Eligible companies will be able to apply for $164 million in competitiveness assistance advances under the Australian Government's Steel Transformation Plan (STP) from today, despite the best efforts of the Coalition to block this assistance.  The Steel Transformation Plan comes into effect following Royal Assent to the Clean Energy Bills and the Steel Transformation Plan Bill.

Under the competitiveness assistance advances, the Government has brought forward up to $164 million which will allow eligible participants to draw down advances of their future STP entitlements to help the industry become more competitive and sustainable.  When announcing the provision of competitiveness assistance advances, the Prime Minister advised that this facility will allow BlueScope Steel to bring forward into 2011-12 up to $100 million of the payments allocated to it under the STP.