As announced on 18 November 2025, CSIRO is evolving its research direction to focus its efforts on where it can deliver the greatest national impact, following a comprehensive 18-month review of its research portfolio.
CSIRO has identified key focus areas to bring a renewed emphasis on inventing and deploying technological solutions to tackle national problems.
These include:
- Supporting a clean, affordable energy transition, including transforming our critical minerals to materials
- Addressing the pressing problem of climate change, with a renewed focus on adaptation and resilience
- Applying advanced technologies (including AI, quantum, sensing, robotics and manufacturing) to drive the next wave of innovation in core Australian industries
- Increasing the productivity and resilience of Australian farms by focusing on the deployment of technological solutions
- Mitigating and eradicating biosecurity threats to Australian industries, landscapes and communities
- Applying disruptive science and engineering to unlock the unknown and solve unanswered questions.
To achieve this sharpened focus, CSIRO will deprioritise research where it lacks the required scale to achieve significant impact or areas where others in the ecosystem are better placed to deliver.
As part of this change, the organisation will need to reduce between 300-350 full-time equivalent (FTE) roles.
Reductions are being considered across the following Research Units:
- Environment: approximately 130-150 FTE
- Health and Biosecurity: approximately 100-110 FTE
- Agriculture and Food: approximately 45-55 FTE
- Mineral Resources: approximately 25-35 FTE.
Importantly, CSIRO's commitment to delivering impactful research to address climate change, environmental issues and the energy transition extends well beyond the activity in the Environment Research Unit. There are multiple Programs of Research within CSIRO's research portfolio, delivered across disciplines and Research Units, focussed on research to address these critical national challenges. Under the proposed changes, the Environment and Agriculture & Food Research Units will remain CSIRO's two largest units.
CSIRO is actively engaging with staff and stakeholders on these proposed changes. The specific areas that will be affected will be confirmed once the consultation process concludes next year.
These changes will set up CSIRO for the decades ahead with a renewed emphasis on inventing and deploying technological solutions to tackle national problems.
