A new report into Australia’s innovation system is shedding new light on barriers to lifting languishing investment in this area.

The Australian Innovation Statistics (AIS) dashboard shows Australia’s research efforts are strong, with an increase in published scientific papers and collaborations.

It also indicates business wants to innovate, with almost half of Aussie businesses engaged in innovative activities.

Yet investment remains low with the report finding that access to funding, has overtaken cost and access to skills, as the main barrier for businesses commercialising innovating.

This is in line with other findings in the report, which show the number and volume of venture capital deals continuing to decline.

The Albanese government’s investment in R&D is up 4.7 percent over this financial year to $14.4 billion.

This follows previous evidence of a slight uplift in business R&D in 2022/23 after a decade of flatlining growth.

The AIS report, launched online today, is a refreshed version of the Australian Innovation System Monitor, which the previous government cancelled in 2020.

Today’s report offers a snapshot and analysis of Australia’s R&D landscape in a more concise, focussed way with better analytical insights.

To read the report in full, visit: 
https://www.industry.gov.au/publications/australian-innovation-statisti…

Quotes attributable to the Hon. Ed Husic, Minister for Industry and Science:

“For over a decade, R&D investment has languished.

“Our predecessors tried to hide the uncomfortable statistics, which was wrong.

“We can’t put our head in the sand and pretend this isn’t happening, we need good data and an honest appraisal of what the barriers are to lifting R&D.

“While there have been encouraging signs in initial R&D uplift, we still have a lot of work to do.

“Our Future Made in Australia agenda is a big part of what needs to happen, as this report clearly demonstrates.”