An Australian startup building homes from hemp has received $2 million in NSW government funding to expand its manufacturing operations at a facility in Toormina, near Coffs Harbour.
The investment is designed to steer the construction industry away from carbon-intensive materials while strengthening the state’s agricultural sector.
Living Canvas is the recipient of the funding, delivered through the NSW government’s Agriculture Industries Innovation and Growth Program.
The grant will help establish a regional industrial hemp processing and prefabricated panel manufacturing facility, one intended to support regional manufacturing, generate value from Australian-grown hemp, and make hemp-based construction more accessible to homeowners, architects and builders.
Living Canvas Co-Founder Harrison Marsh said the company set out to make hemp accessible in the construction industry and prove it belongs in the mainstream.
He said the funding would allow the business to grow through new plant and equipment for what is being described as Australia’s first large-scale hemp-based manufacturing facility.
“It marks the beginning of a significant change within the Australian construction industry, as we shift away from carbon-heavy materials and towards a biobased future,” he said.
Marsh added that the facility would bring jobs to regional NSW and allow Living Canvas panels to be used on more building projects nationally, noting that expanding hemp in construction also supports an emerging agricultural industry for the state.
The company positions its approach as a smarter way to build: faster to complete, better performing, and healthier to live in than conventional construction methods.
The funding will go toward establishing and commissioning the facility, including production equipment, factory setup, material handling and the quality systems needed to scale responsibly.
Living Canvas says every home built with its panels strengthens the wider supply chain, supporting the growers and processors driving the industrial hemp industry forward in NSW.
Premier of New South Wales Chris Minns highlighted the broader economic role of agriculture in the state, noting the sector contributes billions of dollars to the economy, underpins thousands of jobs in regional communities and puts food on the table.
“This co-investment model unlocks enormous potential for our state’s primary industries, driving private investment in projects that advance the sector and deliver real benefits for regional communities across New South Wales,” he said.
Hemp is fast-growing and naturally fire-resistant, insulates well, requires no synthetic inputs and supports healthier, more efficient buildings.
Hempcrete, the plant-based construction material made from hemp, sequesters more carbon than is emitted during its production and installation, making it carbon negative over its lifecycle.
Living Canvas’s Structural Insulated Panels are made from locally grown Australian hemp and include wall, floor and roof cassettes, forming a complete building envelope that naturally regulates heat and moisture and meets high bushfire performance ratings.
The grant also supports the broader development of hemp as a construction material, creating a higher value use for hemp hurd, the woody core of the hemp plant, and helping shift hemp construction from a niche, experimental use toward a scalable regional supply chain connecting growers, processors, manufacturers, builders and customers.
Minister for Agriculture and Regional NSW Tara Moriarty said investing in agriculture means investing in the strength of regional communities.