InnovationAus Podcast

In this episode of Delivery: A GovTech Podcast, National Gallery of Australia chief information officer discusses the role artificial intelligence within cultural institutions, and the guardrails put around its use to support human creativity.

In this episode of Resilience through Capability, TechnologyOne’s head of security and compliance, Chris Polkinghorne, talks with InnovationAus.com publisher Corrie McLeod about why digital sovereignty is about far more than where data is stored. They explore the growing complexity of cloud, AI and technology supply chains, the importance of understanding organisational dependencies, and how businesses can move beyond checkbox compliance towards genuine cyber resilience. They also discuss the role government procurement can play in strengthening Australia’s sovereign technology capability.

The Department of Industry, Science and Resources hoisted a white flag this week, surrendering its target of growing the number of technology jobs in Australia to 1.3 million by 2030. There is a lot of background to this story - as InnovationAus editor Justin Hendry explains.

Welcome to the first episode of Resilience through Capability, an InnovationAus.com series exploring how Australia can build the industrial and technological capabilities needed to strengthen our economic and national resilience. In this episode, we turn to one of the defining technologies of the next decade: artificial intelligence. ResetData co-founder and co-CEO Marcel Zalloua joins InnovationAus.com editor Justin Hendry to examine whether Australia will capture the economic value of the AI revolution, or simply provide the infrastructure that powers it. They explore the importance of sovereign AI capability, the ‘missing middle’ of Australian startups, businesses and research institutions, and what government and industry can do to build the capability needed to ensure Australia is not just hosting the AI revolution, but helping shape it.

Anyone at the Australian Defence Science, Technology and Research (ADSTAR) summit in Adelaide last month will have recognised an increased sense of urgency attached to defence tech development efforts. Australia's Chief Defence Scientist Tanya Monro discusses Defence priorities, and emerging opportunities for Australian innovators.

In this episode of the Commercial Disco podcast, national intelligence community veteran Dr Miah Hammond-Errey discusses cognitive performance and resilience optimisation - and the technology platform her startup Strat Futures has built to get the best out of high-performing teams.

The Prime Minister relaxed energy rules for data centres in a compromise to get Queensland and the Northern Territory on board. But within days, miscommunication resulted in a good old-fashioned federal-versus-state stoush getting underway. Justin Hendry and James Riley discuss.

In this episode of Delivery: A GovTech Podcast, the Home Affairs department's Head of National Security Hamish Hansford discusses the importance of technology access and control in the age of AI, and how his department is building stronger relationships with US tech giants.

Australian universities play an outsized role in the local innovation system compared to international peer economies and should attract a larger portion of system funding, UNSW vice-chancellor Attila Brungs says. In this episode of the Commercial Disco podcast, Professor Brungs talks to InnovationAus publisher Corrie McLeod about funding, research translation and the use of AI.

In a speech that put meat on the bones of government ambitions for Australia to become AI makers rather than takers, Assistant Minister for the Digital Economy Dr Andrew Charlton last week outlined how investment in data centres can be leveraged to capture more of the value on offer in the AI stack. Justin Hendry takes us through it.

Welcome to the latest episode of Powering What’s Next, brought to you by GE Vernova, where we explore the technologies, infrastructure and partnerships shaping Australia’s energy transition and what it will take to build a more reliable, affordable and sustainable energy future. In this episode, Corrie McLeod, publisher, InnovationAus.com is joined by Mark Benjamin, Aero global sales director at GE Vernova and Belinda Dennett, chief executive of Data Centres Australia. Together, they explore the growing demand for electricity from data centres and AI, and what this means for Australia’s energy system. They discuss the scale of incoming demand, the importance of generation, firming and transmission, and how data centres can play a broader role in supporting grid stability and accelerating investment in new energy infrastructure.

South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas' plan for a Royal Commission into AI puts him at the head of a national conversation about jobs, skills and social licence in Australia's response to artificial intelligence. InnovationAus editor Justin Hendry joins James Riley for a closer look.

In this episode of the Commercial Disco, ANU interim Chancellor Larry Marshall says entrepreneurial market vision can be a powerful force in aligning the resources of a national innovation ecosystem. He discusses the challenges of the Australian innovation system with InnovationAus publisher Corrie McLeod.

The Strategic Examination of R&D (SERD) report was handed to the minister last December. There is a growing intensity to the debate about the direction the government should take on industry policy. InnovationAus.com editor Justin Hendry takes a deep dive.

Professor Roy Green is a special advisor on innovation at the University of Technology Sydney and a director at CSIRO. He is also an expert on innovation systems, and the policies that drive their success. In this episode of the Commercial Disco, Professor Green talks with optimism about building Australia's economic resilience and industrial capacity.

Welcome to the first episode of Powering What’s Next, brought to you by GE Vernova, where we'll explore the technologies, policies and partnerships shaping Australia's energy transition and what it will take to build a more reliable, affordable and sustainable energy future. In this episode, Corrie McLeod, publisher, InnovationAus.com is joined by Aaron Scott, business development leader for electrification systems at GE Vernova and David McElrea, chief executive of the Smart Energy Council. Together, they unpack the realities of Australia's path to net zero, exploring the infrastructure, technology and policy settings needed to deliver the energy transition. They discuss the growing role of battery storage, grid modernisation and data centres, the challenges of attracting investment and accelerating project delivery, and why Australia must take a system-wide approach to energy reform. The trio also examine how renewable energy can strengthen Australia's industrial competitiveness, improve energy security and position the nation to become a global clean energy superpower.

The $540 million Australian Business Growth Fund was set up under the former Coalition government in Canberra in 2020. In this episode of the Commercial Disco podcast, James Riley talks to ABGF chief Anthony Healy about the funding gap he is trying to fill. And for local companies with a solid growth story, there is advice on how to get on the ABGF's radar.

It was a big week for Australia's national science agency CSIRO as chief executive Doug Hilton delivered his first address to the National Press Club, outlining an ongoing restructure that aims to sharpen the institution's science focus on industry. James Riley and Justin Hendry read the tealeaves.

InnovationAus editor Justin Hendry and senior reporter Joseph Brookes read the tea leaves on AI policy at the Labor national conference in Adelaide, discuss a revamp of a flagship federal startup program, and highlight a recasting of Australian Research Council grants.

In this episode of the Commercial Disco podcast, Cicada Innovations chief executive Liza Noonan says governments have a giant role to play as potential 'first customers' for innovative Australian deep tech companies.