We are CSIRO

For more than a century, we've been improving the lives of people everywhere with our science.

Since we started life as the Advisory Council of Science and Industry in 1916, we've advanced Australia with a range of inventions and innovations that have had significant positive impact on the lives of people around the world.

These include fast WiFi, polymer banknotes, the CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet, and Aerogard, just to name a few.

The CSIRO Book

We work with industry, government and the research community to turn science into solutions across six research areas: Energy and Minerals, Food and Fibre, From Wonder to Discovery, Nature, One Health and Tech Economy. We also steward research infrastructure on behalf of the nation and provide an important connecting role between science and society.

You can read more about CSIRO in the first edition of The CSIRO Book. It has been written by the scientists and experts of CSIRO, describing the full range of our research portfolio, including how we approach our work, our collaborators and the reasons our research matters for Australia. This is the first attempt to consolidate the breadth of our work at CSIRO and the book will evolve over time.

Read about our research portfolio work in The CSIRO Book

Our origins

We're an Australian Government corporate entity, with a Board and Chief Executive. We're constituted by and operate under the provisions of the Science and Industry Research Act 1949, which sets out our functions and powers, as well as those of our Minister, Board and Chief Executive. The governance, performance and accountability of our operations, including the use and management of public resources are set out in the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 and related rules.

The Science and Industry Research Act 1949 defines our purpose and the functions we undertake for the benefit of Australia:

• To carry out scientific research for any of the following purposes:
  • Assisting Australian industry;
  • Furthering the interests of the Australian community;
  • Contributing to the achievement of Australian national objectives or the performance of the national and international responsibilities of the Commonwealth; and
  • Any other purpose determined by the Minister;
• To encourage or facilitate the application or utilisation of the results of such research.

Our secondary functions include international scientific liaison, training of research workers, publication of research results, technology transfer of other research, provision of scientific services and dissemination of information about science and technology.

For more than a century, we've been improving the lives of people everywhere with our science.

Since we started life as the Advisory Council of Science and Industry in 1916, we've advanced Australia with a range of inventions and innovations that have had significant positive impact on the lives of people around the world.

These include fast WiFi, polymer banknotes, the CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet, and Aerogard, just to name a few.

The CSIRO Book

We work with industry, government and the research community to turn science into solutions across six research areas: Energy and Minerals, Food and Fibre, From Wonder to Discovery, Nature, One Health and Tech Economy. We also steward research infrastructure on behalf of the nation and provide an important connecting role between science and society.

You can read more about CSIRO in the first edition of The CSIRO Book. It has been written by the scientists and experts of CSIRO, describing the full range of our research portfolio, including how we approach our work, our collaborators and the reasons our research matters for Australia. This is the first attempt to consolidate the breadth of our work at CSIRO and the book will evolve over time.

Read about our research portfolio work in The CSIRO Book

Our origins

We're an Australian Government corporate entity, with a Board and Chief Executive. We're constituted by and operate under the provisions of the Science and Industry Research Act 1949, which sets out our functions and powers, as well as those of our Minister, Board and Chief Executive. The governance, performance and accountability of our operations, including the use and management of public resources are set out in the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 and related rules.

The Science and Industry Research Act 1949 defines our purpose and the functions we undertake for the benefit of Australia:

• To carry out scientific research for any of the following purposes:
  • Assisting Australian industry;
  • Furthering the interests of the Australian community;
  • Contributing to the achievement of Australian national objectives or the performance of the national and international responsibilities of the Commonwealth; and
  • Any other purpose determined by the Minister;
• To encourage or facilitate the application or utilisation of the results of such research.

Our secondary functions include international scientific liaison, training of research workers, publication of research results, technology transfer of other research, provision of scientific services and dissemination of information about science and technology.