| Department overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1 July 2022 |
Preceding Department | |
| Jurisdiction | Australian Government |
| Headquarters | |
Ministers responsible | |
Department executive |
|
Child agencies |
|
| Website | www.industry.gov.au |
The Department of Industry, Science and Resources (DISR) is a department of the Australian Government established on 1 July 2022. It is responsible for advising the government on matters of industry, science and resources, and delivering policies and programs in these areas. The department is also responsible for the publication of the government's "Critical Minerals Strategy 2023–2030".
As of September 2026[update] there are two ministers and two assistant ministers leading the department: the Minister for Resources and Minister for Northern Australia (Madeleine King), Minister for Industry and Innovation and Minister for Science (Tim Ayres), along with the Assistant Minister for Resources (Anthony Chisholm), and the Assistant Minister for Science, Technology and the Digital Economy (Andrew Charlton).
Formerly known as the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources (DISER), the Climate Change and Energy responsibilities were transferred to the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water on 1 July 2022. DISR also took functions that were previously under the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet.
The head of the department is the Secretary, announced as Meghan Quinn in August 2022. The department is an Australian Public Service department, staffed by officials who are responsible to the ministers.[citation needed]
The Chief Scientist for Australia has reported to the Minister for Science of the day since 1989.
As outlined in the Administrative Arrangements Order made on 13 May 2025, the department is responsible for a wide range of functions including:
Following the publication of the department's "Critical Minerals Strategy 2023–2030" in June 2023, in November 2024, the Albanese government announced its "International Partnerships in Critical Minerals" program, to provide AU$40 million in grants across eight rare-earth mining projects.
The Critical Minerals Office, a "central coordination point" in relation to Australia's critical minerals sector, is responsible for publishing policies and other documents about critical minerals.
As of September 2026[update] there are four ministers heading the department:
The Industry Growth Program (IGP) and the National Reconstruction Fund (NRF) are two complementary Australian initiatives established under the Albanese government to support domestic industry development, manufacturing and innovative sovereign technology commercialisation.
The Industry Growth Program is a federal grants and advisory program administered by the department. Launched in 2023 with $392 million in committed funding, the program provides matched grants to innovative small and medium enterprises pursuing commercialisation projects aligned with Australia's strategic priorities. The program offers two streams
By early 2026, the program had delivered over $200 million in matched grants across more than 100 projects.
The program was paused to new applications in May 2026.
The program has been subject to criticism over the underrepresentation of women-founded businesses among grant recipients. Despite women representing 20% of applicants, women-owned businesses received just 8.6% of approved grants. Notably, the government's definition of "women-owned" includes businesses with a single female co-founder, meaning the proportion of solely women-founded businesses receiving grants is likely significantly lower.
The Industry Growth Program is the successor to the Entrepreneurs' Programme, the federal initiative that provided early-stage advisory support to companies including Canva, now valued at over $49 billion.
The programs 140 recipients span advanced manufacturing, medical technology and enabling technology including software innovations. Notable recipients include Gilmore Space Technologies which received $5 million toward liquid rocket engines for orbital launch vehicles and EMV Medical Devices which received $5 million to develop a portable brain scanner for stroke diagnosis.
Recipients also include See Me Please, a sole woman-founded accessibility technology company founded by Katie McDermott, which received $1.34 million to expand its platform connecting organisations with users with disabilities for product testing into international markets.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is available under the CC BY 4.0 license.
