Research and Experimental Development, Government and Private Non-Profit Organisations, Australia

Latest release

Data on expenditure and human resources devoted to research and development (R&D) carried out by government and private non-profit organisations

Reference period
2020-21 financial year

Key statistics

  • Expenditure on R&D performed by Australian government organisations during the 2020-21 financial year was $3,618 million, an increase of $288 million in comparison to 2018-19.  
  • Expenditure on R&D performed by Australian private non-profit (PNP) organisations during the 2020-21 financial year was $1,399 million.

Changes to Fields of Research and Socio-Economic Objectives

For the first time, Fields of Research (FoR) and Socio-Economic Objectives (SEO) data presented in this issue have been collected and compiled based on the Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC), 2020. Previous releases of this issue used the Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC), 2008.

Government Resources Devoted to Research and Experimental Development (R&D)

In 2020-21, of total government expenditure on R&D (GOVERD):

  • $2,337 million (65%) was contributed by Commonwealth government organisations,
  • $1,281 million (35%) was contributed by State and territory government organisations.

Compared to 2018-19, R&D expenditure increased by:

  • $227 million (11%) for Commonwealth government organisations,
  • $62 million (5%) for State and territory government organisations.

GOVERD as a proportion of GDP was 0.17% in 2020-21, the same as 2018-19.

Government resources devoted to R&D
   2012-132014-152016-172018-192020-21
Expenditure on R&D - Current prices       
 Commonwealth$m2,3452,2572,1392,1102,337
 State/territory$m1,3811,0721,1401,2191,281
 Total (a)$m3,7253,3293,2793,3303,618
Expenditure on R&D - Chain volume measures (b)       
 Commonwealth$m2,6682,4152,2372,1172,337
 State/territory$m1,5721,1471,1921,2231,281
 Total (a)$m4,2403,5623,4293,3403,618
Human resources devoted to R&D       
 CommonwealthPYE9,8208,4438,0007,7637,791
 State/territoryPYE6,5616,2736,7736,7587,257
 Total (a)PYE16,38114,71514,77314,52115,047

a. Where figures have been rounded, discrepancies may occur between the sum of the component items and totals.
b. The reference year for chain volume measures is 2020-21. Refer to the Chain volume measures section of the Methodology page for details.

Compared to 2018-19, GOVERD increased by:

  • 9% in current price terms,
  • 8% in chain volume terms.

Subsequent expenditure figures and supporting commentary relate to current price terms.

Government expenditure on R&D (GOVERD)

Type of expenditure

In 2020-21, GOVERD included:

  • $3,341 million (92%) in Current expenditure,
  • $277 million (8%) in Capital expenditure.

Compared to 2018-19:

  • Current expenditure increased $273 million (9%),
  • Capital expenditure increased $15 million (6%).  

In 2020-21, the largest components of GOVERD were:

  • Current expenditure - Labour costs at $1,985 million (55%),
  • Other current expenditure at $1,356 million (37%).

Other current expenditure recorded the largest GOVERD increase of $228 million (20%) between 2018-19 and 2020-21.

Location

Location of expenditure relates to the region in which R&D activity was performed. Please refer to the Methodology section for further information.


 

Compared to 2018-19, New South Wales recorded the largest GOVERD increase in dollar terms, up $136 million (21%). South Australia recorded the largest dollar decrease, down $71 million (16%).

GOVERD and Gross State Product (GSP)

GOVERD, by location of expenditure - proportion of GSP(a)
  NSWVICQLDSAWATASNTACT
  %%%%%%%%
2018-19         
 Commonwealth0.050.120.070.310.050.450.140.82
 State0.060.060.100.100.040.010.100.02
 Total (b)0.110.170.170.420.080.460.250.84
2020-21         
 Commonwealth0.070.120.080.230.030.520.210.88
 State0.060.060.100.090.030.010.060.02
 Total (b)0.120.190.180.330.070.540.270.91

a. Refer to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Gross State Product (GSP) section of the Methodology page for details.
b. Where figures have been rounded, discrepancies may occur between the sum of the component items and totals.

Between 2018-19 and 2020-21, six state/territories recorded an increase in the GOVERD/GSP ratio. Tasmania showed the largest increase (up 0.08 percentage points).

Fields of Research (FoR)

FoR allows R&D activity to be categorised according to common knowledge domains and/or methodologies used in the R&D.

a. R&D expenditure data on Fields of Research categories not presented, can be found in Data downloads.

