Research and Experimental Development, Higher Education Organisations, Australia

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Expenditure and human resources devoted to research and development (R&D) conducted by higher education organisations in Australia

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Reference period
2024
Release date and time
08/05/2026 11:30am AEST

Key statistics

  • Expenditure on R&D performed by Australian higher education organisations during the 2024 calendar year was $16,404 million.
  • Compared to 2022, Higher Education Expenditure on R&D (HERD) increased by 17% in current price terms and by 7% in chain volume terms.
  • HERD as a proportion of GDP increased from 0.54% in 2022 to 0.59% in 2024.
  • 44% of HERD was in the health and medical research fields of Biomedical and clinical sciences, Health sciences and Biological sciences.
Higher education resources devoted to R&D
  20162018202020222024
Expenditure on R&D - Current prices$m10,87812,15812,66813,99016,404
Expenditure on R&D - Chain volume measures (a)$m13,91014,82714,66215,34016,404
Human resources devoted to R&DPYE79,00881,71781,09081,70585,951

PYE - person years of effort

  1. The reference year for chain volume measures is 2024. Refer to the Chain volume measures section of the Methodology page for details.

Subsequent expenditure figures and supporting commentary relate to current price terms.

Higher education expenditure on R&D (HERD)

Type of expenditure

  • In 2024, HERD comprised of $15,523 million (95%) in Current expenditure and $881 million (5%) in Capital expenditure. In comparison, Current expenditure contributed $13,190 million (94%) and Capital expenditure $800 million (6%) to HERD in 2022.
  • Labour costs remained the largest component of Current expenditure at $7,119 million, and recorded the largest dollar increase, up $1,044 million (17%) in 2024. Other current expenditure increased by $1,008 million (17%) to $6,995 million.
  • Capital expenditure - Land, buildings and other structures increased, up $118 million (28%) in 2024, following a decrease of $47 million (10%) in 2022. Other capital expenditure recorded a decrease of $37 million (10%), offsetting the increase in Land, buildings and other structures to show overall growth in Capital expenditure, up $82 million (10%). 

Source of funds

  • All but two source of funds categories recorded increases from 2022, with General university funds recording the largest increase, up $1,362 million (19%).
  • The largest decrease was recorded in State and local government funding, down $10 million (2%).
  1. Other Australian source of funds data not included.
  2. Commonwealth and non-Commonwealth schemes.
  3. Other Commonwealth Government funding.

Location

Location of expenditure relates to the main campus or head office location of the reporting institution, apart from the Australian Defence Force Academy. Please refer to the Methodology page for further information. 

  • All states and territories recorded increases in R&D expenditure from 2022, with Victoria recording the largest dollar increase, up $915 million (22%), followed by New South Wales, up $823 million (19%).

HERD and Gross State Product (GSP)

  • From 2022 to 2024, HERD as a proportion of GSP increased across all locations, except for South Australia (SA) and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). 
HERD, by location of expenditure - proportion of GSP(%)(a)
 NSW Vic. Qld SA WA Tas. NT ACT 
20220.560.710.450.670.250.540.301.67
20240.610.790.490.660.270.570.371.55

a. Refer to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Gross State Product (GSP) section of the Methodology page for details.

Type of Activity

Type of Activity classification enables R&D activity to be categorised according to the type of research effort. Refer to the Glossary section of the Methodology page for more detail on the four Type of Activity classifications: 

  • Pure basic research
  • Strategic basic research
  • Applied research
  • Experimental development
  • All Types of Activity recorded increases in 2024. R&D expenditure classified as Applied research increased by $1,652 million (21%), followed by Experimental development, up $381 million (29%), Strategic basic research, up $253 million (11%) and Pure basic research, up $127 million (5%). 

Fields of Research

Fields of Research classifies R&D expenditure based on the area of knowledge and methodology used in the R&D.

  • Health sciences recorded the largest increase in dollar terms in 2024, up $574 million (37%) from 2022, followed by Biomedical and clinical sciences, up $438 million (14%). 

Socio-Economic Objectives

Socio-Economic Objectives classifies R&D expenditure according to the areas that may benefit from the R&D.

  • In 2024, Health recorded the largest increase in dollar terms, up $961 million (19%) from 2022, followed by Indigenous, up $181 million (68%). 

Higher education human resources devoted to R&D

  • Australian higher education institutions devoted a total of 85,951 person years of effort (PYE) to R&D, an increase of 4,246 PYE (5%) from 2022.
  • Academic staff recorded the largest movement from 2022, up 2,321 PYE (9%). 

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Methodology

Research and Experimental Development, Higher Education Organisations, Australia methodology, 2024

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