Tag: smarter investment

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

Research Australia is deeply concerned by the recent announcements of further job and program cuts to the CSIRO. The termination of 300-350 full-time roles at the CSIRO represents a 6% decrease in the current workforce, in addition to the 818 pre-existing job cuts made in the past 18 months.

As a critical organisation within the health and medical research and innovation system, investments in the CSIRO should not be viewed as discretionary spending, but as strategic public investment towards achieving a future-ready, prosperous and thriving Australia. Now is the time for government to position public investment in health and medical research and innovation as a catalyst to delivering long-term and equitable social, economic and productivity dividends – not overseeing the decline of our national research capabilities.

Read our submission here.

SMARTER INVESTMENT NEEDED IN FEDERAL BUDGET TO ENABLE BOLD AND AMBITIOUS REFORMS FOR AUSTRALIA’S HEALTH AND MEDICAL RESEARCH AND INNOVATION SECTOR

Research Australia, your national alliance and peak body, has submitted its Pre-Budget Submission on behalf of the health and medical research innovation sector.

Key asks include:

  • Smarter Investment: establishing a measurable path to R&D investment of 3%; developing a definitive pathway to funding the full costs of research; and utilising the Government’s procurement powers to better support Australian businesses and activate innovation through establishing an Australian-designed BARDA system.
  • A Diverse and Supported Health and Medical Research Workforce Plan that defines and invests in the workforce the country needs and wants for research, innovation and commercialisation, including a dedicated focus on early-mid career researchers.
  • A whole of system, pipeline and government approach, across portfolios and jurisdictions by putting health and medical research, development and innovation, including prioritising prevention, at the heart of all government policy.

Read Research Australia’s 2025-26 Pre-Budget Submission here