Socio-Economic Objectives (SEO)

SEO allows R&D to be categorised according to the intended purpose or outcome of the R&D as perceived by the data provider or researcher.

a. R&D expenditure data on Socio-Economic Objectives categories not presented, can be found in Data downloads.

Government human resources devoted to R&D

In 2020-21, Australian government organisations devoted a total of 15,047 person years of effort (PYE) to R&D. This was an increase of 526 PYE (4%) in comparison to 2018-19.

Researchers accounted for most of the human resources effort devoted to R&D in 2020-21, totalling 8,239 PYE (55%). This was a 669 PYE or 9% increase between 2018-19 and 2020-21.

Private Non-Profit Resources Devoted to Research and Experimental Development (R&D)

 

  • Expenditure on R&D performed by Australian private non-profit (PNP) organisations during the 2020-21 financial year was $1,399 million, an increase of $129 million (10%) in comparison to 2018-19.
  • Private non-profit expenditure on R&D (PNPERD) as a proportion of GDP was 0.07% in 2020-21, the same proportion as in 2018-19.
Private non-profit resources devoted to R&D
   2012-132014-152016-172018-192020-21
Expenditure on R&D       
 Current prices$m9611,0071,0401,2691,399
 Chain volume measures(a)$m1,0931,1271,1371,3361,399
Human resources devoted to R&D PYE5,6786,0196,1787,2057,294

a. The reference year for chain volume measures is 2020-21. Refer to the Chain volume measures section of the Methodology page for details.

Compared to 2018-19, PNPERD increased by:

  • 10% in current price terms,
  • 5% in chain volume terms.

Subsequent expenditure figures and supporting commentary relate to current price terms.

Private non-profit expenditure on R&D (PNPERD)

Type of expenditure

In 2020-21, PNPERD included:

  • $1,316 million (94%) in Current expenditure,
  • $83 million (6%) in Capital expenditure.

Compared to 2018-19:

  • Current expenditure increased $111 million (9%),
  • Capital expenditure increased $19 million (29%). 

In 2020-21, the largest components of PNPERD were:

  • Current expenditure - Labour costs at $754 million (54%),
  • Other current expenditure at $562 million (40%).

The Current expenditure - Labour costs component of PNPERD recorded the greatest increase of $63 million (9%) between 2018-19 and 2020-21.

Source of funds

In 2020-21, the main sources of funds for PNPERD were in:

  • Commonwealth government funds, $472 million (34%),
  • Own funds $299 million (21%).

Compared to 2018-19, the largest dollar increase in funds were recorded in:

  • Overseas funding at $53 million (99%),
  • State and local government funding at $45 million (35%).

Location

Location of expenditure relates to the region in which R&D activity was performed. Please refer to the Methodology section for further information.

 


 

Compared to 2018-19, Victoria recorded the largest increase in PNPERD in dollar terms of $105 million (18%), followed by Western Australia with a $24 million (30%) increase.

PNPERD and Gross State Product (GSP)

PNPERD, by location of expenditure - proportion of GSP(a)
 NSWVic.QldSAWATas.NTACT
 %%%%%%%%
2018-190.070.120.02np0.030.01np0.01
2020-210.070.140.01np0.030.01np0.01

np not available for publication but included in totals where applicable, unless otherwise indicated.
a. Refer to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Gross State Product (GSP) section of the Methodology page for details.

Fields of Research (FoR)

FoR allows R&D activity to be categorised according to common knowledge domains and/or methodologies used in the R&D.

In 2020-21, the greatest contributions to PNPERD by FoR classification were recorded in:

  • Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, $1,064 million (76%),
  • Health Sciences, $136 million (10%).

Socio-Economic Objectives (SEO)

SEO allows R&D to be categorised according to the intended purpose or outcome of the R&D as perceived by the data provider or researcher.

In 2020-21, the greatest contributions to PNPERD by SEO classification were recorded in:

  • Health, $1,274 million (91%),
  • Education and Training, $38 million (3%).

Private non-profit human resources devoted to R&D

Australian non-profit organisations devoted a total of 7,294 person years of effort (PYE) to R&D in 2020-21, an increase of 89 PYE in comparison to 2018-19.

Researchers accounted for most of the human resources effort devoted to R&D in 2020-21, totalling 4,662 PYE (64%).

Data downloads

Data files

Previous catalogue number

This release previously used catalogue number 8109.0.
 

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