The Federal Government will invest a further $387.4 million over four years in the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO).
The funding is in addition to the $278 million announced in 2025, and also builds on the organisation’s near-$1 billion annual funding allocation.
The Federal Minister for Industry and Innovation and Science Tim Ayres said the investment will ensure CSIRO can meet the longer-term costs of operating critical science and research infrastructure, while maintaining greater workforce stability to deliver research and technological breakthroughs that Australian industries rely on.
CSIRO has made several strides in the past couple of years in technological advancements for the mining industry, such as its explorations on how low-frequency signals can be better utilised for safe and reliable communications in mining operations.
While the tech is already in use, CSIRO said that on-farm trials have shown that low-frequency spectrum signals can support low-power video and artificial intelligence-assisted livestock monitoring using low-cost, off-the-shelf equipment.
Earlier this year, CSIRO signalled it was investigating alternative lithium sources and pathways, amidst the rising global demand for the mineral, with petalite emerging as a potential supplementary feedstock.
While spodumene remains the dominant lithium-bearing material, other minerals, including lepidolite, amblygonite, and the lesser-known petalite, are attracting renewed interest, with CSIRO researchers assessing petalite’s sustainability for lithium extraction using the LithSonic process.
“Lithium extraction from spodumene is well understood, but petalite presents additional challenges and requires extra processing steps,” CSIRO scientist Dr Leena Melag said.
“Petalite must be treated with both heat and pressure to convert it into a form that is more amenable to chemical processing and lithium liberation.”
CSIRO chief executive officer Doug Hilton said the federal budget outcome highlights the “importance of research” and the confidence the community and the government have in CSIRO’s ability to deliver science for the country.
“We remain steadfast in our commitment to addressing CSIRO’s sustainability over the long term, and are grateful for the government’s significant investment to help us progress towards this goal,” he said.
CSIRO said the government funding will support investment in safe and fit-for-purpose sites, as well as research equipment, infrastructure, cyber protection, and technology that will enable CSIRO’s researchers to make discoveries and turn them into real-world impact.
Ayres said publicly funded science is “absolutely critical” to the national interest and to “solving some of Australia’s biggest challenges”.