Senate inquiry into CSIRO job cuts approved

The Greens have confirmed a Senate inquiry into the CSIRO’s recent job cuts, to consider its impacts and the future of the agency’s needs.

A Senate inquiry has been confirmed by the Greens Party for 31 March 2026, which will address the recent job cuts of 300 to 350 full-time equivalent (FTE) roles that the CSIRO proposed early last week, which adds to the 818 positions the agency has already dropped over the past 18 months.

The national space agency currently employs 5,800 staff; after making redundant 300 to 350 roles, this will lead to a 6 per cent reduction in its total workforce.

As part of its “broader strategy”, the agency said that these cuts would allow it to “sharpen” its research focus, while addressing inadequate funding and its operation’s high running costs.

In a statement last week, the agency’s chief executive, Doug Hilton, said: “We must set up CSIRO for the decades ahead with a sharpened research focus that capitalises on our unique strengths, allows us to concentrate on the profound challenges we face as a nation and deliver solutions at scale.”

Greens science spokesperson, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson, stressed the impacts that the job cuts will have on “public good science”, claiming that through this, the government is “disregarding the biodiversity and climate crisis” that is happening in the nation.

“It is critical the Senate examines how the CSIRO ended up in this position, who knew about the dire state of the agency and for how long, and why senior executives took bonuses while funding cliffs were obviously approaching,” Whish-Wilson said.

Greens Senator Barbara Pocock said: “These are skilled workers whose expertise underpins Australia’s scientific future.”

Pocock emphasised that as a part of the Senate inquiry, funding shortfalls and job cuts must be addressed, noting that the party is “deeply concerned” about the trajectory of the agency’s funding.

“Science matters, and it’s critical for it to be sufficiently resourced with public funds, to ensure science and research is independent and free of commercialisation,” she said.