| Unit | 2013-14 | 2015-16 | 2017-18 | 2019-20 | 2021-22 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Expenditure on R&D | |||||||
| Current prices | $m | 18,849 | 16,659 | 17,438 | 18,171 | 20,642 | |
| Chain volume measures(a) | $m | 20,674 | 17,895 | 18,559 | 19,076 | 20,642 | |
| Human resources devoted to R&D | PYE | 78,839 | 70,467 | 74,991 | 77,724 | 91,414 | |
- The reference year for chain volume measures is 2021-22. Refer to the Chain volume measures section of the Methodology page for details.
Subsequent expenditure figures and supporting commentary relate to current price terms.
BERD as a proportion of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was 0.9% in 2021-22, unchanged since 2017-18.
Business expenditure on R&D (BERD)
- Ranked by 2021-22 BERD.
- Data for the Industry with the 10th highest R&D expenditure (Other Services) has been suppressed due to data quality issues. This has been replaced with the 11th highest Industry (Administrative and support services).
The three industries with the greatest contribution to BERD are Professional, scientific and technical services ($6,972 million or 34%), Manufacturing ($5,203 million or 25%) and Financial and insurance services ($3,072 million or 15%). Together these three industries accounted for nearly three quarters (74%) of total BERD.
BERD and Gross State Product (GSP)
The state or territory with the highest level of BERD as a proportion of GSP was Victoria (1.15%). Victoria also had the largest increase in the BERD/GSP ratio (up 0.11 percentage points), followed by NSW (up 0.05 percentage points) and NT (up 0.03 percentage points).
| NSW (%) | VIC (%) | QLD (%) | SA (%) | WA (%) | TAS (%) | NT (%) | ACT (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-22 | 1.08 | 1.15 | 0.57 | 0.52 | 0.42 | 0.74 | (b) 0.22 | 0.42 |
| 2019-20 | 1.03 | 1.04 | 0.62 | 0.65 | 0.45 | 0.76 | 0.19 | 0.44 |
| 2017-18 | 1.14 | 1.03 | 0.55 | 0.75 | 0.62 | 0.58 | 0.13 | 0.58 |
| 2015-16 | 1.19 | 1.08 | 0.65 | 0.78 | 0.88 | 0.66 | 0.33 | 0.26 |
- Refer to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Gross State Product (GSP) section of the Methodology page for details.
- Estimate has a relative standard error greater than 50% and is considered too unreliable for general use.
Location of expenditure
Location of expenditure relates to the region in which the R&D activity was performed. Refer to the Location of expenditure section of the Methodology page for more information.
- New South Wales and Victoria continued to have the highest levels of BERD, $7,501 million (36% of total BERD) and $5,948 million (29% of total BERD).
- In 2021-22, BERD in New South Wales recorded the largest increase in dollar terms up $1,054 million, followed by Victoria, up $1,052 million.
- By location, the largest decrease for Australian businesses undertaking research and development was overseas, down $268 million (14%) to $1,714 million, followed by South Australia down $53 million (7%) to $665 million.
Fields of Research and Socio-Economic Objectives
Fields of Research (FoR) classifies R&D expenditure based on the area of knowledge and methodologies used in R&D.
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. Releases of this issue prior to 2019-20 used the Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC), 2008.
In response to stakeholder feedback and the Innovation Metrics Review (IMR), FoR data for Division 40 – Engineering and Division 46 – Information and Computing Sciences were collected and compiled at the Group level in 2021-22 to provide a more granular output. Further information on these groups can be found in the ANZSRC 2020 publication.
- 2021-22 estimate has a relative standard error between 25% and 50% and should be used with caution.
The top six Fields of Research combined represent 91% of BERD in 2021-22.
Fields of Research (FoR) at the Group level were collected in 2021-22 for the two largest FoR divisions, Engineering (Division 40) and Information and Computing Sciences (Division 46).
The top five FoR Groups combined accounted for 59% of the total Engineering Division.
- Estimate has a relative standard error between 25% and 50% and should be used with caution.
The top five FoR Groups combined accounted for nearly 80% of the total for the Information and Computing Sciences Division.
Socio-Economic Objectives (SEO) classifies R&D expenditure based on the area in which the purpose or the outcome of the R&D is perceived.
The Socio-Economic Objectives of Manufacturing, Information and Communications Services, Commercial Services and Tourism and Health, accounted for nearly three quarters (72%) of BERD in 2021-22.