A new working group will spend six months developing a "roadmap" on the feasibility of Australia becoming a source for alternative aviation fuels.

CSIRO scientist Andrew Braid told CE Daily Australia was "almost a biofuel virgin" and lacked a major biofuel industry.

The sustainable aviation fuels users group, comprising CSIRO scientists and members of the aviation industry, will examine potential sources of biomass and what could be produced, he said.

Braid said producing fuel from algae was the "great white hope" but there were technical barriers.

"You've to get the right sort of algae, you've got to get it out of the water, you've got to get the oil out of the algae and you've got to be able to feed the algae," he said.

Woody material, known as lignocellulose, is another "obvious" feedstock, he said.

Braid noted that Australia's wheat and sheep belt now had only about 5% tree cover and ecologists consider it requires 30% cover.

An alternative aviation fuel industry based on lignocellulose could potentially provide economic and environmental benefits, he said.

Braid said the new group had accepted sustainability guidelines developed by the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels.

But these had been written largely with developing countries in mind, he said.

Some provisions – such as requirements not to use child labour and to protect local "foodsheds" – were not as relevant to a country with well-developed labour laws and an export-focused agricultural sector, he said.