Australian research and development review given a year

Australia’s “landmark” review of the research and development system will report at least seven months after the forthcoming federal election and 11 years after the governing Labor party first adopted a target to match the spending levels of other advanced economies.

Science minister Ed Husic said the review, whose terms of reference were revealed on 2 December, had been designed to provide an “evidence-based pathway” to complement the A$22.7 billion (£11.6 billion) his government had pledged towards its “Future Made in Australia” manufacturing plan.

“We’ve got to back up that investment with a world-class R&D system that will deliver more firepower from our boardrooms and labs so we can compete with the best in the world,” Mr Husic said.

“It’s been almost 20 years since we asked the hard questions about our R&D performance, despite the alarming slide over the last decade.”

The review’s brief is to assess the benefits of a “more purposeful approach” to R&D, according to the terms of reference. This includes finding ways to capitalise on existing R&D spending, drive greater investment, boost industry uptake of innovation, strengthen links with industry and “improve coordination and impact” of R&D programmes.

The panel’s job includes comparing funding levels across Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development countries.

The review will be chaired by Tesla’s Australian chair, Robyn Denholm, with panellists including former chief scientist Ian Chubb and burns treatment pioneer Fiona Wood. It will last the entirety of 2025, reporting to the treasurer and the ministers of science and education.

Education minister Jason Clare said the Universities Accord, which reported in February, had “recommended we improve the ways research is funded to put it on a more predictable footing, and that’s what this review will look at”.

Labor went to the 2022 election with a policy of raising overall R&D development “closer to” 3 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) – an aspiration that had been on its policy platform since 2014, although the target was briefly dropped from the draft policy platform in 2023.

R&D funding metrics have deteriorated since Labor’s 2022 election, with overall spending slumping to its lowest level in at least 17 years and the government’s share hitting its lowest level ever.

The government has quietly abandoned talks to secure association membership of the Horizon Europe programme. Its international education crackdown has eroded a major source of university R&D investment, which constitutes a sizeable minority of overall spending.

The Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering said Germany, Japan and the US all spent more than 3 per cent of their GDP on R&D. It said Australia’s trajectory had been the inverse of China, where R&D investment had increased from about 1.7 per cent in 2010 to 2.7 per cent last year.

Chief executive Kylie Walker said the sector had been “neglected for more than a decade” and a review was “sorely needed” to ensure that Australia was “not relying on a future made overseas”. 

Universities Australia said the government could “score a few quick wins” by immediately adopting other accord recommendations including increases to PhD stipends and grant durations.

“We can’t afford to kick the can down the road,” said chief executive Luke Sheehy. “We don’t need a review to tell us what we already know – Australia needs greater, more sustainable funding for R&D now.”

john.ross@timeshighereducation.com