The 2019/2025 Nature Index Top Ten: The Challenge for Australian Research in the Age of Crowd Competition and the Study of the University-University System
Australia’s exit from the Nature Index top ten — falling to 12th in the 2024 Research Leaders — will be unsurprising to those following the struggles of its research sector.
Many researchers have criticized the plan, raising doubts that it would work as intended. In a commentary for The Conversation in August, Norton says the caps could lead to a situation in which some universities are forced to reject international students who they would have otherwise enrolled while others fail to fill their quotas. Norton says it’s likely that many prospective students will abandon plans to come to Australia if they can’t get into their chosen institutions and adds that the plan is unlikely to improve housing availability as intended. According to a report by the Student Accommodation Council, international students make up 4% of the total rental market. Alec Webb, chief executive of the Regional Universities Network, which represents seven universities primarily from regional Australia, told the Sydney Morning Herald in September that although the student caps seem to allow growth for some regional universities, they are still well below pre-pandemic levels.
The cap would kick in at the beginning of 2025, pending parliamentary approval by 1 January. Although the bill was originally supported by the opposition Coalition government, a surprise announcement in early November revealed the Coalition party intends to vote against the bill. It has taken months for universities and other educational institutions to plan for the caps.
The Australian Research Foundation: How educating Indigenous people in the environmental sciences is important for Australian research and for Indigenous people to build sustainable livelihoods in Australia
Kelly Kirkland, a psychologist at the University of Queensland, who helped prepare the survey, says there were deep frustrations in the early and mid-career researcher communities, which could have lasting effects. “As job prospects narrow, many are looking abroad or considering leaving academia altogether, which could result in a ‘brain drain’ that would really impact the quality of Australian research in the long run,” she says.
Changes to research funding in the University Accord is where Crossley believes the sector can build strength. The suggestions for bulking up investment in basic research, attracting more students, and implementing fairer stipends could be ways to plot a path towards a sustainable future for Australian research.
Australian needs to do a lot of things to strengthen its global standing in science but it also needs to do more to get more people involved in research. There are positive movements on this front, but it will take real initiative from institutions to change entrenched systems and attitudes towards collaboration and data-sharing. The knowledge and expertise of First Nations people are used to inform studies in the environmental sciences. Measures to ensure that this is done respectfully and responsibly are crucial if Australia wants to elevate the quality and impact of its research.
According to Emma Lee, a trawlwulwuy woman of tebrakunna country, in northeast Tasmania, and a sociologist at Federation University in Victoria, “There are some amazing federal government policies and strategies that are genuinely elevating Indigenous commercial and conservation acumen as central to Australia’s economic future.” Lee highlights the Sustainable Ocean Plan, a government initiative to manage and protect Australia’s marine environment, as an example of strong collaborative work. She notes how the Australian Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water has centred Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the project and says their consultation work highlights the importance of informing food security and conservation policies with Indigenous ecological knowledge. She also points out the importance of working together with Indigenous Australians to achieve Australia’s legislated goal of net zero greenhouse-gas emissions by 2050, as well as the fact that work is being done in the farming and fishing sectors.
Australia had its R&D spending at its peak after the mining boom of the early 2000s. It has declined in a steady fashion bucking the trend of other countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The average intensity of R&D in the 30 countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development went from 2.5% of GDP in 2008 to in 2021. Australia’s R&D intensity went from 2% of GDP in 2009 to its lowest level in 20 years
Another stark change is the increase in open access, or free to read, papers over this time. In 2015, 65% of ARC-funded publications were pay-to-read, according to Navigator, and 28% were free to read (the status of the remaining per cent is unknown). When free-to-read papers jumped to 45% during the Pandemic, these numbers stayed essentially the same. By 2023, 60% of papers were free to read and 29% were pay-to-read, and in 2024, which is an incomplete year, free-to-read publications account for 68% of ARC-funded output so far.
Computational models and algorithms, and clinical studies and public health were the main topic areas in the research funded by theArc between 2015 and 2024, accounting for 101,586 publications. Within computational models and algorithms, 101,866 publications were related to ‘mathematical modelling and numerical methods’, a sub-topic within the field. Within clinical studies and public health, 77,845 publications were related to the ‘clinical interventions and health services research’ subtopic, according to Navigator.
The institutions that made the largest change in adjusted Share for the period are shown. Changes are modest, and they reflect the country’s overall decline in Share in the Nature Index as it tries to compete with China and India, which are among a small handful of top-20 countries to achieve positive growth in adjusted Share.
These charts highlight the strongest institutional players in a sector that needs to regain its footing in an increasingly competitive global research landscape.