The Australian government and technology industry are banking on a successful US float of local tech darling Atlassian being a watershed moment for the post-mining boom economy, leading to a boost in international interest in other emerging innovative tech businesses.
Software maker Atlassian filed its long-awaited IPO prospectus on Tuesday, revealing it to be a profitable business with annual revenue of $US320 million ($454 million), and the eyes of both US and Australian investors are now firmly focused on whether it can revive an ailing market for IPOs.   
Industry, Innovation and Science Minister Christopher Pyne led plaudits for the company on hearing news of the IPO plans, and was joined by opposition parliamentary secretary of digital innovation and start-ups Ed Husic, and a raft of Australian start-up founders in highlighting expected broader benefits of Atlassian's success.
Mr Pyne said the government's upcoming innovation agenda statement would be designed to lay the foundation for a more creative and agile Australian economy where more companies like Atlassian could emerge. The IPO would make Atlassian a perfect example for up-and-coming businesses.
"This is an important announcement for Australia, and everyone in the start-up and tech ecosystem.  It's a fantastic example of an innovative Australian competing on the world stage amongst the best," Mr Pyne told The Australian Financial Review.
"We look forward to welcoming Atlassian founders Scott [Farquhar] and Mike [Cannon-Brookes] back to Australia to share their knowledge with other Australians who are on their innovation journeys."
The deal is in line to become the largest ever IPO by an Australian technology firm. Details in the IPO documents showed Atlassian collected $US319.5 million in revenue in financial 2015 and has delivered 47 per cent compound annual revenue growth over the past three years.
Unlike some other so-called "unicorns" in the technology sector, which are valued at more than $US1 billion, it has been profitable for the past decade, including net income of $US10.8 million, $US19.0 million and $US6.8 million for the fiscal years ended   June 30, 2013, 2014 and 2015.

Global recognition
Mr Husic said Australians should be proud of the achievements of Atlassian's founders and team of more than 1300 staff. He said the economy would benefit from Atlassian's international success, despite it being listed in the US and having a headquarters in the UK. 
"I seriously believe there is a huge benefit in Atlassian's listing lifting global awareness of the potential of Australia's tech sector ... What we need to now focus on is boosting the rate of start-up formation in Australia, to increase the chances of more Atlassians emerging in the future," Mr Husic said.
"We can do this by tackling skills shortages, increasing the flow of capital, streamlining regulations, and promoting a more pro-entrepreneur culture by celebrating the successes achieved by companies like Atlassian."  
Away from Canberra, other Australian tech start-up successes also sought to highlight the importance of Atlassian's IPO to the broader economy, and downplay the significance of its decision not to float on the Australian Securities Exchange.
Chris Ridd, Australian managing director of locally listed accounting software company Xero, described the public listing as a validation of Australian innovation, and proof that local players can compete with the best in tech on the global stage.
Xero also has plans to list in the US, and Mr Ridd said the confirmation of Atlassian's US listing showed other Australian companies that they should think globally. He said technology was a bright point for a post-mining boom Australian economy and believed confident companies, rather than government intervention, would be more important to drive it forward.
"ICT is clearly one of those industries that can drive substantial economic growth for Australia. While tax breaks and light-touch regulation can always help to spur start-ups along, at the end of the day I don't think the government is going to single-handedly unearth the next Atlassian," Mr Ridd said.
"While one major listing doesn't make an ecosystem, it's a hopeful sign that we'll see many more of these global successes from this part of the world like Atlassian, alongside Campaign Monitor, BigCommerce and Xero." 
Co-founder of telecommunications platform Unlockd Matt Berriman said, if it was successful, Atlassian's IPO would increase the appetite among US and other foreign investors for other Australian technology companies, and then have other flow-on benefits for the local economy.
Unlockd recently announced it had secured funding from a raft of big name investors including Lachlan Murdoch.
"Seeing Australian businesses succeed on the global stage shows investors that early stage businesses here in Australia can make the big leap to global dominance," Mr Berriman said. 
"It will also have a flow-through effect with returns to initial shareholders, whom a lot would have been seed and early round investors from Australia, so they'll no doubt be looking to deploy some of that capital into finding the next Atlassian with the great returns."