Backing Australia's Ability

Assistance of $79 million will be given to help commercialise public sector research in the form of pre-seed funding, allowing universities and public sector research agencies to take proposals to a venture capital ready stage.

To accelerate efforts to improve Australia’s performance in the development and commercialisation of new agribusiness products, services and technologies, an additional $22 million over five years will be committed to the New Industries Development Program.

And, finally, we’re conscious Australian ideas need to be protected. The Government will set out to further increase awareness and understanding of Intellectual Property issues by a number of educational and legislative and other measures including acceding to the Madrid agreement regarding international registration of trade marks.

Developing and retaining Australian skills

The last key element in our drive to foster innovation on a wide and sustainable scale is to equip our own people to be world competitive.

Education and skills development is an essential prerequisite in any serious attempt to strengthen the long-term research base of this country and encourage further collaboration with the world’s best.

Rewards and incentives are needed to attract and retain leading researchers.

Over the next five years, each year an additional 2,000 new university places will be created with priority given to ICT, mathematics and science. This will result in 21,000 equivalent full time student places at a cost of $151 million.

To encourage lifelong learning and to help Australians upgrade and acquire new skills, we will also establish an income-contingent loan scheme for postgraduate fee-paying students.

To attract and retain leading researchers in key positions, part of the new funds to be provided for national competitive research grants will be used to introduce 25 new Federation Fellowships worth $225,000 a year for five years. In addition, the number of Australian Postdoctoral Fellowships will be doubled from 55 to 110 and remuneration of these positions will be improved.

We must be realistic, often the skills we need may not necessarily be available in Australia to meet short-term needs. The Government will streamline immigration arrangements to retain ICT-qualified overseas students in Australia to work alongside our brightest talent.

In the future, ICT specialists will make up an even larger proportion of the skilled workers entering Australia through the permanent migration and temporary-entry programs.