Robyn Denholm's R&D review handed to government for 2026 release
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The news: The strategic review of Australia’s research and development ecosystem, led by Tesla chair Robyn Denholm, has been handed to Innovation and Industry Minister Tim Ayres who will consider it over the Christmas break before its public release in the new year.
The context: A non-government source told Capital Brief the report landed on Ayres’ desk earlier this month, although the exact date was not confirmed by a spokesperson for the minister.
After an initial discussion paper, the review committee consulted on six issues papers for driving research, development and innovation along the themes of national coordination, scaling the system, incentives for RD&I, growing investment and capital, supporting foundational research and how the government can be an exemplar as a first customer and as a regulator.
One of the proposed reforms is to introduce different eligibility criteria for startups and scale ups to access the R&D tax incentive (RDTI) compared to large businesses.
The review has also proposed focusing the RDTI’s objective on helping “grow high-potential firms undertaking ambitious R&D” rather than broad-based support for all businesses to conduct additional R&D, which could have potential spillovers.
The sources: Capital Brief sources, Strategic Examination of Research and Development consultation papers
