Skills and innovation

Australia is an innovative country. Tap into our innovation ecosystem to bring ideas to market.

Australia's smart tech sectors

Australia is a magnet for tech developers, with an environment where scholars and entrepreneurs work together. Our innovators have:

  • used blockchain to revolutionise parts of the financial services industry
  • championed immersive simulation in education
  • transformed medical procedures using robotics
  • modernised agriculture using Internet of Things (IoT) designs.

Australia has a reputation for being a pioneer in silicon-based quantum computing research. Our ability to solve problems using new technologies, draws investors and entrepreneurs from around the world.

The infographic shows the following information: A$45 billion fintech industry¹ Ranked 6th in the world2 Over 800 fintech companies in 2023¹ 46% of fintechs raised over A$10 million each in 20233 +$200 billion per year boost from AI utilisation8 150,000 additional jobs from AI⁸ Over 650 AI companies in 2024⁹ #5 for healthcare innovation4 Around 700 biotech and medtech companies5 US$6.6 billion medical device market in 20236 US$192 billion spent on health in 2023. This places Australia as the 5th-highest in the world for health expenditure per capita.7 A$6 billion quantum industry by 2045¹⁰ 28 quantum-focussed companies in Australia ¹¹ #13 in number of quantum startup companies¹² A$1 billion investment in one quantum computer ¹³

1. Fintech Australia, 2024, What is fintech? 2. Findexable, 2021, Global Fintech Rankings Report, accessed April 2024. 3. EY, 2024, FinTech Australia Census 2023, accessed April 2024. 4. Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity, 2024, Australia: #5 in the 2022 World Index of Healthcare Innovation. 5. AusBiotech, 2024, Biotech Sector Fast Facts 6. Fitch Solutions, 2024, Australia Medical Devices Report Q2 2024. 7. Fitch Solutions, 2024, Worldwide Medical Devices Market Factbook. 8. Mangan, J., 2024, Australia’s AI Imperative: The economic impact of artificial intelligence and what’s needed to further its growth. 9. Crunchbase, 2024, Build Query: Hubs. 10. CSIRO, 2022, Growing Australia's Quantum Technology Industry 11. Australia’s Chief Scientist, 2023, Australia's expertise and offering in quantum. 12. Office of the NSW Chief Scientist & Engineer, 2024, Quantum Algorithms and Applications. 13. Department of Industry, Science and Resources, 2024, Leading quantum company chooses Australia as site for its groundbreaking utility scale quantum computer; Austrade

#1 for new tech skills

Australia scores a top ranking for skills in using, adapting and adopting emerging technologies. This makes us a standout for international investors. Oxford Insights ranks Australia as one of the top 8 governments in the world in terms of capacity to benefit from AI. They also rank us third for data infrastructure and support. Great Australian inventions include the:

  • electronic pacemaker
  • polymer bank notes
  • inflatable aircraft escape slide
  • human papilloma virus vaccine
  • Google Maps
  • Wi-Fi
  • cochlear implant.
The bar chart shows an index measuring an economy (country)’s skills for using, adopting and adapting frontier technologies in 2021. The content behind the graph is: Australia (ranked #1) index value 100; Sweden (ranked #2) index value 95; Finland (ranked #5) index value 90; Norway (ranked #6) index value 89; Singapore (ranked #8) index value 88; Netherlands (ranked #9) index value 86; New Zealand (ranked #10) index value 86; UK (ranked #12) index value 83; Germany (ranked #17) index value 78; US (ranked #18) index value 77; Canada (ranked #21) index value 74; Hong Kong SAR (ranked #22) index value 73; France (ranked #24) index value 73; Korea (ranked #26) index value 72; Saudi Arabia (ranked #44) index value 60; Japan (ranked #51) index value 56; China (ranked #92) index value 43; Indonesia (ranked #107) index value 36; India (ranked #109) index value 36; and Vietnam (ranked #116) index value 33.

1. The number in brackets indicates the economy’s ranking across 158 economies. 2021 is the latest year available as of April 2024.

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, 2024, Frontier technology readiness index, accessed during April 2024; Oxford Insights, 2024, AI readiness index 2023; Austrade. 

More about our skills and innovation

Chapter 3 in the Benchmark Report provides further data and insights into Australia's skills and innovation.

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