University research: policy considerations to drive Australia’s competitiveness

Universities are integral to Australia’s research effort and provide the foundation of skills and knowledge required for the nation’s long-term success. Research and innovation have been consistently identified as essential ingredients for improving productivity and quality of life. If Australia is to continue to compete internationally, we must critically look at our performance and identify ways of strengthening all elements of the system. Australia’s research performance compares well internationally, both in productivity and research excellence. In terms of academic impact, there are clear areas of strength across the breadth of disciplines and Australia’s researchers are highly regarded. There is, however, room for improvement, especially relative to the best-performing nations. Knowledge exchange and the ease of translation of research into the broader economy and community are Australia’s main areas requiring substantial attention. An examination of the countries chosen for comparison—Switzerland, Denmark, the Netherlands, Singapore, South Korea, Malaysia, the United Kingdom and Canada—brings to light several similarities in their approaches that should be considered for Australia’s future approach: Long-term strategies and plans have been implemented, including targets and priority areas, accompanied by significant and ongoing support. The strategies focus on areas of national interest and comparative advantage and take into account the country’s industrial structure and location. The unique role of universities is recognised, as is the need to support a balance of investigator-led and mission-led research. If we are to improve Australia’s performance and achieve the broader aims for research, a range of matters needs to be considered by the university sector and government: Australia needs a long-term plan that outlines national priority areas and secures ongoing and reliable support for the fundamentals of the research system. Reward and recognition mechanisms at the researcher and university levels should be critically examined. We need to support a balance of basic and applied and investigator-led and mission-led research, maintaining the strong focus on research excellence. Australia must increase its efforts in both domestic and international collaboration, especially in the priority areas identified. The career path for researchers in all sectors must be improved. We must ensure our best and brightest can move freely between industry and academia. Holistic, ongoing funding for national research infrastructure is imperative. A transactional view of university–industry collaboration will not deliver the deep and productive relationships required to improve the translation of research. In view of accelerating investment in research and innovation by our Asian neighbours and traditional competitors, Australia could be close to the proverbial ‘tipping point’, whereby we are not able to achieve our goal of a high-wage, high-growth economy. A national strategy that addresses all facets of the system, targets both supply and demand, and includes long-term financial commitments is needed in order to bring about cultural change and improve Australia’s research and innovation performance. Universities Australia has prepared this paper to inform current and future debate about university research and its role in driving Australia’s competitiveness

Civil Law and Justice Legislation Amendment Bill 2014

This bill, passed by both houses on 25 June 2015, concerns bankruptcy, family law, and defining National Library material as part of the legal deposit scheme including the protection of movable cultural heritage. Purpose of the Bill As an omnibus Bill, the Civil Law and Justice Legislation Amendment Bill 2014 (the Bill) has a number of purposes. These include: amending the Bankruptcy Act 19661 to: – allow the Official Trustee in Bankruptcy (Official Trustee) to act as a special trustee for a wider range of government agencies – provide that support (in the form of property or cash) provided by the National Disability Insurance Scheme is not divisible in bankruptcy – expand the offence of concealment to include electronic financial transactions – clarify the demarcation between indictable and summary offences (in line with the Crimes Act 1914 (Cth)) and – clarify the locus or place where certain offences occur. amend the International Arbitration Act 19742 (the Arbitration Act) to clarify the retrospective application of that Act to certain arbitral agreements prior to 6 July 2010 amend the Family Law Act 19753 (the FLA) to: – enable information provided as part of proceedings (in particular, experts reports) to be shared with state/territory child welfare authorities and – provide appeal rights in relation to court security orders. amend the Court Security Act 20134 (the CSA) to allow for applications to vary or revoke court security orders amend the Evidence Act 19955 (the Commonwealth Evidence Act) in relation to self-incrimination certificates, as well as making minor amendments that mirror provisions in the Model Uniform Evidence Bill amend the Protection of Movable Cultural Heritage Act 19866 (the PMCH Act) to allow the continued functioning of the National Cultural Heritage Committee despite falls in membership numbers amend the Copyright Act 19687 to extend the existing legal deposit scheme to electronic format

Banking Fees in Australia

The Reserve Bank has conducted a survey on bank fees each year since 1997. The results of the latest survey show that banks’ aggregate fee income was unchanged in 2010. Fee income from households declined as exception fee income and ATM revenue fell sharply, while fee income from businesses grew.banking, fees, fee income, exception, ATM, survey

Banking Fees in Australia

The Reserve Bank has conducted a survey on bank fees each year since 1997. In 2009 growth in fee income increased slightly from recent years though it was again slower than growth in banks’ balance sheets. Growth in fee income was higher for businesses than for households. Banks reacted to the financial crisis by competing more aggressively for deposit funding which resulted in total fee income from deposit accounts falling, and repricing loan products which contributed to an increase in fee income from lending.bank; fees; Australia; exception; deposits; loans

Review of the National Survey of Research Commercialisation (NSRC)

