Portfolio — 26 June 2026

Minister for Industry and Innovation and Science Tim Ayres used a media interview on 25 June to lay out the government's CSIRO funding position and signal firm limits on AI copyright policy. The centrepiece is an additional $387.4 million to the CSIRO over four years in the budget, which Ayres said brings total CSIRO funding beyond $600 million once earlier allocations are counted [TA-260625-indust-fc594efe277c].

He framed the investment as making the agency "match-fit" for Australia's priority science domains — critical minerals, artificial intelligence, and disease preparedness — positioning the CSIRO explicitly as an instrument of national industrial and security resilience [TA-260625-indust-fc594efe277c].

On AI policy, Ayres drew a clear line: a text-and-data-mining exemption for AI training is not on the table. That position is notable for its directness; it forecloses one of the more contested questions in AI copyright reform without qualification. Separately, Ayres confirmed the AI Safety Institute is now operational across government agencies and with international partners, indicating the governance architecture is moving beyond the announcement phase into active deployment.

The interview sits within a pattern of sustained strategic-science messaging from Ayres. The quantum-computing investment signalled in the prior week's activity provides the immediate precedent, and today's CSIRO funding statement extends the same logic: concentrated public investment in high-capability science infrastructure tied to economic and security priorities.

The AI Safety Institute announcement adds a governance dimension to what has otherwise been a capital-investment story, suggesting the portfolio is now threading regulatory and institutional capacity alongside funding commitments.