Investment Guidelines

Our purpose is to provide financing support to businesses by funding and encouraging private-sector investment into projects that will facilitate sustainable economic growth. 

To be considered for financing by NAIF, your project must meet the mandatory criteria outlined in our Investment Mandate. These criteria require that your project:

1. Involves the development or enhancement of infrastructure
2. Is of public benefit
3. Is located in, or provides significant benefit to, northern Australia
4. Has an Indigenous Engagement Strategy (with the exception of the Indian Ocean Territories)
5. Can repay or refinance NAIF's debt (for debt finance)
6. Can generate a return to the government (for equity investments)

We can finance a wide range of projects, including physical structures, assets, technology, or facilities that contribute to the establishment or enhancement of economic activity in a region. Sectors that we can support include resources, airports, ports and rail, agriculture, water, energy, social infrastructure (including property, tourism, education and health), manufacturing, and telecommunications.

When assessing how much finance to provide to an eligible project, we’ll seek to implement a reasonable allocation of risk between NAIF and other sources of finance. 

Concessional Financing Tools

To help vital infrastructure projects get started, NAIF can offer flexible financial support that may not be available from traditional lenders. These concessional financing tools are offered where necessary to enable projects. We are not constrained by formal credit metrics and seek to structure transactions based on appropriate risk/benefit assessment for the project to proceed.

Equity Investments

For equity investments, we target a portfolio return of at least the 5-year Australian Government bond rate plus 3% per annum, before operating expenses.
NAIF cannot offer concessional terms for equity investments and must be a minority shareholder in any investment.

Risk

We can accept a higher risk than commercial lenders, particularly where the risk relates to factors that are unique to investing in northern Australia, such as distance, remoteness, and climate. 

Our Finance and Requirements

Delivering a significant public benefit is a mandatory criterion to be eligible for our finance. This ensures that NAIF supported projects provide positive outcomes for northern Australia that extend beyond the direct financial returns to the proponent, such as creating new jobs, enabling regional growth, or building essential community infrastructure. 

To understand the specific requirements and how we assess this, review our detailed Public Benefit Guideline.

Indigenous Engagement Strategy

An Indigenous Engagement Strategy demonstrating objectives for First Nations participation, procurement, and employment in the region of the project must be developed for each project we support through finance (excluding Indian Ocean Territories).