Australia is heading toward a significant shortfall of PhD-qualified scientists, with a projected gap of 12,000 by 2031 if current trends continue. The Australian Council of Graduate Research (ACGR) has welcomed two new reports from Universities Australia that highlight the urgent need for coordinated action to safeguard the nation’s research capabilities.
“Higher Degree by Research students are crucial to Australia’s future research capabilities,” says Professor Louise Sharpe, President of the ACGR.
The Universities Australia From fragmented to future-ready: the next generation of researchers report outlines the scale of the challenge. Today, only around 16 per cent of Honours graduates do a PhD, and this number is projected to fall further without intervention. Meanwhile, demand for research-trained workers continues to grow. The result? Fewer breakthroughs, reduced innovation, and a growing reliance on foreign-developed technologies and expertise.
Without urgent reforms, Australia risks pricing out the very people our research and innovation system depends on. The Australian Government’s current Research Training Program base stipend of $33,511 a year is well below what’s needed to meet the rising cost of living, especially for domestic PhD students who are, on average, 37 years old and may have families or financial responsibilities. The ACGR strongly supports the report’s key recommendations, which include:
- Raising minimum PhD stipends and indexing them annually to cost of living.
- Co-designing a national research workforce strategy with universities, industry and government.
- Strengthening pathways between academia and industry, including placements, co-supervision and co-designed projects.
Professor Sharpe adds: “We are delighted to see these reports by Universities Australia that recognise the importance of PhD and other research students and call for an increase in the minimum RTP stipend so that we are able to attract talented Australians into research careers that will ultimately help to solve the greatest challenges of our time.”
The Australian Council of Graduate Research urges all sectors–government, academia and industry–to act now to build a future-ready research workforce.
Media contact:
Tracy Sullivan
Executive Director, Australian Council of Graduate Research
0433 104 875
exec@acgr.edu.au
www.acgr.edu.au
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