MEDIA RELEASE
21 August 2014	Embargo: 11.30 am (Canberra time)	122/2014

For one in five Australian businesses a lack of funds was a barrier to innovating, according to figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

"A lack of funds was one barrier, and another was a lack of skilled people - either in the labour market or in the business - which affected around a quarter of small and medium sized businesses," said Sue-Ellen Luke from the ABS.

"For the purpose of innovation, almost 60 per cent of innovation-active businesses are sourcing ideas or information from within their businesses, and 40 per cent get ideas from clients.

"Just under ten per cent of innovation-active businesses had a collaborative arrangement with universities or other higher education institutions."

Survey results also showed that innovation had led to a reduction in cost for more than one in four innovating businesses in the manufacturing and agriculture, forestry and fishing industries.

Further information is available in Innovation in Australian Business, 2012-13 (cat. no. 8158.0).

More detailed information about business performance, activities and arrangements will be released in September.

Media Notes:

• Innovation-active businesses are those that undertook any innovative activity during the reference period. This includes businesses that introduced or abandoned any of the four types of innovation (new or significantly improved goods or services, operational processes, organisational/managerial processes, and marketing methods) and those that had any of the types of innovation still in development at the end of the period.
• Small businesses are those with 5 to 19 people employed, and medium businesses are those with 20 to 199 people employed.
• When reporting ABS data, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (or ABS) must be attributed as the source.
• Media requests and interviews - contact the ABS Communications Section on 1300 175 070.