Climate Tech

3 things Australian universities need from the Albanese government to commercialise research and help startups succeed

- May 9, 2025 5 MIN READ

The recent call for submissions into the Strategic Examination of Australia’s R&D system has revealed ideas and frustrations that have long been articulated on numerous discussion panels. However, through this recent consultation, it has felt like more practical solutions have surfaced across the ecosystem, and many of the ideas align.  So if we could request… Read more »

Ed Husic
Opinion

Science and industry minister Ed Husic’s been dumped from cabinet as Labor’s factions assert their power

- May 9, 2025 3 MIN READ

Industry and science minister Ed Husic has been dropped from the new federal government’s cabinet as Labor’s factions jostle for position amid a swathe of new MPs heading to Canberra. Husic was widely admired in the startup and tech sector, implementing a series of reviews into the sector during his three years in the role,… Read more »

Jim Chalmers
Future of work

Labor will ‘do more to embrace technology’ in its second term

- May 7, 2025 3 MIN READ

Treasurer Jim Chalmers says embracing technology will be a core tenet of Anthony Albanese’s re-elected Labor majority government following Saturday’s landslide victory against a Liberal-National coalition led by Peter Dutton. The prime minister’s victory guaranteed Labor a second consecutive three-year term and saw Dutton lose both his Brisbane seat of Dickson and his leadership of… Read more »

Parent, baby
Business

New research reveals important financial reasons for work from home policies

- May 2, 2025 4 MIN READ

In the pre-industrial era, people often lived and worked in the same building. This removed the need to travel to work. The separation of home and work occurred much later, during the Industrial Revolution. Factories and offices were grouped in designated areas and residential zoning was invented. Even then, people typically spent about 60 to… Read more »

Business

ACS says the incoming government needs to put digital skills reform and research commercialisation at the top of its priority list

- April 16, 2025 3 MIN READ

Industry body the Australian Computer Society (ACS), which represents around 50,000 members in tech, said whoever forms government after the May 3 election needs to take urgent, coordinated action on digital skills reform and research commercialisation to secure the nation’s economic future.  The recent ACS 2025 Election Forum in Sydney brought together leaders from industry,… Read more »

Funding

The Coalition and Peter Dutton flag ending Labor’s $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund

- April 16, 2025 3 MIN READ

Australia’s peak science and tech body has warned the Coalition’s plans to shut down Labor’s $15 billion manufacturing fund would put a handbrake on the nation’s innovation efforts. Citing Coalition sources, the AFR reported last week that if the Coalition wins the upcoming May election it plans to redirect all remaining capital allocated to the National… Read more »

Business

The tech sector wants the next federal government to think about how it can end Australia’s R&D ‘risk aversion’

- April 11, 2025 3 MIN READ

Australia needs to reduce its “risk aversion” in order to improve its lagging research and development (R&D) sector and fragmented innovation ecosystem, according to industry experts. The nation has struggled to capitalise on innovations developed by universities and startups, and has seen their intellectual property taken overseas in search of greater funding, a panel of… Read more »

Ed Husic
Funding

We’ve already reached that part of the election campaign where the government is re-announcing startup funding

- April 8, 2025 2 MIN READ

Back on February 13, Startup Daily announced news that battery storage tech startup Allegro Energy had bagged a $1.85 million federal government grant. The Newcastle-based startup was one of five early stage tech companies funded under the $400 million Industry Growth Program, and the money is for the mass production of their water-based Redox Flow Batteries… Read more »

AI/Machine Learning

A VC’s list of 10 startup ideas Australian founders should tackle

- April 7, 2025 2 MIN READ

As Australia builds up to the federal election, debates around sovereignty, national security, and economic resilience are taking centre stage. Concurrently, the startup ecosystem is awash with vibe-coded consumer apps.  But coding with Lovable is just the start of a deeper shift: the AI opportunity in this decade won’t just be in frontend tools. It… Read more »

Funding

Veteran Canberra quantum cybersecurity firm cracks $20 million

- March 31, 2025 < 1 MIN READ

The Labor government’s flagship National Reconstruction Fund is deploying 0.1% of its $15 billion war chest to fund a $20 million raise for 20-year-old Canberra cybersecurity firm QuintessenceLabs. The $15 million from the independent NRF comes as the government moves into caretaker mode ahead of a federal election on May 3. The National Reconstruction Fund… Read more »