Senator Ayres made the comments at the announcement of the new Australasian Space Innovation Institute (ASII) during the International Astronautical Congress in Sydney this week.
The institute, acting as an independent not-for-profit innovation engine, will translate world-class research into space-enabled solutions for the economy, society and national security. The Australasian Space Innovation Institute will officially commence operations in January 2026.
ASII will act as a trusted, neutral connector with a commercial approach, linking end users with industry and universities to accelerate the path from research to impact. It is also envisioned to help grow sovereign capability while lifting productivity in sectors such as agriculture, resources, defence, disaster resilience and environmental stewardship.
“It is good to see an organisation emerge from the CRC funding rounds with all of the support that is provided from government, but also from industry partners, to graduate and emerge from that and continue to play what I’m confident will be a powerful role in promoting the Australian space industry, and innovation and development,” Senator Ayres said during an address at the unveiling of the Australasian Space Innovation Institute.
“Often a lot of attention is paid to the role of government in industry, and of course, it’s important. But what I would prefer to do this morning is focus on that effort, the decades of effort from scientists, from the university sector, from our firms, from thousands of individuals in Australia, pouring their heart and soul and their expertise and their research capability into developing great things for Australia, and great things for the space sector. Too often we gloss over their individual effort, their genius and their expertise, and we all really rest upon the shoulders of so much of that unseen effort.
“There are 10,000 people now employed in the space sector in Australia, and start-ups scaling up $1.1 billion in turnover. This is no small thing. The Australian space sector has no small significance in strategic terms, in industrial terms, in science and research terms, and in national interest terms. I look forward very much as the new minister for science and for industry, working to deliver on these important national interest objectives.
“I do feel the responsibility acutely, having just been appointed as the minister for science and industry, of making sure that we marshal this big national effort in this sector and some of the other priority national sectors in the national interest. We have a task to align our research effort with our industrial priorities.”
“My job as the minister for science and industry is not to dream up new reams of sort of policy documents, but it’s to work on aligning our current programs to make sure that we deliver maximum impact. I look forward very much to working with the space sector to do precisely that.”
With the intention of serving as Australia’s premier engine for transforming space research, the ASII will build on the principles of the SmartSat CRC by developing critical sovereign space capabilities and unlocking commercial innovation through space-for-Earth applications.
With a rapidly expanding global space economy and Australia targeting a tripling of its domestic sector by 2030, ASII is designed to scale mission-driven collaboration, rapid prototyping and faster commercialisation of Australian intellectual property.
The ASII will operate as the trusted neutral partner with a commercial mindset, connecting end users with industry and universities to accelerate and scale the translation of research into impact, while increasing the region’s space capability and contributing to Defence, national security and government priorities.
The ASII will harness existing space technologies to support national priorities and challenges, including food security, environmental protection and disaster response. The organisation will also develop new space technologies to help Australia build its credentials as a high-tech nation, in areas such as satellite communications, Earth observation technologies and AI-enabled autonomous satellite systems.
With space-based assets being critical enablers of military operations, ASII’s commercial agility, rapid prototyping and fail fast innovation cycles will also provide benefits to Defence and national security, helping to ensure the Australian Defence Force maintains an asymmetric advantage over potential adversaries.
ASII will focus on programs that deliver measurable outcomes for end users while strengthening regional collaboration, examples include:
- Australian Agriculture National Digital Twin – a pre-competitive, AI-enabled virtual model of Australia’s agricultural landscape, this digital twin project integrates satellite, drone, sensor, and climate data to drive productivity, sustainability and resilience. This national infrastructure will help transform research, decision making and scenario modelling across the agricultural sector.
- Regional Space-Based Surveillance: The Takahē Project – the Takahē project is advancing sovereign maritime domain awareness with a formation-flying SAR satellite system, reducing reliance on foreign systems, strengthening regional leadership and enhancing responses to illegal fishing, natural disasters and grey zone threats in the Indo-Pacific.
- Digital Infrastructure for Disaster Management – this program will establish a globally connected digital infrastructure, powered by satellite, AI and advanced communications technologies that strengthens emergency management and disaster resilience through real-time monitoring, predictive early warning, coordinated response and informed recovery planning.
- Space-Enabled Digital Innovation for Regional and Remote Community Resilience – this flagship program will apply space-enabled technologies to strengthen resilience, sustainability and wellbeing across Australia’s regional and remote communities by integrating advanced satellite communications, Earth observation, GNSS, and internet of things systems into practical solutions that support community priorities.
“ASII is about making space matter for people on the ground,” said Professor Andy Koronios, CEO and managing director of the Australasian Space Innovation Institute.
“We will deploy and develop satellites, advanced communications and AI-enabled Earth observation to strengthen Australia’s digital infrastructure – transforming agriculture, mining, defence, climate resilience and community safety. Our mission is practical impact, sovereign capability and the public good.”