Government unveils $5.3 billion science and innovation program

Prime Minister John Howard today announced a $5.3 billion package for science and innovation, the second tranche of funding under the Backing Australia’s Ability program.

The package takes the total Backing Australia’s Ability funding to $8.3 billion.

The CSIRO will be part of Backing Australia’s Ability for the first time, receiving an additional $305 million in funding for its national research flagships program.

An extra $200 million will go to the National Health and Medical Research Council, and $542 million is earmarked for a National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy, aimed at providing world-class infrastructure for researchers.

In addition, the program sets aside $38.8 million for a new maths, science and innovation teaching initiative that will involve research bodies and undergraduates in primary and secondary schools and $7.2 million to co-ordinate and focus research in support of Australia’s counter-terrorism needs.

Programs which will be carried over from the original Backing Australia’s Ability package also received further funding.

A $1 billion Commercial Ready program is to provide ‘one-stop-shop’ access to innovation support. It rolls together the R&D START and BIF grants and the Innovation Access program.

Additional to this is an extra $100 million for the COMET program, which has so far assisted around 900 companies to get new products to market, and $65 million for Co-operative Research Centres which “will have a stronger commercial focus” according to Mr Howard.

The Australian Research Council National Competitive Grants Scheme will be maintained with an extra $1.19 billion. $554 million has been allocated for the Research Infrastructure Block Grants.

The National Stem Cell Centre, received $57.9 million. The government will also provide funding of $20 million over the next four years for the National Biotechnology Strategy and Biotechnology Australia.

R & D tax concessions introduced under Backing Australia’s Ability will continue. This includes the tax offset for small firms and the 175% premium R&D tax concession for companies increasing investment above their average over three years.

Today’s program will come on stream in 2004-05, with the great majority of funding to commence in 2006-07, when most Backing Australia’s Ability funding concludes.

Dr Anthony Coulepis, Executive Director of industry body AusBiotech welcomed the package. "This is a major and much needed win for boosting Australia's long-term sustainability and global competitiveness of the innovation and science industry," he said.