On 12 February 2024, the Academy made a submission to the NSW Plastics: Next Steps consultation. 

The submission makes the following comments:

• Different types of plastic have different materials with different properties, and many can continue to be a resource if recycled.
• Reducing plastic pollution will require monitoring protocols, a coordinated plastic pollution database, and a sustained multidisciplinary research agenda focusing on plastics that can degrade into harmless components, as well as developing technologies to recycle currently non-recyclable plastics.
• Science can transform how plastic is made, used, recycled and disposed.

On 4 March 2024, the Academy made a submission to the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard—Cleaner, Cheaper to run Cars for Australia consultation.

The submission recommends the Australian Government proceed with the most ambitious option presented in the consultation paper in alignment with Australia’s obligations and the necessity of mitigating greenhouse gas emissions.

On 17 January 2023, the Australian Academy of Science made a submission to the Joint Committee on Law Enforcement’s inquiry into Australia’s illicit drug problem.

The Academy:

• Encourages the Committee to engage with a recent joint symposium on illegal drug regulation in Australia
• Urges an evidence-based approach to drug policy in Australia
• Notes emerging evidence of possible therapeutic benefits from the use of some illegal drugs in combination with other treatments, and recommends the Committee explore ways to support further research

2024: Supplementary Submission—Inquiry into Australia’s Extinction Crisis

The Academy made an additional supplementary submission to the Inquiry into Australia’s Extinction Crisis on 12 April 2024.

(PDF, 206KB)

2022: Supplementary Submission—Inquiry into Australia’s Extinction Crisis

The Academy made a supplementary submission to the Inquiry into Australia’s Extinction Crisis on 14 September 2022.

(PDF, 140KB)

2018: Senate Inquiry into Australia’s Faunal Extinction Crisis

On 12 September 2018 the Academy made a submission to the Senate Inquiry into Australia’s Faunal Extinction Crisis.

(PDF, 371KB)

On 18 January 2023, the Australian Academy of Science made a submission to the House Standing Committee on Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water's inquiry into plastic pollution in Australia’s oceans and waterways.

The Academy: 

• Urges recognition that not all plastics share the same properties
• Recommends continued engagement with international plastic pollution reduction efforts
• Stresses that reducing the harms from plastic pollution will require better data achieved through establishing a national monitoring protocol and plastic pollution database and a sustained multidisciplinary research agenda

On 1 May 2024, The Academy—with assistance from the National Committee for Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food—made a submission to the inquiry into Food and Beverage Manufacturing in Australia.

The submission called for greater connectivity between agricultural food production industries, workforce and capacity building to secure food science research, and a national strategy that synthesises sector-wide agricultural and food policy mechanisms for long-term sustainable growth across the sectors.

On 21 May 2024, the Academy made a submission to the Climate Change Authority consultation on the 2024 Issues Paper: Targets, Pathways and Progress.

On 17 January 2022, the Australian Academy of Science made a submission to the Critical Technologies Policy Coordination Office (CTPCO) in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet on the Blueprint and Action Plan for Critical Technologies. The submission was an initial engagement with the CTPCO arising from the information session on 3 December 2021.

The Academy welcomed the Blueprint and Action Plan for Critical Technologies and the engagement with the current and future science that it represents. The Academy's submission responds to the consultation questions.

On 31 July 2012, the Early and Mid-career Researcher Forum (EMCR Forum) made this follow-up submission to the McKeon Strategic Review of Health and Medical Research.