The New South Wales government is committing $150 million to a new science and innovation fund.
The goal is to help turn university research into real-world businesses. Treasurer Daniel Mookhey made the announcement at the Sydney Investment Summit. The fund will start investing on July 1, 2027, and will initially partner with public universities in NSW. It will then expand to support a broader range of innovators. However, this commitment is dependent on the government being re-elected.
Why one academic isn't celebrating yet
Professor Dane McCamey, Pro Vice-Chancellor Research at UNSW, says the size of the fund isn't the part that will determine whether it works.
"Deep tech-driven innovation requires consistent effort for twenty or thirty years. The quantum companies we're proud of in NSW didn't just appear. They came out of decades of steady investment in basic research, infrastructure, and ongoing support for those researchers committed to pushing an idea forward. Today's junior researchers are the ones who'll be running these complex companies in the next few decades, and they will need consistent backing."
McCamey says the headline figure is a strong and welcome signal, but the real test will be whether the fund proves consistent and predictable, and survives across election cycles, with follow-on support beyond the first round of grants.
"The real test for this fund won't be the headline figure, although that is a very strong and welcome signal of commitment. It'll be whether it's consistent and predictable, and backed across election cycles, with follow-on support beyond the first cheque, not just early grants, so today's NSW research becomes tomorrow's companies."
The gap this is meant to close
The fund responds to the independent Pounder Review of the state's innovation ecosystem, which found NSW already leads the country on several measures, generating more tech unicorns than any other state and capturing 57% of all venture capital investment in Australia between 2000 and 2024, more than double what Victoria attracted over the same period.
The review found NSW's weak point is commercialisation, turning research strengths in deep tech, biomedical science and environmental science into real businesses, which is the gap this fund and its accompanying research framework are meant to address.