CEO Statement: Ambitious Australia — Bold Vision. Now We Need Bold Action.

Statement

 

The release of Ambitious Australia marks a pivotal moment for the nation. For those of us in the deep tech community, this is more than a systems review; it is a much-needed blueprint to fix the systemic fragmentation that has placed unnecessary constraints and complexity on the growth of our most promising innovators.

As the report underscores, incrementalism is no longer a viable strategy for a nation seeking economic resilience. Australian deep tech ventures — those solving complex global challenges with the science and technologies underpinning critical sovereign capability — operate on a timeline requiring a level of policy and funding stability that our current system has lacked. As the report's own commissioned research confirms, a targeted reform package could generate around $5 in economic value for every $1 of government expenditure over the next decade.
Ambitious Australia presents us with the opportunity to seize our national research strengths and focus them towards impact, scale, and productivity.

Strategic coordination over fragmentation: Australian deep tech founders and their capital sources need the patient policy, program and funding stability — including the proposed National Innovation Council — recommended in the report, for the confidence to continue building and growing businesses in Australia.

Mobilising domestic capital: Unlocking Australia's superannuation pool and creating a dedicated RDTI stream for high-potential startups — with streamlined access and quarterly payments — directly addresses the funding gap that forces too many of our best ventures offshore.

The scale-up bridge: The recommendations provide the pragmatic shifts needed to build Australia's missing middle — the innovation-intensive scaleups that generate disproportionate economic returns but have been starved of the capital and policy settings needed to stay and grow here.

After 25 years building deep tech ventures through every policy cycle, we know what bold looks like — and this report is a big step in the right direction. The priority now must be swift execution. We look forward to working with both state and federal governments to ensure these recommendations translate into high-growth companies, high-value jobs, and a more productive Australia.

Liza Noonan, CEO, Cicada Innovations