The Turnbull Government today announced it will deliver $283.5 million to set up nine new leading research centres focused on boosting productivity and economic growth, helping Australians adapt to the changing environment and lifting health outcomes.
Minister for Education and Training Simon Birmingham said the ARC Centres of Excellence were some of the most prestigious research programs in the country that support Australian families and help give local businesses a world-leading edge.
“The $283.5 million from the Turnbull Government for these new Centres of Excellence represents an investment in Australia’s future,” Minister Birmingham said.
“Previous Centres of Excellence have been the birthplaces of research that has changed lives. They are incubators for the advancements that we don’t even know we need yet.
“The researchers in these news Centres of Excellence have set their sights high with what they want to achieve – from coping with Australia’s changing population demographics to increasing the processing power of computers, protecting our unique plants and animals, developing products that use less energy and electricity and even trying to discover the origin of matter.
“These projects have ambitious, bold aims and we can’t fully predict the different useful discoveries these Centres may stumble upon during their research.
“These Centres of Excellence have been picked out of nearly 100 detailed applications that went through an extensive assessment process by independent experts whose selection criteria focused on how the research aligns with Australia’s national interest and ensures collaboration across different institutions and with businesses.”
Minister Birmingham said the Turnbull Government was committed to ensuring that research funding in Australia was targeted towards evidence-led and outcome-focussed projects.
“As the Turnbull Government’s commitment to research funding grows to nearly $2 billion by 2020 our National Innovation and Science Agenda will promote better collaboration between labs and research institutions and industry,” Minister Birmingham said.
“As the Turnbull Government works to hone incentives to promote collaboration between researchers and businesses, it’s encouraging to see that businesses and other organisations that stand to benefit from the research at the ARC Centres of Excellence have pledged around $761 million in support.
“These Centres offer opportunities to make big leaps in the different research fields because they build on previous work, collaborate with partners at home and abroad and are supported by businesses that can see potential commercial value in the outcomes.
“Like the researchers and businesses involved with the Centres, the Turnbull Government respects the value of research. That stands in stark contrast to the Labor Party who in government announced around $6.6 billion worth of cuts to higher education and research.”
2017 ARC Centres of Excellence
*Administering Organisation, Other Eligible Organisations and Partner Organisations