Fix these eight critical gaps to meet intergenerational challenges
The future outlined in the 'Intergenerational report 2026' (IGR) will be built from science capability that we are on track to lose.
- 3 mins read
Australia has the scientific talent to navigate the changes set out in the 2026 IGR, but only if we restore the science capability those changes depend on.
The IGR describes a future that will be shaped by AI, energy technologies, security and an ageing population, however the report fails to address the research capability and R&D investment needed to address these challenges.
Australia’s response to these economic shifts depends on science capability that is already falling short, according to the Academy's landmark report, Australian Science, Australia's Future: Science 2035.
Released in September 2025, it was the first national effort to systematically assess Australia's science capability against its future needs.
Built on the forces identified in the 2023 IGR, it projected capability gaps by 2035 in eight areas: agricultural science, AI, biotechnology, climate science, data science, epidemiology, geoscience and materials science.
It found shortfalls in workforce, infrastructure and coordination.
Academy Secretary for Science Policy Professor Margaret Sheil AO FAA FSTE said the 2026 IGR confirms the Academy’s analysis and makes reform to the science system more urgent.
“The IGR tells us where the economy is heading. Our analysis tells us whether we'll have the capability to get there,” Professor Sheil said.
“Right now, we won't. We aren’t training or equipping enough scientists. But that is something we can change, and the Ambitious Australia report is our roadmap of what needs to be done.”
Since 1945, 75% of all global economic growth has been derived from technological advance, and since 1990, 90% of that technical advance comes from fundamental scientific understanding.
“Our generation has experienced the remarkable benefits of scientific discovery. Now, this report is about what we leave the next generation.
“If we want them to inherit a nation that can shape its own future rather than be shaped by others, we need to restore the science capability that makes that possible.”
| Intergenerational report 2026 forces shaping Australian economy | Australian Science, Australia’s Future example science capability gaps |
| Artificial intelligence | A difficult-to-measure workforce due to the lack of occupation classification codes linked to AI in current data. While university graduations in fields related to AI are increasing, the numbers of vocational education and training (VET) completions have fallen. Numbers of commencing university students are mixed, particularly since coding with generative AI became more commonplace. The forecasted increase to the workforce will not meet projected demand. |
| Geopolitical fragmentation | Sovereign capability is underpinned by all eight areas of science capability growing in demand. Geoscience and materials science are critical to secure supply chains and critical minerals, however both show declines in undergraduate completions. Biotechnology and epidemiology are central to health and biosecurity. |
| Energy transition | Geoscience, materials science and climate science are foundations of decarbonisation and energy security. All three areas show significant and compounding gaps in capability, with far fewer young people forecast to be entering the workforce in 2035 compared to 2025. |
| Ageing population and falling fertility rates | Epidemiology, biotechnology, materials science and data science will contribute to understanding population shifts and caring for an ageing population. Both undergraduate completions and enrolments in materials science have decreased over the coming decade, and epidemiology workforce remains difficult to track due to occupation codes but is in high demand with a rapid ageing cohort of existing epidemiologists. |
| Transition to service economy | This requires AI and data science capability, under significant strain from rapid increase in demand. There is also a decrease in uptake of higher-level mathematics in Year 12. |
