Innovative Australia

Australia has a strong record of innovation and achievement in many fields, including the sciences, medicine, industry and agriculture. These innovations and achievements range from the earliest tools developed by Indigenous peoples and European settlers to contemporary medical and scientific breakthroughs.

Australians gave the world Aspro, the first heart pacemaker and the cochlear implant. Australians were the first to fly across the Pacific Ocean and invented the first underwater computer. Australia was the fourth country in the world to build a computer and the fourth to build and launch a satellite. Seven Nobel Prizes for science have been awarded to Australians for research work ranging from immunology, nerves and the brain, to penicillin and organ transplants.

Some notable successes include:

ground-breaking research on gastritis and peptic ulcers for which two Australians, Professor Barry Marshall and Dr Robin Warren, were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2005
the development in 2005 of a vaccine to prevent and treat cervical cancer by Professor Ian Frazer, a clinical immunologist who was also named Australian of the Year in 2006
the award in 2005 of the inaugural Academy of Sciences Malaysia Award for Scientific Excellence to Australian scientist Professor John Mackenzie for his work in tropical medicine
the award in 2006 of the Fields Medal to Professor Terence Tao, a young Australian-born mathematician, who has been described as a ‘supreme problem solver’ (the Fields Medal is generally recognised as the mathematics equivalent of the Nobel Prize).

Australia is well positioned and resourced to make a difference in the global economy through innovation. It has a vibrant and competitive economic environment, with high productivity and growth—an environment where innovation can thrive.

Innovation nurtured by government

The Australian Government is committed to building a strong national innovation system, in recognition of the vital role innovation plays in productivity and economic growth, and in meeting the challenges Australia faces.

In January 2008, the government appointed an expert panel to review the national innovation system and the coherence and effectiveness of existing government support for innovation. The review will find ways to increase innovation performance across the economy, to ensure that business has better access to new ideas and new technologies, and to bridge the divide between industry and research.

Australia has a strong research and development capability. Around 50 000 people in higher education organisations are involved in research and development, another 36 000 in the business sector and 19 000 in federal and state government agencies and laboratories. Each year, Australia’s universities graduate about 16 000 students in science and 9000 in engineering.

Projected demand for science skills indicates that Australia will need an additional 55 000 professionals by 2012–13. To strengthen Australia’s science and innovation capabilities further, the Australian Government is nurturing the nation’s skills base by improving the quality of science education in schools and universities and providing rewarding career paths in science. The government is providing researchers with world-class infrastructure to place them at the cutting edge of scientific discovery and to support their training needs. Australia is also pursuing global engagement and, where appropriate, establishing partnerships with other countries.

Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation

The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is the primary government research and development agency in Australia. Founded in 1926, it is one of the world’s largest and most diverse research institutions. Its staff of about 6500 includes 4000 scientists and other researchers working in more than 50 laboratories and field stations throughout Australia and overseas. Their research covers agribusiness, information technology, manufacturing, health, sustainable energy, mining and minerals, space, the environment and natural resources. Internationally, CSIRO is involved in more than 740 research activities with scientific organisations and agencies in more than 80 countries.

CSIRO is also the biggest single participant in Australia’s cooperative research centre (CRC) program, an Australian Government-funded initiative to enhance collaboration between business and researchers. The program was established in 1990 with the aim of turning Australia’s scientific innovations into successful new products, services and technologies, making our industries more efficient, productive and competitive. The Australian Government has committed more than $2 billion directly to the program since its establishment and a further $1 billion through CSIRO.

Innovations and discoveries

Australian innovations can be found the world over, enhancing the lives of millions of people.

Medical innovations

Aspro—Two Australians developed Aspro, a high-grade aspirin product, in 1915. It soon dominated the international market.
Heart pacemaker—In 1926 a doctor from a Sydney hospital, who wished to remain anonymous, invented the original heart pacemaker.
Penicillin—In 1941, penicillin was extracted and refined by a team led by Australian Howard Florey. It was successfully trialled on humans and went into production in time to aid Second World War casualties.
Ultrasound scanner—In 1961, two Australians built the first ultrasound
Cochlear implant—In 1979, university professor Graeme Clark invented the cochlear implant, designed to help the hearing impaired and profoundly deaf.
Skin polarprobe—In 1998, a team of scientists developed the SolarScan, which can quickly detect cancerous sunspots.
Cervical cancer vaccine—Professor Ian Frazer received an Australian of the Year award in 2006 for developing the world’s first vaccine to prevent cervical cancer.

