CANBERRA, May 8 (Xinhua) -- Australia's university spending on research and development (R&D) has rebounded to pre-pandemic levels, driven by rising international student revenues and increased staffing, official data showed on Friday.
Higher education expenditure on R&D reached 16.4 billion Australian dollars (about 11.83 billion U.S. dollars) in 2024, up 17 percent from 2022, marking the fastest biennial growth since 2012, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
The recovery followed the easing of COVID-19 restrictions in 2022, supported by "the return of international students increasing university revenue streams and staffing levels," ABS head of business statistics Tom Lay said in a statement.
The rise in R&D spending was driven mainly by labor costs, which increased by 1 billion Australian dollars, or 17 percent, reflecting expanded research activity, increased hiring, wage rises and a shift from casual to permanent roles, the statement said.
R&D spending by universities also rose as a share of gross domestic product to 0.59 percent in 2024, up from 0.54 percent in 2022, the first increase since 2018, Lay said.
Health sciences led R&D spending growth in dollar terms, rising by 574 million Australian dollars, or 37 percent, followed by biomedical and clinical sciences, up 14 percent, and biological sciences, up 26 percent. Indigenous studies recorded the fastest growth, up 54 percent, the ABS said. ■
