How Australia can avoid ‘bleeding out’ on R&D
Australia underinvests in R&D. The federal government's review must lift capital, talent and leadership or we risk becoming a permanent incubator economy.
The Federal Government’s Strategic Examination of Research and Development (SERD), announced in the 2024–25 Budget, is due to deliver its final report before the end of the month.
There’s a lot to like about the discussion paper released by the review panel in September. While not perfect by any means, it offered several well-reasoned proposals for improvement, including some that reflect the perspective of venture capital.
As the review made clear, Australia’s chronic underinvestment in R&D is a serious problem. We spend roughly 40% less than our OECD peers on government R&D and 50% less on business R&D.
This matters because R&D spending is one of the key drivers of productivity growth and quality of life. Without the innovations that flow from R&D, our children will be poorer and Australia will become increasingly irrelevant on the global stage.
