(22 October 2024 – Australia) The federal government is increasing research and development (R&D) investment by A$650 million this financial year, surpassing stagnant private sector spending.
According to the Australian Innovation Statistics (AIS), government R&D spending is projected to lift to A$14.4 billion in 2024/25, a sizeable increase on the A$13.8 billion invested in 2023/24.
Government R&D spending is outpacing private R&D, with the AIS scorecard showing that business R&D investment as a proportion of GDP fell from 1.37 percent to 0.88 percent in 2022.
“Business investment in R&D has barely budged against a background of slowing capital investment overall, despite the number of business engaging in innovative activities remaining on a post-Covid high” stated Industry and Science Minister, Ed Husic.
“Access to funds has overtaken cost and skills shortages as the main barrier for business investment into the commercialisation of R&D, reflecting the tough investment environment. This is concerning. It shows that businesses want to innovate, but capital is proving hard to access. There has been a fall in number of venture capital deals and aggregate deal value over the last few years.”