Australia is a land of trailblazers, with a rich culture of innovation and creativity. We’ve created centres of excellence in crucial disciplines, as the best minds meet to tackle the challenges that face Australia and the world.
Our universities have made a major contribution to our status as one of the most innovative countries in the world. University spending on research and development has doubled in the past 18 years. And our skilled and diverse workforce means that our ideas and inventions can be put into production.
With dynamic links between academia, industry and public services, Australia is laying the groundwork for future discoveries.
Australia ranks 5th in our region for seizing opportunity from technology
CSIRO ranks in the top 1% of the world's scientific institutions in 15 of 22 research fields
Source: CSIRO Annual Report 2021-22
World-class universities and research facilities
Australian universities are ranked 4th in the world, according to the 2022 Academic Ranking of World Universities, published by the Shanghai Ranking Consultancy. We have 7 institutes in the world’s top 100 and our graduates are world leaders in ground-breaking research and development.
The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), our national science agency, is recognised internationally for its quality research and is Australia’s largest holder of patents. It works collaboratively across the nation, connecting industry to global supply chains.
The Australian Research Council (ARC) Centres of Excellence are prestigious focal points of expertise through which high-quality researchers maintain and develop Australia’s international standing in research areas of national priority.
The National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy drives research excellence and collaboration between 35,000 researchers, government and industry.
The Cooperative Research Centres (CRC) Program also links industry with the research community to solve industry-identified problems and help commercialise new technologies. The CRC Program supports industry-led research in a broad range of industries.
Through the Trailblazer Universities Program, the government is investing A$242.7 million over four years to boost R&D and drive commercialisation to accelerate Australia’s innovation agenda, with a focus on priority sectors, industry partnerships and business engagement.
Australia ranks 4th in the world for the number of universities in the top 100
Source: Shanghai Ranking Consultancy, 2022 Academic Ranking of World Universities
Almost half of Australia’s workforce has a tertiary qualification, meaning an advanced diploma/diploma or higher
A nation of inventors and entrepreneurs
Australian innovations include: the electronic pacemaker (1926), the ‘black box’ flight recorder (1958), ultrasound (1961), multi-channel cochlear implants (1970s), Wi-Fi (1990s), the polymer banknote (1988), Google Maps (2003), a cervical cancer vaccine (2006) and a leukaemia drug (2017).
See a showcase of the latest innovations being led by Australian experts.
Innovation precincts
We know that bringing the right people, knowledge and tools together is how innovation happens. That’s why we’re nurturing more than 100 innovation precincts and industry clusters across the country. Here are just a few examples:
- The Sydney Startup Hub is a globally significant innovation centre, supporting a strong entrepreneurial community where startups and SMEs thrive.
- The Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, the home of Australia’s nuclear science and technology expertise and landmark national infrastructure, operates an Innovation Precinct in southern Sydney that connects scientists with industry, and gives business an opportunity to access outstanding facilities and expertise.
- The Melbourne Biomedical Precinct, just next to the CBD, is made up of over 40 hospitals, research, teaching and biotechnology organisations. The precinct delivers outstanding patient care, produces cutting edge research and discoveries, and trains some of the country’s brightest minds.
- Melbourne Innovation Districts is a partnership between the City of Melbourne, RMIT University, and the University of Melbourne, to develop urban innovations in Melbourne, for the benefit of the whole city.
- Lot Fourteen, nestled in the heart of Adelaide, is accelerating innovation and making a global impact by bringing together entrepreneurs, global companies, universities and research organisations from across Australia and the world. It is already home to the Australian Institute for Machine Learning, the Australian Space Agency, SmartSat CRC, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s big data Living Lab and the Australian Cyber Collaboration Centre.
- Adelaide is also home to the Tonsley Innovation District, 10km south of the CBD, and home to leading-edge research and education institutions, established businesses and start-ups, business incubators and accelerators. Its focus is on sectors including cleantech and renewable energy; health, medical devices and assistive technologies; mining and energy services; and automation, software and simulation.
- The Precinct, located in Brisbane's Fortitude Valley, brings together Queensland start-ups, incubators, investors and mentors under one roof. The Precinct is one of Queensland’s largest innovation hubs.
- WA Data Science Innovation Hub ensures WA remains at the forefront of the digital revolution by increasing the uptake, education, training and awareness of data science.
Innovation across the country
Explore our map of innovation hubs, as well as discovering investors, educators, researchers, peak bodies and much more.
More than half of Australian businesses are innovation active
R&D Partnerships
Australia is investing heavily in research and development (R&D) with overall spending growing by 7% per year since 2001. Australia’s annual gross domestic expenditure on research and development (GERD) reached A$35.6 billion in 2019–20. This places Australia alongside the UK, Singapore and France as one of the highest spenders on R&D.
R&D investment and partnerships have already delivered value for Australia, including:
- world-firsts in 3D printing human body parts
- patented coating technology and techniques used by US defence companies
- robotics, automation and remote asset-management technologies for NASA’s Artemis program (next peopled mission to the moon).
