"What we've learned out of this is that there are some things that we have to be self-sufficient in. So let's not look to what's going to give us the cheapest price," Ms Andrews told The Age and the Herald.

Australia needed to consider its "sovereign capability, so what are the things that we need to be manufacturing here in Australia, what are the essential supply chains for us," she said.

"What we can put into the equation here in Australia is certainty of supply in some areas, and that's where we need to be focussing."

"What is manufacturing going to look like in Australia, what are the key industries where we have a unique contribution - particularly to the rest of the world - and how do we make sure that in a crisis we can support ourselves," she said.

Some of the changes made by manufacturers are set to be permanent, but others are likely to be temporary.

Ms Andrews said Australia was "as prepared as we could be expected to be. But more importantly, our reaction time has been very fast".

Asked whether more federal support was needed for manufacturers of important medical equipment she said "I think that's certainly something that we should look at".

Cori Stewart, chief executive of the Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing Hub, said companies had shown a great "willingness to repurpose their manufacturing as required."

"But I think that the underlying need to do that has really revealed that Australia is not well prepared for a crisis of this kind, she said."

What must not be forgotten is that manufacturing is a capability a country needs to have.

Jens Goennemann, managing director of the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre

Dr Stewart added that manufacturing needed more support at federal and state levels.

"I think we've learned that manufacturing is an essential capability, that a nation needs to have its sovereign capability to address not only this crisis, but many other kinds of crises," she said.

Loading

"Essential items need to be manufactured onshore and we need to be able to do that at a cost competitive way."

The federally-funded Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre has received about 1900 registrations from companies or individuals offering their capabilities in relation to COVID-19.

Managing director Jens Goennemann said the manufacturing sector's response to the crisis had been "extraordinary".

"What must not be forgotten is that manufacturing is a capability a country needs to have. If you cannot make complex things in a country, you have little to no place in global markets," he said.

"I don't know what the next crisis will look like, but what I know is that a versatile, flexible manufacturing sector would be more in a position to respond."