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Australia's research system

Understanding the resourcing, policies and structures needed to unleash the full power of Australia’s research and development enterprise.
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Our focus

We are uniquely positioned to understand the resourcing, policies and structures needed to unleash the full power of Australia’s research and development enterprise and to position it as a strategic national asset.

Reconfiguring our R&D ecosystem will elevate Australian research in an era of technological, geopolitical and economic disruption and amidst intense global competition. Maintaining research quality, collaboration and commercialisation are required to meet national needs.

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Three large telescope buildings under a starry night sky.

As the world looks up, Australia looks away

The Australian Government’s decision to withdraw from its association with the European Southern Observatory (ESO) is short-sighted and risks long-term damage to the country's astronomy capability.
Professor Chennupati Jagadish AC

Message from the President: March 2026

This month, the Academy welcomed the Australian Government’s 'Ambitious Australia' report, the most comprehensive examination of Australia's research and innovation system in decades.
Close up of NSW Premier John T. Lang’s signature

‘The Bearer of this Letter ...’ 

Newly discovered archival letters reveal how early 20th-century Australia deployed its scientists abroad, armed with prime ministerial introductions.
Parliament House, Canberra

Game changer: Australia on track to join world's largest research funding program

Academy welcomes Australia's move to join the world's largest research funding program, in a milestone win for international scientific collaboration.
Anna-Maria Arabia

Academy Chief Executive on the 'Ambitious Australia' report

The report provides a clear-eyed assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the current system – and importantly, it provides a coherent roadmap forward.

Related projects

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Aerial Shine Dome May 2015 Credit Adi Chopra
  • Current

Incentivising business investment in R&D

The Australian Academy of Science is calling for an urgent national conversation on R&D investment in Australia.

ASAF large
  • Planned

Australian Science, Australia's Future

Analysing Australia’s science capability to meet national challenges informed by the forces shaping our economy, the ASAF report identifies the eight science capabilities increasing most in demand over the coming decade.

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Bright Minds Bold Voices

Bright Minds, Bold Voices: From research to reality – Australia's opportunity

What happens when an influential Australian changemaker meets a trailblazing scientist? To find out, join the Australian Academy of Science for the 2026 Public Speaker Series.
Read more Register now
  • Face to face
  • Online
Public Speaker Series 2026 - Bright Minds card image

Bright Minds, Bold Voices: Food, science and the stories we swallow

Feed your curiosity with a fresh slice of the science behind what we crave, what we eat, and why.
Read more Register now
  • Face to face
  • Online

The Australian Academy of Science acknowledges and pays respects to the Traditional Owners of all the lands on which the Academy operates, and where its Fellows and employees live and work. The Academy recognises Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the first innovators and scientists of this land and honour their enduring connection to Country, from which we are committed to learn. We pay our respects to, and recognise the cultural authority of, their Elders past and present.

© 2026 Australian Academy of Science. All rights reserved.
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