Interview with the Queensland Premier: Investing into Queensland’s Innovation and Economic Future

Regarding the recent innovation funding package of approximately $150 million, how long was this program in formation, prior to delivery?

Knowledge and innovation are crucial drivers of competitiveness and growth, which is why we committed to the Advance Queensland journey in 2015.

We want to drive innovation and entrepreneurship, and be a leader in the global economy.

We believe new technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics, and biotech are spawning a range of new and interconnected industries, including circular, renewable energy, personalised health, biofutures, and digital economies. 

We are future-proofing our economy and job opportunities by supporting new game-changing ideas that solve our biggest social, environmental, and economic challenges.

The Advance Queensland Innovation for a Future Economy Roadmap 2022-32 initiative is backed by our funding package of $147.2 million. We will continue to build on that commitment in the lead-up to the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games and beyond. 

Are there any particular surveys, consultations, thought development, or other methods which have been particular to the development of innovation funding?

We are constantly evaluating our initiatives and their effectiveness to make sure we are getting it right.

Our 2021-22 evaluation involved consultation with around 1,000 stakeholders who are actively involved in Queensland’s innovation ecosystem. We canvassed motivations, benefits, impacts of COVID-19, and the role of government in supporting innovation-driven growth. They told us they saw the role of government as connecting stakeholders and creating an environment that is attractive for business creation and industry attraction, and conducive to scientific and technological innovation.

We will continue to do this as we work in partnership with scientists, researchers and the private sector to solve social and economic challenges. 

Our understanding is that the 2022 funding round made via the Queensland Department of Tourism, Innovation and Sport was approximately $150 million. We note that the Made in Queensland program is cited as $101 million. Can you please break down the components?

The Advance Queensland initiative is made up of two components.

There’s $125.2 million for programs – $100 million over three years for programs under Advance Queensland; $15 million for the Queensland Innovation Precincts and Places Strategy and Action Plan; and $10.2 million for the Innovation Action Plan and Office of the Chief Entrepreneur. We also committed an additional $5 million in this year’s State Budget to expand support programs for female entrepreneurs.

There’s also $17 million for Department of Environment and Science to support priority industry-science centres of excellence and partnerships and accelerate university commercialisation.

This funding is complemented by a range of additional investments by other government agencies.

Separately, the Advanced Manufacturing 10 Year Roadmap and Action Plan will help manufacturers to grasp new opportunities to grow their business and create jobs.

Under this plan, $101.5 million is available for the Made in Queensland program. This funding supports small to medium-sized manufacturers to increase international competitiveness, productivity, and innovation, leading to jobs creation. Five rounds of the program have been offered to manufacturers so far, with a sixth round to follow. 

Since its launch in 2017, the program has supported 103 projects across Queensland, with more than one-third of them in regional Queensland. 

For nearly a decade now, our government has recognised the increasingly important role of innovation for our economy and jobs. 

Since its launch in 2015, for example, more than $1.8 billion has been invested in Advance Queensland by our government, external partners and investors. 

Some in the business community believe Queensland start-ups and entrepreneurial activity have been under-supported over the past decade by the government? What is your response to this?

Queensland is totally committed to the programs and activities that drive innovation, develop entrepreneurial research and talent, and support start-ups, scale-ups and mature businesses to deliver new products and services into global markets. 

Since 2015, Advance Queensland has supported more than 7,900 funding recipients, whose projects have directly supported close to 28,000 jobs. The initiative has impressive alumni, including Go1, Tritium, FloodMapp, and Gilmour Space Technologies.

Queensland was the first state to appoint a Chief Entrepreneur in 2016. They work with the Queensland Innovation Advisory Council to champion innovation, connect ecosystem stakeholders, attract investment, and accelerate innovation through entrepreneurial action across Queensland.

Our ongoing investment has helped mature Queensland’s innovation ecosystem to become more globally competitive and attract increased investment in ideas and innovative businesses. 

What are the current strategic medium to long-term development plans for the creation of high tech industries, commercialisation of R&D, collaboration between university or other research and industry, tech parks as incubators for new company development, and such?

