Pandemic disruptions. Broken supply chains. Labour shortages. For many Australian companies, the past three years have been a time to hunker down and focus on growth close to home. Not so for the AFR Fast Global Top 50, which have all defied closed borders and overcome logistic nightmares to generate dramatic global expansion in sectors ranging from biotech to education, tech and consumer goods.

Health industries and the tech start-ups stand out, led by ASX-listed Telix Pharmaceuticals which, as Michael Bailey writes in our cover story, turbocharged sales after winning US approval for its cancer screening tool and topped our list with sales growth surging from $5.2 million to $160 million.