What will Australia be like economically, socially and environmentally in 2060?
This is exactly the question the 2019 Australian National Outlook has investigated.
The project was built on the 2015 Australian National Outlook, which was CSIRO's first attempt to understand and analyse the connections in Australia's physical economy many decades into the future.
For the 2019 National Outlook, people from more than 20 non-government organisations met every three months to study and discuss new scientific data provided by CSIRO that models the future of Australia's natural resources and energy, productivity and services, and cities and infrastructure.
CSIRO and NAB partnered to lead the project, combining their scientific and business expertise. The project was jointly chaired by CSIRO Chair David Thodey AO and Australian Economist Ken Henry AC. Together with the project participants, CSIRO have published a report outlining future scenarios facing Australia's economy, environment and society and the levers we can pull to ensure Australia has a great future.
Australia's roadmap to 2060
The new Australia National Outlook 2019 report looks out to 2060. It signals Australia faces a Slow Decline if it takes no action on the most significant economic, social and environmental challenges. But, if these challenges are tackled head on, Australia can look forward to a positive Outlook Vision. This could mean higher GDP per capita, 'net zero' greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, strong economic growth and energy affordability, and more liveable major cities.
Download the report
The National Outlook aims to understand and analyse the connections in Australia's physical economy many decades into the future.
Executive summary and full report
- Download the executive summary PDF (2 MB)
- Download the full report PDF (11 MB)
- Australian National Outlook 2019 Technical report
Accessible text versions
Got Questions?
We've answered your frequently asked questions about the Australian National Outlook 2019 report.
Working towards a multifaceted sustainable future
Many Australians are concerned that future generations may not have the opportunities that we've had.
The aim of the ANO is to help identify some of the challenges we face as a nation, and outline a path towards an Australia in 2060 that has inclusive communities, globally competitive industries, and sustainable foundations in our natural resources, environment and social capital.
The project aims to encourage a national conversation about Australia's future, and to encourage people to take action to shape a strong and prosperous future for our nation.
We believe that non-government organisations have a role to play in shaping the nation's future prosperity, and this project is a collective effort across the business and academic community to do just that.
The project draws on CSIRO's world-leading integrated modelling and assessment capabilities to model possible future outcomes for Australia.
The models will be combined with the business/academic expertise of 52 people from more than 20 Australian organisations to translate outcomes into scenarios for Australia's natural resources and energy, productivity and services, and cities and infrastructure.