News

The $3b NBN fibre upgrade we had to have

The government will upgrade half of Australia’s fibre-to-the-node NBN network to full fibre as part of a $3 billion plan to make faster internet more widely available, in what...

ACS intimidation campaign seeks to silence critics

The Australian Computer Society has threatened InnovationAus with legal action over this publication’s coverage of the ACS’ botched attempt at a restructure last year and the Federal Court debacle...

Israel accelerates to post-COVID innovation

A top-flight Israeli medical innovation centre has been crunching the development of leading edge COVID-19 related health projects from years down to weeks, including a rapid test kit that...

Govt unveils energy tech investment priorities

The federal government will focus the bulk of its investment aimed at reducing emissions in priority technologies like clean hydrogen and carbon capture rather than renewable energy technologies. Energy...

‘Vague’ digital ID framework is a problem

The framework governing the federal government’s $200 million digital identity program is “very vague” and “counter-intuitive” and more design flaws will likely be found, according to the security researcher...

Time ripe for 5G sovereign capability: ASPI

There is a “window of opportunity” for Australia to develop its 5G sovereign capability and address security issues, and urgent action is needed from the federal government, according to...

The trust deficit of temporary telehealth

Over the past week, there were two very significant announcements regarding healthcare. But the announcements could not have been more different in terms of ambition, future focus and person...

Building on our strength in clinical trials

It is no accident that the idea of Australia “punching above its weight” became a colloquial commonplace in the 1980s and 1990s. It was the time when Australian efforts...

FIRB reforms will ‘imperil’ quantum sector

Proposed changes to Australia’s foreign investment rules will “imperil” the future of the country’s quantum computing sector and severely disadvantage local tech companies, according to a number of submissions...

Top-heavy bank sector holds back FinTech potential

A top-heavy banking ecosystem coupled with an under resourced regulatory regime is holding back Australia’s FinTech progress, according to industry leaders. The panellists were participating in a session of...

Business zones to get $700m NBN fibre upgrade

More than 700,000 businesses across 240 designated ‘Business Fibre Zones’ nationwide will get access to free upgrades to gigabit fibre connections as part of a $700 million post-COVID economic...

‘Vital’ data sharing deal with US delayed

Legislation paving the way for Australia to enter into an expedited data-sharing deal with the US has been delayed, despite the federal government saying it was “vital” that it...

Digital ID service security risk: Researchers

Security researchers have advised Australians not to use the federal government’s digital identity service after authorities refused to fix a crucial design flaw they had discovered. Thinking Cybersecurity chief...

Francis Gurry on the rise of protectionism

World Intellectual Property Organisation director general Francis Gurry reckons the world is facing a rise in country-level threats to open innovation in science and technology that has the potential...