Australia’s national science agency will shed 92 jobs through a wave of redundancies despite the Albanese government committing an additional $387.4m over the forward estimates in the 2026-27 budget.
It is understood five of the 15 scientists at the CSIRO who are working on the Australian Community Climate and Earth System Simulator (Access) are among those who will be made redundant following a staff town hall on Thursday.
The job cuts were foreshadowed in November, but had been met with fierce pushback from the science community, which said it would climate reporting for global initiatives, and Canberra Senator David Pocock.
In a statement at the time, the CSIRO said it was “evolving its research direction to focus its efforts on where it can deliver the greatest national impact” following a comprehensive 18-month review of its research portfolio.
At the time, it was considering some 300-350 redundancies, with more than 800 positions cute over the past two years already.
The cuts come despite the CSIRO receiving an additional $387.4m in funding over the forward estimates in the 2026-27 budget, which the agency said would “provide greater stability” for its workforce over the next three years.
Camera IconCSIRO will shed 92 jobs through a wave of redundancies. Linda Higginson Credit: News Corp Australia
The agency said the funding would be used to support investment in “safe and fit-for-purpose sites”, as well as the research equipment, infrastructure, cyber protection and technology for its researchers.
It is understood Thursday’s cuts will be from the CSIRO’s Environmental Research Unit, and had been reduced from the 102 on the chopping block in the CSIRO’s original proposal late last year.
CSIRO Staff Association Secretary Susan Tonks said the cuts hurt Australia’s “core environmental science capacity”, including research that supported the nation’s oceans, atmosphere, land, water and climate.
In addition to the 92 positions, the number of research programs will also be reduced from eight to five, she said.
“All roles are important, but we know that CSIRO’s climate research is critical to maintaining accurate modelling here in the Southern Hemisphere as part of a global science effort,” she said.
“The extra funding support was promised to provide a more sustainable and stable organisation.
“We’re calling on CSIRO Executive to make good on that commitment and rule out further job cuts until the end of the decade.”
Ms Tonks said the union was also concerned over suggestions that there may be further job losses, or shadow cuts, due to the “systematic non-renewal of specified term-employment contracts”.
“There needs to be far greater executive accountability for CSIRO’s operational decisions and increased transparency over the administration and deployment of this extra $620m in funding,” she said.
Science and Technology Australia CEO Ryan Winn said the cuts were “a very worrying development”.
Camera IconCanberra Senator David Pocock has been critical of the cuts. NewsWire / Martin Ollman. Credit: News Corp Australia
“But, sadly they were expected,” he said.
Mr Winn said the new funding was “never going to save these jobs, and that there was no guarantee other areas could pick up the work of those staff on ACCESS.
“Australia is the only country in the southern hemisphere contributing to these models,” he said.
“No government agency has a clear mandate to fund this necessary climate modelling. There is an expectation it’ll just get done.
“Other climate research being done relies on short-term grants and does not have the certainty of funding to contribute to decades long projects that underpin global climate models and predictions.”
Mr Winn said there was a “national responsibility” to maintain CSIRO’s role in climate modelling.
“If there is no funding found to continue this crucial capability, it could have devastating effects for a range of research organisations and advisory agencies that rely on this data,” he said.
“That scientific data underpins information used to manage food production and keep the cost of living down. It’s our best defence against devastating floods and bushfires, which is sending the cost of insurance through the roof.
“And there will be flow-on effects for Australia and our Pacific neighbours’ ability to predict, adapt and respond to the impacts of climate change.
“This climate data is also crucial for decision-making in business. Decisions that drive our economy.”
In a statement, a CSIRO spokesperson confirmed staff had been confirmed of the final decision “after careful consideration of staff and stakeholder feedback”.
“As announced in November 2025, CSIRO is making essential strategic research shifts to focus its efforts on where we can deliver the greatest national impact. To achieve this sharpened focus, we are exiting research where we lack scale to achieve significant impact, or areas where others in the sector are better placed to deliver,” the spokesperson said.
“In response to consultation feedback, there are 10 fewer roles impacted than in the original change proposal, resulting in a reduction of 92 FTE roles in the Research Unit.
“Valuable information and feedback via consultation provided added clarity and more detail regarding future focus areas, retention of skills that align to research priorities and better understanding and use of some critical capability and skills.
“CSIRO will retain its climate science capability and continue to provide the data, models and scenarios needed to support decision-making in Australia and internationally.
“The Environment Research Unit remains one of CSIRO’s largest and the changes reinforce our unique capabilities and national leadership in freshwater, marine, climate and adaptation science, circularity and social sciences.”
