Friday 31 October 2008
Business Expenditure on R&D
Business expenditure on R&D (BERD) increased for the eighth consecutive year in 2006/07, to a total of $12,036 million, according to figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
R&D expenditure in 2006/07 was up 16% in current prices and 11% in real terms on 2005/6.
As a % of GDP, BERD increased to 1.15% (from 1.07%) - a record high and only the 2nd year that it has passed 1.0% although it still remains below the OECD average of 1.56%.
There is considerable variation between states when looking at BERD by location as a share of GDP:
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Western Australia was the highest at 1.37% up from 1.06% in 2004/5, followed by
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Victoria 1.34% (1.07%)
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New South Wales 1.14% (1.07%)
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South Australia 1.20% (0.88%)
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Queensland 0.84% (0.67%)
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Northern Territory 0.75% (0.36%)
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Tasmania 0.48% (0.45%)
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ACT 0.44% (0.41).
Accounting for 83% of BERD in 2006-07 were the research fields of engineering and technology ($6,865 million or 57%) and information, computing and communication sciences ($3,166 million or 26%). The largest growth in expenditure within these research fields, between 2005-06 and 2006-07, was recorded for resource engineering (up $555 million or 34%) and information systems (up $527 million or 59%).
In 2006-07, businesses with 200 or more employees made the largest contribution to BERD ($8,381 million or 70%), followed by firms with 20-199 employees ($2,284 million or 19%); 5-19 employees ($990 million or 8%) and 0-4 employees ($380 million or 3%). Businesses with 200 or more employees contributed 89% ($1,509 million) of the total growth in BERD between 2005-06 and 2006-07.
Welcoming the improvement in BERD, the CEO of the AIC commented “It is indeed good news to see that business R&D has reached record levels. The AIC’s TechFast program and collaborative activity have played a role in helping to grow business interest in R&D, particularly among smaller firms”.
Further information about BERD is available at the ABS site by clicking here.
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