The government of Australia has allocated AU$6.9 million (US$5.3 million) to the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources (DISER) to study the role blockchain technology can play in regulation.

The money will be spent on two pilot projects intended to show how cost reductions in regulatory compliance are possible with the use of blockchain, ZDNet has reported.The projects will focus on the supply chains of critical minerals and food and beverages.According to Tim Bradley, general manager of Emerging Technologies and Adoption at the DISER, thus far regulators have concentrated their blockchain efforts on the financial-services industry."This is very much an initiative to demonstrate the use of the technology across the [Australian Public Service] and with regulators," Bradley said. Steve Vallas, CEO of trade group Blockchain Australia, last month called for more support from the government and regulators to encourage blockchain innovation.

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