A whole-of-nation approach

Supporting the ambition of the strategy is a whole-of-nation effort requiring collaboration between Australian Government departments and state and territory governments. Since the launch of the strategy the Australian Government and states and territories have been working to leverage investment, avoid duplication and share information to deliver better outcomes for all. 

The Australian Government has made quantum a priority

Responsibility for the implementation of the themes and actions in the strategy sits across several Australian Government departments. The Australian Government has a vital role to play as an anchor customer for quantum businesses and the innovations quantum technology could bring. This is because it has the potential to affect both government service delivery and impact aspects of public life that are regulated by a range of portfolios. In recognition of this, the Australian Government has taken an increasingly coordinated approach to quantum technology since the launch of the strategy.

The Australian Government has provided sustained support and funding for quantum technologies for over 20 years, announcing an estimated $1.4 billion in funding to quantum researchers and firms through grants and procurements. Across Australian Government portfolios, quantum technology is one of the priorities in a range of program and policy initiatives worth around $7 billion. These investments and commitments shine a light on Australia as a global leader in quantum technologies and the growth of Australia’s quantum industry.

Quantum technologies are a priority in several major Australian Government initiatives, including:

National Reconstruction Fund (NRF) Enabling Capabilities Priority Area, which includes quantum among other technologies. NRF priority areas also inform the priorities of a range of other programs, such as the CRC-P, the Industry Growth Program and the Industrial Transformation Research Centres Program.

Advanced Strategic Capability Accelerator (ASCA). The 2024 ongoing Emerging Disruptive Technology program’s approach to market aims to accelerate early-stage quantum technologies across quantum sensors, computing and enhanced communications to enhance future defence capabilities.

Australia’s Economic Accelerator (AEA). AEA focus areas are designed to provide the Australian research community with clear targets against which to apply their expertise, capacity and talent. Quantum is one of 6 focus areas for the AEA for 2024–25.

The Department of Industry, Science and Resources (DISR) is responsible for coordinating delivery of the strategy and several related activities. These activities include managing flagship initiatives such as the government’s investment in PsiQuantum, the Critical Technologies Challenge Program and the establishment of Quantum Australia (see Progress for more details on these initiatives).

The Australian Government is continuing to bolster the growth of quantum technologies and build a solid foundation of quantum research and infrastructure. For example, through initiatives such as the Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage and Discovery programs and the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS), delivered by the Department of Education. 

As well as the NRF and the AEA, there are other initiatives across government that support research translation and commercialisation, including for quantum technologies. These include the Industry Growth Program, the CRC-P program, the ARC’s Industrial Transformation Research Centres Program, and the ARC Industry Fellowships programs. The Australian Space Agency’s Moon to Mars initiative takes a more targeted approach, focusing its efforts on harnessing emerging technologies like quantum to accelerate Australia’s space capabilities.

The impact of quantum technologies on national security is an ongoing consideration for the Australian government. The Department of Defence’s ASCA initiative connects and streamlines Defence innovation, science and technology systems, driving capability development and acquisition pathways. One of the first opportunity statements released by ASCA included a focus on quantum technologies. The Department of Home Affairs is leading the Australian Cyber Security Strategy, which includes a roadmap to help realise the Australian Government’s vision to become a world leader in cyber security by 2030. Its plan of action deals explicitly with the future challenge posed by quantum computing on contemporary cryptography, and the importance of adopting post-quantum cryptographic standards.

Success story: QuantX Labs

QuantX Labs is a world-leader in high-precision timing and quantum sensor technologies. In June 2023, the company received $3.7 million from the Australian Government’s Moon to Mars Demonstrator Grant to develop and demonstrate quantum tech-enabled precision timing reference instruments. These instruments can improve the accuracy of positioning systems such as GPS. They can also improve productivity in critical sectors like agriculture, resources and defence. 

In September 2023, QuantX received the SME of the Year award at the Australian Defence Industry Awards. The company has been developing quantum sensors and clocks to support Australian Defence Forces.

Efforts are underway across Australian Government portfolios to grow Australia’s quantum workforce. Some notable programs include DISR’s Next Generation Quantum Graduates Program, which funds up to 20 PhD scholarships, and the National Quantum Collaboration Initiative to inform future quantum workforce planning. The Global Talent Program managed by the Department of Home Affairs aims to attract skilled migrants with an internationally recognised and exceptional record of outstanding achievement in an eligible field such as quantum technologies. Australian quantum businesses can apply to sponsor a permanent visa to fill skills in short supply by targeting overseas talent. 

Australia’s science agencies are also building capability and expertise in quantum technologies. The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is building capability and expertise in several research fields to play a key role in the emerging global quantum industry. These fields include quantum software and algorithms, devices, simulation and quantum biology. 

See Appendix A for more detail on the federal programs supporting the ambition of the strategy. 

States and territories are growing local quantum ecosystems

Since the launch of the strategy in May 2023, state and territory governments have strategically invested and developed initiatives to grow the quantum sector in alignment with the strategy’s themes and actions. These investments and initiatives build research capabilities, accelerate and support commercialisation of quantum technologies, develop Australia’s quantum workforce and support the growth of Australian quantum businesses. 

Major state and territory-led investments and initiatives include:

  • the launch of Queensland’s Quantum and Advanced Technology Strategy and the investment in PsiQuantum to anchor its first fault tolerant quantum computer in Australia
  • support from the Victorian Government to create a quantum diamond foundry
  • support from the Australian Capital Territory Government to create a quantum hub
  • progress towards the opening of Stage 2 of the Advanced Manufacturing Research Facility in New South Wales.

For a detailed overview of the work happening in states and territories, see Appendix B. 

Success story: Quantum Brilliance

Quantum Brilliance specialises in diamond quantum technologies, including compact quantum computing accelerators that operate entirely at room temperature. 

In September 2024, Quantum Brilliance announced a major strategic collaboration with Oak Ridge National Laboratory to jointly pioneer hybrid and massively-parallelised quantum computing, including the integration of a cluster of Quantum Brilliance’s quantum computers into the Advanced Ecosystem Testbed at the Laboratory’s High Performance Computing facility. The Australian Capital Territory Government has supported this partnership through its Priority Investment Program which enabled Quantum Brilliance to establish a pilot production line for their quantum computers in Canberra. This production line will support the additional export of quantum devices to Europe in 2025.

In February 2023, Quantum Brilliance raised $26 million from investors. These include Breakthrough Victoria, Main Sequence, Investible, Ultratech Capital, MA Financial, Jelix Ventures, Rampersand and CM Equity. This funding helped the company expand overseas and work with new partners – such as Nvidia, to develop a hybrid quantum-classical computing software – and to further the development of quantum diamond materials applicable across diamond quantum technologies.