The Commonwealth has quietly scrapped an $800 million program designed to turn Australian research into commercial products, dealing another blow to the country's science sector.
According to Capital Brief, the government has axed the $800 million research commercialisation program. Combined with CSIRO job cuts announced the same day, the move signals a retreat from government support for translating research into economic outcomes—precisely when other countries are doubling down.
Australia keeps saying it wants to be a clever country and diversify beyond mining. Then it does things like this.
The commercialisation gap is one of Australia's most persistent economic problems. We do world-class research. Universities and research institutions produce genuinely innovative science and technology. Then we watch that intellectual property get commercialised overseas, with the economic benefits flowing to other countries.
The research commercialisation program was supposed to address exactly this problem. It was designed to help researchers navigate the difficult path from laboratory discovery to commercial product. That means funding for proof-of-concept work, for prototyping, for intellectual property protection, for connecting researchers with industry partners.
All the unglamorous, difficult, expensive work that sits between "we've discovered something interesting" and "here's a product people will buy."
And now it's gone. $800 million that was supposed to turn our research into actual products and jobs, vanished in a budget decision that barely made headlines.
The timing is particularly galling. Other countries are aggressively pursuing research commercialisation as a strategic priority. China has massive programs to turn research into commercial applications. The United States has increased funding for translational research. European countries treat commercialisation support as essential industrial policy.
