As Australia’s peak body for scientists and technologists, we welcome the passing of the Australian Research Council Amendment (Review Response) Bill 2023 – enshrining into legislation recommendations of the Expert Panel who reviewed the ARC Act last year.
On behalf of the 225,000 scientists and technologists STA represents, we have long advocated to abolish the Ministerial veto on ARC grant funding and congratulate the Federal Government on strengthening Australia’s research funding system by passing these reforms.
The establishment of the independent board that will have final approval for a significant proportion of research grants powerfully depoliticises research funding and delivers stronger transparency and accountability in decision-making. These changes will ensure confidence in the process, strengthen certainty for Australia’s outstanding researchers, and puts the experts in charge of making decisions on complex research and its long-term impact.
STA also welcomes the legislation’s stipulations to ensure demographic diversity and deep expertise across the appointed Board. They must include people with deep expertise or experience in research and research management, as well as an Indigenous person and representation for persons across regional, rural and remote Australia.
The ARC is the primary funding source for non-medical research in Australia providing much-needed funding for knowledge-creating, discovery research.
“Discovery research is crucial to Australia’s future through its economy-boosting knowledge creation and these reforms strengthen our ability to support our researchers and their research,” said STA President Professor Sharath Sriram.
“Australia’s ability to create future products, services, and the jobs of tomorrow – to commercialise innovation and grow our economy – hinges on a strong pipeline of discovery research and support for the people who enable this.”
We thank the Parliament for implementing these recommendations developed by Professor Margaret Sheil AO, Professor Susan Dodds, and former STA President Professor Mark Hutchinson in the comprehensive and thoughtful blueprint for ARC modernisation released in 2023.
