CSIRO says it is reshaping its research portfolio. That means more job cuts. Photo: CSIRO.
Hundreds more CSIRO jobs are on the line, sparking criticism of the Federal Government that it can’t be serious about improving productivity if it’s going to hamstring the nation’s science and research agency.
The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation lost 440 jobs in the last financial year, but more are slated to go as the agency talks about “reshaping” the organisation.
CSIRO has confirmed more jobs are in the firing line, but it won’t say how many.
The Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) says losses will be in the hundreds and warns “ongoing aggressive cuts” at the CSIRO is putting Australia’s long-term productivity and innovation capacity at risk.
CPSU’s spokesperson for CSIRO staff issues, Susan Tonks, said the government was turning a blind eye to the “biggest job cuts in a decade” under the leadership of Doug Hilton who has been chief executive since 2023.
“The work of the CSIRO is essential to lifting national productivity and driving economic growth,” Ms Tonks said.
“Unfortunately, there’s a clear disconnect between the government’s talk about boosting productivity and their failure to support the very institution that helps deliver it.
“Publicly funded research and development is where some of the biggest gains in productivity have come from.”
She said deep job cuts at the CSIRO were directly undermining Australia’s ability to innovate, compete and grow.
“And this will continue to be the case as long as this government sits on its hands while hundreds of staff at the CSIRO are shown the door with little to no explanation.
“If this government is serious about productivity, it must step in, stop the cuts, and back our country’s peak science institution.”
The CPSU said in addition to the 440 staff already cut, about 200 contract jobs were left to expire.
Now hundreds more jobs are anticipated to go later this year.
Douglas Hilton has been the CSIRO’s chief executive officer since July 2023. Photo: CSIRO.
A CSIRO spokesperson said the organisation needed to evolve and sharpen its focus.
An ongoing staffing restructure is part of that process.
“CSIRO is reshaping its research portfolio to ensure we are focused on delivering the science Australia needs now and into the future,” the spokesperson said.
“To achieve this, we must retain the distinct advantages we have as Australia’s national science agency.
“But we will also need to evolve, becoming sharper in our focus, doing fewer things, better and at scale.”
The spokesperson said as CSIRO continued to evolve its portfolio, it would undertake workforce planning to ensure it had the right scale and scientific capability in place to deliver against national priorities.
“This will be done in line with well-established processes, policies and our enterprise agreement, including our commitment to consult with staff prior to decisions being made.
“The 2025-26 Budget papers include a figure called the average staffing level (ASL), calculated based on an estimate of staffing levels over the financial year.
“The decrease in ASL in part reflects the reduction of our enterprise services (non-research) staff as a restructure in that area of the organisation – commenced last financial year – nears completion.”
The CPSU said the cuts came at a time when Australia’s investment in research and development was already low by international standards.
In a submission to the government’s upcoming productivity roundtable, the union warned Australia’s long-term productivity and innovation capacity was being actively undermined by aggressive job cuts and underinvestment in the public institution that powered research, science and economic growth.
It said CSIRO had been responsible for some of the most important scientific innovations in Australia’s history, including the invention of Wi-Fi, plastic bank notes and Aerogard.
The CPSU is calling on the Federal Government to step in, stop the cuts and commit to the long-term stability of Australia’s national science agency.
