Budget pressures, workplace safety and research collaboration with the United States featured as key topics of discussion when Staff Association leaders met with senior executives during the latest meeting of Consultative Council.
Consultative Council is an important forum empowered by the organisation’s enabling legislation to ensure accountability through the regular provision of formal engagement between CSIRO Executives and staff representatives.
Unsurprisingly, the ongoing impact of the Enterprise Services (ES) restructure cast a long shadow over proceedings.
CSIRO Staff Association representatives stressed the ongoing impact of the ES restructure, noting the unprecedented scale and speed of the major change.
The union’s recent report on the impact of Information and Technology Management (IMT) job cuts – which revealed ‘deep anxiety around job security and the organisation’s strategic direction’ – bears this out.
Staff concerns over the current state of research unit funding was also discussed, with fears that budget pressure may see science roles in danger of future cuts, once the pause on further changes to research expires at the end of June.
Questions remain over the sequence of events that led to the development of the ES restructure strategy, with CSIRO Executive previously blaming the budget blues on unsustainable growth in the face of cost increases due to inflation combined with the end of additional appropriation funding received during the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, in early 2022, CSIRO awarded management consultants McKinsey a $1.21 million contract for ‘business administration services’ to assist ‘a program of work to review, simplify and streamline organisational processes and systems to deliver against CSIRO strategy’ for the next three years.
So… where’s the report?
At the time, CSIRO Executive stated McKinsey was not undertaking an organisational review and that the consultancy firm was only engaged for initial input.
Since then, no specific information or consultation with CSIRO staff or their representatives on the McKinsey consulting review has been offered or occurred.
Staff Association representatives have now formally requested for a copy of the McKinsey report. CSIRO Chief Executive Doug Hilton has taken the request on notice.
Prior to the meeting in late March, the union submitted questions from members, seeking written details from Executive. These included:
At time of writing, some nine weeks later, Executive have still yet to provide any response.
The impact of the ES restructure on CSIRO workplace safety was also discussed, specifically the increase in workloads and changes to workflows resulting from job cuts to support roles.
There was particular focus on cuts to Health Safety and Environment (HSE) roles, with questions raised on the number of proposed reductions given that HSE jobs had already been reduced within the People ES unit as the result of separate restructures in 2017 and 2020.
Members claim that even prior to the proposed cuts, HSE is currently staffed at 2022 levels. As with CSIRO Business and Infrastructure (CBIS) and IMT employees, HSE and People ES staff perform critical functions and the loss of these roles will directly affect research units, with fears of increased risks to workplace health and safety due to workload intensification.
There was also an examination of last December’s national shut down of Agriculture and Food sites for a snap audit of risk assessments, following a series of safety incidents which included two occasions requiring the hospitalisation of individuals, with one case later described as very serious.
Staff Association representatives argued that the involvement of workplace health regulator Comcare shows there is more work to be done to improve workplace health and safety, in particular by improving consultation and engagement with CSIRO staff who volunteer as independent, workplace Health and Safety Representatives (HSRs).
The audit results identified some two hundred incomplete risk assessments across the research unit, an outcome that CSIRO Executive will ‘take as a learning.’ The union will now pursue the implementation of a direct consultation process with elected HSRs on the reporting of future workplace health and safety incidents.
When questioned on workload and workflow risk assessments to account for staff reductions and safe levels of work, HSE Director Aaron Goninon advised that risk assessments are continually updated to reflect the changing ES Unit restructures risks.
The union advised that risk assessments must be fit for purpose for specific CSIRO workplaces in relation to the ES restructure or any other proposed changes.
Staff Association representatives will continue to work with the Commonwealth workplace health regulator Comcare regarding the concerns of members relating to ES changes to ensure and enforce safe work practices.
The approach from the Trump administration towards research collaboration with the United States has generated concern among CSIRO staff and the broader university and science community since the start of 2025.
CSIRO Executive confirmed that two questionnaires from the Trump administration have been received, focussing on the alignment between research programs and recent US Executive orders. However, to date, there have been no funding impacts.
Staff Association relayed concerns that some CSIRO staff – especially those who identify as LGBTQIA+ – may have heightened concerns, particularly if they need to travel to the US for work.
CSIRO’s advice to staff who receive a questionnaire is to notify their line manager and the organisation’s Government Engagement Unit.
The advice also states that CSIRO is ‘monitoring activity in relation to US Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) policies. Our success relies on our ability to attract and retain diverse talent. We remain committed to fostering a fair, equitable and inclusive workplace.’
Staff are also encouraged to plan travel to the US carefully, consult DFAT advice regularly and ensure that official travel documents, including relevant visas, are prepared ahead of time.