News and views

Explore updates on Academy initiatives, scientific developments, and expert perspectives on issues shaping research and policy. Our commentary reflects the Academy’s role in fostering informed discussion and sharing thought leadership that connects science with society.
Image Description
Shine dome aerial directly overhead
Filters
Clear filters
Australia's Parliament House in Canberra with the flag flying against a blue sky with fluffy white clouds

‘Ambitious Australia’ report: There is not a moment to waste

The Academy strongly supports recommendations from the Strategic Examination of Research and Development to stop the long-term decline in research funding and to craft an R&D system that supports scale and focus. Without this, Australia will fall behind.
Read more
A woman wearing a white lab coat, face mask and blue latex gloves working with test tubes, a petri dish and a microscope

Ten-year strategy a promising step for health and medical research

The Academy has welcomed the National Health and Medical Research Strategy as a vital step towards building a thriving Australian research system.

A collage of the Academy's cohort of new members for 2026

Academy honours Australia's eminent scientists

The Academy has elected 28 new members for 2026, recognising outstanding contributions from ancient dinosaur discoveries to next-generation electronics.

Parliament House in Canberra

A starting point, not a solution: The 2026–27 Budget for Australian science

The Academy’s analysis of the 2026–27 Budget highlights first steps to reform Australia’s ailing R&D system, but measures won’t shift the dial on years of underinvestment.

Australia Parliament House

Budget signals support for ambitious reform for Australian science

The Academy welcomes 2026–27 Budget measures that back key recommendations of the Strategic Examination of Research and Development.

Profile photo of two men side by side

Academy backs early-career researchers protecting Australia's wildlife

Two early-career scientists researching a deadly frog fungus and an invasive backyard skink have won the Max Day Environmental Science Fellowship Award.

Australia from space

International grants supercharging Australian research collaborations

Australian researchers tackling big challenges have received a total of $6.2 million in grants to deepen partnerships with international collaborators across priority technology areas.

Melissa Abberton

Academy Council appoints inaugural Executive Director

The Council of the Australian Academy of Science is pleased to announce the appointment of Ms Melissa Abberton as the inaugural Executive Director.

Five different covers of the Historical Records of Australian Science laid out, with the two earlier editions brown in colour, the next two blue, and the most recent one white.

Sixty years of illuminating the history of Australian science

Tracing the origins and stories of the Academy's journal, Historical Records of Australian Science, in its 60th year of publication.

Three large telescope buildings under a starry night sky.

As the world looks up, Australia looks away

The Australian Government’s decision to withdraw from its association with the European Southern Observatory (ESO) is short-sighted and risks long-term damage to the country's astronomy capability.