A review of the NSRC (the Review) is currently being undertaken to ensure future collections are relevant, align with current and emerging priorities for research commercialisation in Australia, are targeted to sector priorities and comparable with international data sources. Consideration of new metrics including options to introduce research/industry engagement measures will be included in the scope of the review. Australia’s publicly funded research community includes universities, publicly funded research agencies, medical research institutes and other research organisations. By international standards Australia performs well in terms of research excellence and output, but poorly in translating publicly funded research into commercial outcomes . A key reason for this is the insufficient transfer of knowledge between researchers and business. Australia ranks 29th and 30th out of 30 OECD countries on the proportion of large businesses and small to medium enterprises (SMEs) collaborating with higher education and public research institutions on innovation. The Australian Government is actively implementing policy incentives that will improve the translation of publicly funded research into commercial and broader public benefits. This includes 2014 budget measures such as the Entrepreneurs Infrastructure Programme and proposals announced as part of the Industry Innovation and Competitiveness Agenda and the Boosting the Commercial Returns from Research Discussion Paper . Consistent with the policy objective to improve research industry collaboration and commercialisation and thereby lift Australia’s productivity, prosperity and international competitiveness, the Government will refocus the NSRC. This includes capturing new and robust data that will provide a comprehensive picture of research commercialisation in Australia including pathways to commercialisation. &nbsp

Voluntary waste industry protocol for the handling of early collected carbon charges in the landfill sector

The landfill industry, through the Australian Landfill Owners Association and the Australian Local Government Association, has developed this voluntary protocol to ensure that the early collected carbon charges are returned for consumer benefit. Individual landfill owners will have the option to accept to be bound by the protocol. Those who accept shall be identified on the Department of the Environment’s website. The protocol will not override contractual arrangements between landfill operators and their customers. The Minister for the Environment has issued a statement supporting the protocol and calling for wide participation by the landfill industry and other groups in the protocol. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has also encouraged landfill industry participants to work with the Government to negotiate an appropriate solution for the handling of early collected carbon charges

2015 UDIA state of the land report

Providing enough new serviced land in our cities and towns is the key to successfully accommodating our growing population, and is a major challenge for policy makers at all levels of government. This is the seventh edition of the annual State of the Land Report prepared by the Urban Development Institute of Australia. Unlike in previous years, this years’ report has been undertaken in partnership with Charter Keck Cramer and Research4, which have provided land supply and market performance data from the National Land Survey Program (further details in the last section of this report). This ground breaking partnership allows data sourced from developers on the ground across the country to bring a new level of reliability, consistency and depth to the Report. The modest upswing in development industry activity that we saw emerging in 2013 continued to gather momentum throughout last year, and as a result, 2014 was a strong year for industry, and for new land supply. Nationally, the NLSP data sample indicates that 50,150 new greenfield lots were released over the 2014 calendar year, up 31% from 38,350 in 2013, and the highest level of new releases since the global financial crisis. Despite low interest rates and strong market demand, at the national level, new lot prices have remained largely in check across most cities, with the notable exceptions of Sydney and Perth. As noted in previous years’ State of the Land Reports, median lot sizes across most cities have continued their downward march, a reflection of changing market preferences, land constraints, and affordability pressures. 2015 is currently shaping up to be another good year for the development industry and for new land supply, with continued strong demand and high levels of market activity, with the exception of South Australia. However despite recent improvements, most cities across Australia still face major constraints when it comes to new land supply. Governments cannot afford to be complacent. They must undertake the necessary actions to improve planning systems, increase infrastructure investment, and reduce red tape, to ensure the availability of sufficient serviced land to deliver affordable housing, and to support jobs and economic activity in the development industry

Australian infrastructure audit

Examines the drivers of future infrastructure demand, particularly population and economic growth. Summary The Australian Infrastructure Audit takes a strategic approach to assessing our nation\u27s infrastructure needs. It examines the drivers of future infrastructure demand, particularly population and economic growth. The Audit provides a top-down assessment of the value-add, or Direct Economic Contribution of infrastructure; considers the future demand for infrastructure over the next 15 years, and delivers an evidence base for further gap analysis, long term planning and future investment priorities. The Australian Infrastructure Audit has found that without action Australia\u27s productivity and quality of life will be tested, with population and economic growth set to cause increasing congestion and bottlenecks. Major reforms are needed to improve the way we plan, finance, construct, maintain and operate infrastructure to ensure it can underpin gains in Australia\u27s productivity in the decades ahead, and contribute to economic growth

OECD employment outlook 2016

This 2016 edition of the OECD Employment Outlook provides an in-depth review of recent labour market trends and short-term prospects in OECD countries. Chapter 1 examines recent labour market developments, with a special focus on vulnerable youth who are neither working nor in education or training. The size of this group has grown in recent years in many OECD countries and governments will need to take vigorous policy measures if they are to meet the target, recently adopted by G20 governments, of reducing the share of youth who are vulnerable by 15% by 2025. Chapter 2 considers skills use at work: are countries doing enough to assure that workers are able to make full use of their skills on the job? Chapter 3 looks at the short-term effects of structural reforms on employment and identifies successful strategies for reducing transition costs. Chapter 4 looks at how to close the labour market gender gap in emerging economies, proposing a comprehensive policy response to the problem. The Outlook’s analysis and recommendations are complemented by a statistical annex