The Innovation for a Future Economy 2022-32 Roadmap sets out the future direction, key priority outcomes, and initiatives, including the future of our innovation hubs and how emerging industries and new technologies might shape the economy. Queensland’s innovation places, precincts and hubs bring together Government, research, and industry to create new businesses, jobs and export opportunities.

Last year, we launched A Place to Innovate – Queensland Innovation Precincts and Places Strategy 2022–32, which aims to connect and grow our existing innovation infrastructure.

The Queensland Artificial Intelligence Hub is an investment in building AI capabilities and global connections, and keeping talented people and jobs in Queensland. The Queensland Immersive Technologies XR Hub, which is co-funded by Advance Queensland and Screen Queensland, supports the development of local talent and the increased use of XR in Queensland priority industries. The Agtech and Logistics Hub in Toowoomba facilitates connections, collaboration, partnerships, and opportunities to solve the agricultural industry’s biggest challenges.

A priority outcome is translating our world-class research into commercial opportunities, through programs such as Industry Research Fellowships, piloting industry technology roadmaps, and delivering new programs to improve collaboration between researchers and industry.

Important for the creation of high-tech industries is the Queensland New Industry Development Strategy, which we launched in May 2023, supporting businesses to tap into manufacturing opportunities to build the infrastructure and products the world needs to shift to renewables. 

Through the Queensland Digital Economy Strategy and Action Plan, also launched this year, we will invest $200 million over three years to grow our digital economy and improve digital connectivity throughout the state.

As part of Our Thriving Digital Future: Queensland’s Digital Economy Strategy, the government will also deliver the Queensland Digital Infrastructure Plan, state-wide plans for digital inclusion and cyber security, and a First Nations digital strategic plan.

Was there a particular overall name or theme for the recent funding? 

The theme of the Advance Queensland roadmap is ‘Queensland’s time to shine’ on the road to the 2032 Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic Games. It outlines six priority outcomes to drive the innovation generation over the next 10 years.

We are focused on greater investment attraction and more innovative businesses starting, growing, and staying in Queensland.

We are supporting our world-class research and collaborations to create commercialisation opportunities, and supporting our existing and emerging priority industries and talent to be globally competitive.

We are meeting Queensland’s big challenges and events head-on and finding innovative and sustainable solutions; developing world-class innovation infrastructure to drive ideas through to commercialisation, adoption, and diffusion; and creating favourable conditions for Queensland to have a well-connected, inclusive and thriving innovation ecosystem.

How does the current administration describe in simple terms the relationship between high tech (innovation) investment, and economic development? What are the general time-frames from initiation to measurable results in the economy? 

A competitive economy and modern society must always be innovating. The timeframes for impact from innovation vary with the complexity of new products and services. New medical breakthroughs can take a decade from identification to being used to treat people. However, as we saw in recent years, technology has also made it possible for rapid changes to the way we do business – just look at the use of QR codes in commerce.

We want to get our innovations to market quicker, and reduce the timeframe between implementation of innovation programs and the associated outcomes.

Advance Queensland includes support of for research and development of ‘new-to-world’ innovations and their diffusion to domestic and international businesses through translation and commercialisation processes. An evaluation of the initiative has found the collective effort is making a genuine impact.

The initiative also provides a positive return on investment, with an estimated benefit-to-cost ratio of at least 1.6 – for every $1 we invest directly, we see a return of at least $1.60 in economic benefits.

Do the demands and priorities of running a complex government mean that science, technology and R&D funding naturally takes a number of years to surface and be backed by concrete action? What should the public understand about the difficulties or processes involved in conceiving and delivering funding in this sector?

My government takes a long-term approach to its investments in science and innovation and the benefits they bring to the local economy. We recognise these investments don’t yield immediate outcomes, but we are confident they help to secure Queensland’s economic future by developing new knowledge economy industries.



The Advance Queensland initiative is built on successful past investments, which established key scientific infrastructure throughout the state and attracted world class scientists and innovators to Queensland. This has produced a wealth of research and many highly skilled university graduates. 

We remain committed to this as we work toward a brighter future for Queensland.