Submission to the Senate Inquiry into Funding and Resourcing for the CSIRO

This submission to the Senate Inquiry into Funding and Resourcing for the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) responds to the announced termination of 300 to 350 full-time roles, a 6% reduction in the workforce on top of 818 job cuts in the previous 18 months. Research Australia maintains that investment in the CSIRO is strategic rather than discretionary, given its contribution to foundational research, diagnostics, vaccines and public health. It cites the decline in gross expenditure on research and development from 1.88% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2015–16 to 1.69% in 2023–24, government R&D investment $1.8 billion a year below the OECD average, and CSIRO funding falling from 0.16% of GDP in 1978–79 to 0.03% in 2024–25, with appropriations rising 1.3% a year against average inflation of 2.7%. It notes that each $1 invested in health and medical research returns close to $4, and that cuts undermine sovereign scientific capability and multidisciplinary work such as the Environment Research Unit’s contribution to understanding planetary health. Recommendations include at least CPI-indexed annual funding increases, a pathway to funding the full costs of research, a measurable path to R&D investment of 3% of GDP, alignment with national strategies, scaled co-investment, a minimum share of NHMRC, MRFF and ARC grants running five years or longer, transparency about the cuts, annual workforce data collection, a biannual early and mid-career researcher (EMCR) survey and central EMCR programs.