Strategy.
The study is expected to be completed in late 2026, ahead of an AFC industry launch event.