University of Sydney lands $18.4 million for ‘Quantum Australia’

The University of Sydney has been awarded $18.4 million from the federal government to establish ‘Quantum Australia’ in efforts to help grow the space in Australia.

Announced over the weekend, the national centre aims to boost awareness, build collaboration across industries and promote future quantum-based start-ups.

The new Quantum Australia centre is also looking unite top research institutions, industry partners and quantum companies connect quantum companies on a national and international scale. 

The multi-million-dollar funding builds on the governments wider quantum work as outlined in its National Quantum Strategy, which sets out a long-term vision of how the country can take advantage of the opportunities that the technologies present.

Ed Husic, Minister for Industry and Science said, “We want to make more things here and quantum computing will give us the technological muscle to do that.”

“Australian researchers have been responsible for some of the most important quantum breakthroughs, so we have an edge in this critical technology.

“This investment and the Government’s support of quantum is about sharpening that edge and making sure it delivers an economic return for Australia in the shape of new jobs in new industries,” Husic said.

The University of Sydney, alongside the University of Technology Sydney and the University of New South Wales, recently also teamed up to design a space for Australians to access global digital policies and industry insights to develop multi-stakeholder knowledge sharing and regulatory best practices.

The new International Digital Policy Observatory (IDPO) was created as an open-source database to track developments across international digital and internet regulation from 50 countries facing misinformation, AI regulation, online harms, cybersecurity and digital identity. 

Project leader Professor Terry Flew from the University of Sydney, told Digital Nation that while there’s no funding cross-over with the IDPO, the news is still “really exciting”.

“However, we do recognise that quantum computing will have a significant effect on digital policy, especially in the area of cyber-security.

"That is, quantum will be one of the areas into which the IDPO provides a window. However, today’s announcement does not provide the IDPO with any additional funding.”

Meanwhile, the Tech Council of Australia (TCA) has welcomed the news with acting CEO Ryan Black stating the organisation and the Australian Quantum Alliance (AQA) “share a vision for a thriving quantum industry”.

“The TCA and AQA share a vision for a thriving quantum industry in Australia that enables innovation, jobs and economic prosperity and this strategic investment by the Government will support this effort.”

“Quantum Australia – a centre focused on industry development – will help ensure our world-leading quantum research continues to be commercialised into cutting-edge technologies produced here in Australia.

“We are excited by the partnership the University of Sydney has brought together with industry leaders such as Q-CTRL and Quintessence Labs and academic partners such as Sydney Quantum Academy.”

Black said quantum commercialisation will deliver “billions of dollars” in economic value alongside thousands of jobs by 2030 globally.

“Australia’s lead in quantum technology development is the result of strong government investment and support for decades,” Black said.