Great ideas and inventions

Black box flight recorder—Invented in the 1950s, the unit records flight material, helping investigators determine the cause of a plane crash.
Radio telescopes—In 1969, an Australian radio telescope in Parkes, New South Wales transmitted the first pictures of the moon landing.
Underwater computer—In 1993, the world’s first underwater computer to record data was invented in Australia by the Australian Institute of Marine Science.
Gene shears—In 1986, CSIRO scientists discovered gene shears, molecules used to prevent harmful and unwanted genes in plants and animals.
Biodegradable packaging—In 2000, Australian researchers developed new biodegradable packaging materials based on starch.
Resilin—In 2005, CSIRO scientists developed resilin, a replacement for rubber, from proteins found in insects.

Agriculture

In agriculture, Dr Jim Peacock and Dr Liz Dennis of CSIRO’s Plant Industry division isolated the gene that determines when plants stop their vegetation growth and start flowering. The ‘flowering switch gene’ discovery has the potential to increase production and improve the nutritional value of crops in the world’s poorest countries. Both scientists were awarded the inaugural Prime Minister’s Prize for Science in 2000 for their discovery. Dr Peacock is now Australia’s Chief Scientist.

In 2002, CSIRO was also instrumental in developing the Bollgard II cotton plant, created by genetically modifying the cotton plant to produce proteins that are toxic to the major pests of cotton crops. As a result, pesticide use on this type of cotton is reduced by 80 per cent, thus improving the environmental sustainability and profitability of this billion-dollar industry.

Mining industry

With its long history in mineral and petroleum exploration and extraction, it is not surprising that Australia is also a great innovator in mining technology services. Australian companies develop about 60 per cent of the world’s mining software and lead in exploration assessment and mineral processing technologies, development of mining equipment, and scientific analysis technologies. Australian innovations include the world’s first automatic system for mapping the minerals in drill cores, new methods of mine site rehabilitation and the first integrated two-way mine emergency communication system.

Biotechnology

The world’s first anti-influenza drug, Relenza, was developed in Australia in 1996 and is approved for treatment in more than 50 countries, including Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom and Japan. Relenza is the first of a new generation of drugs that act to prevent the spread of infection from one cell to another within the respiratory tract. Biota, a leading Australian biotechnology company, is behind Relenza. It is now working on a second-generation influenza treatment, FLUNET.

Nanotechnology

Australia is also a leader in nanotechnology. In 1987, Australian scientists produced the world’s first nanomachine, a device so tiny that its parts are the size of molecules. The nanomachine can be used as a biosensor to run medical checkups from within the body, analyse pollutants or power tiny computers. AMBRI—a Sydney-based biotech company—is commercialising a biosensor machine that will help doctors and pathology labs radically cut the time it takes to make a diagnosis.

Australia’s Nobel laureates in science

1915—Sir William Lawrence Bragg and Sir William Henry Bragg
- Awarded the prize in physics for their work analysing crystals using X-rays.
1946—Lord Howard Walter Florey
- Awarded the prize in medicine for work on the development of penicillin.
1960—Sir Frank Macfarlane Burnet
- Awarded the prize in medicine for work on immunology, the basis for organ transplants.
1963—Sir John Carew Eccles
- Awarded the prize in medicine for work on how nerves and the brain function.
1975—Sir John Warcup Cornforth
- Awarded the prize in chemistry for work on the structure of living matter.
1996—Professor Peter Doherty
- Awarded the prize in medicine for work on immunology.
2005—Professor Barry Marshall and Dr Robin Warren
- Awarded the prize in medicine for the discovery of the Helicobacter pylori bacterium and the role it plays in inflammation of the stomach and in ulcers of the stomach and duodenum.

Further information

This fact sheet is also available to download ( PDF)

Note: Unless otherwise stated, all dollars amounts are in Australian dollars. The term ‘billion’ means ‘a thousand millions’ (one billion therefore equals 1,000,000,000); the term ‘trillion’ means ‘a million millions’ (one trillion therefore equals 1,000,000,000,000).

last updated April 2008

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade