NSW invests $832.7 million to turbocharge R&D

The New South Wales government will deliver the single largest investment in scientific research, innovation and technological development in the state’s history, investing $832.7 million over four years under the 2022-23 NSW Budget. Beneficiaries will include the State’s burgeoning defence and space sectors.

Minister for Science, Innovation and Technology, Alister Henskens, said the Budget would turbocharge NSW’s innovation ecosystem, creating jobs and new industries in line with the state government’s 20-Year Research & Development Roadmap. 

“The NSW Budget delivers unprecedented investment in research and development and commercialisation initiatives to create new jobs and drive growth in emerging industries and deliver long-lasting economic prosperity,” Henskens said. 

“The Budget will invest in innovation and commercialisation, attract international investment and help home-grown talent turbocharge their R&D work. This landmark investment is a game changer for NSW and demonstrates the NSW government’s commitment to turning local research into new industries and jobs for future generations.” 

The Budget includes a $703.4 million investment to establish the Future Economy Fund, which will expand and accelerate R&D and commercialisation opportunities across the state, building on the work of the NSW government’s R&D Action Plan. The Future Economy Fund is NSW’s first dedicated fund to target the end-to-end stages of business growth – from R&D and commercialisation, through to industry growth, investment attraction and maturity.

The fund will include investments of: 

• 4 million to boost support for the commercialisation of products, services and emerging digital technologies in fields that will grow the economy and provide targeted support to research institutions, start-ups, scale-ups and small-to-medium enterprise sectors in New South Wales.
• $219.0 million to accelerate growth and investment in priority industry sectors, such as modern manufacturing, medtech, defence and aerospace, to deliver significant benefits to the economy, including by building local capability, securing high-value jobs and boosting productivity.
• $142.0 million of dedicated funding to drive research and development and innovation growth in sectors in which New South Wales has a natural competitive advantage, such as quantum computing, and advance collaboration with universities, the CSIRO and the private sector.