ARM Hub Welcomes SERD Report Release

BRISBANE, 18 March 2026 - ARM Hub welcomes yesterday's release of Ambitious Australia, the final report of the Strategic Examination of Research and Development (SERD), chaired by Robyn Denholm and commissioned by the Australian Government.

The report represents the most comprehensive review of Australia's innovation system in a generation. More importantly, it presents one of the most significant opportunities in generations to equip Australia with the foundations of a strong industrial economy, one capable of securing the quality of life future generations deserve and inspiring them to be part of building it.

The report's central finding may come as no surprise to manufacturers: Australia's R&D system is too fragmented, risk-averse, and disconnected from commercial outcomes to serve industry well.

"Australia has strong research capability. What we've lacked is alignment of our talent to Australian industry, as well as scale-up capital and the digital infrastructure to turn that talent into commercial outcomes," said ARM Hub CEO Professor Cori Stewart.

"This report names these gaps clearly and points toward solutions that could make a real difference for manufacturers, particularly on data infrastructure, tax incentives, and workforce. The question now is implementation."

Key takeaways for manufacturers:

1. A production tax credit for advanced manufacturing is on the table. The report recommends a tax credit or subsidy to retain advanced manufacturing resulting from local R&D activities in Australia. For manufacturers investing in robotics integration or AI-enabled production, this is a direct financial incentive to do that work here.

2. National Strategic Initiatives will fund robotics and AI translation. The proposed NSI model explicitly includes AI, quantum, robotics and advanced manufacturing as enabling technologies. Each initiative will fund proof-of-concept schemes and support accelerators focused on moving research into market applications.

3. Shared industrial datasets could finally unlock AI at scale. The report calls for improved data infrastructure and industry-research data sharing. AI pilots scale best with quality data, making a push for shared, accessible industrial datasets foundational to every AI adoption program ARM Hub runs.

4. RDTI reform could open new pathways, or close existing ones. The panel recommends streamlining the R&D Tax Incentive with dedicated streams for startups and scaleups. However, the government's proposed response to raise the minimum annual R&D project expenditure threshold to $150,000 risks excluding SMEs currently using the scheme.

5. Workforce development is now a national priority. The report calls for stronger industry pathways for researchers and a dedicated RD&I workforce strategy. For manufacturers deploying collaborative robots or AI systems, the pipeline of engineers and data professionals to support those deployments has never been more critical.

ARM Hub will continue to engage with the policy process as government responds to the report's 20 recommendations. Manufacturers seeking support with AI or robotics adoption now can access tailored guidance through ARM Hub's existing programs.

For further analysis, ARM Hub Chair Emeritus Professor Roy Green examines what the SERD report means for Australia's research and innovation system, and where the gaps remain in his piece for InnovationAus: Research and innovation has reached a tipping point.

Visit our website and start your journey here. The full SERD report is available at: https://www.industry.gov.au/news/strategic-examination-rd-final-report-out-now