The union representing staff at the CSIRO has expressed concern over comments from Chief Executive Doug Hilton refusing to rule out further job cuts at the national science agency.
Under Dr Hilton’s leadership, CSIRO has recorded a record number of job losses including more than 800 science support roles and 350 research positions.
While the Federal Government has provided an extra $620 million in funding – on top of CSIRO’s annual appropriation – senior CSIRO leaders continue to contribute to job security fears by refusing to rule out further cuts.
In an interview with the Canberra Times, ‘Dr Hilton did not rule out further job cuts – including through the merger of the agency’s Data61 and manufacturing research units into a new Technology Research Unit, where staff have heard that up to 140 roles could be at risk.’
‘He said while no decision had been made about these roles, “we have an opportunity to ask how we can deploy staff to other parts of the organisation,”’ the Canberra Times reports.
CSIRO Staff Association Secretary Susan Tonks said that CSIRO staff would be dismayed by the comments.
“We’ve seen wave after wave of CSIRO job losses under Chief Executive Doug Hilton and these latest comments which fail to rule out further cuts will only further damage staff wellbeing and morale.”
“According to CSIRO’s own survey, more than half of staff (57 per cent) are unsure or do not agree with the agency’s strategic direction.”
“Less than a third of staff (28 per cent) think that CSIRO Executives are accountable for their performance. Only 26 per cent of believe that CSIRO is well positioned for success over the next three years,” Ms Tonks said.
Trust deficit
“CSIRO has received an extra $620 million funding from the Federal Government, and their Chief Executive still can’t rule out further job cuts?”
“No wonder staff don’t have any confidence in senior leaders at CSIRO.”
“CSIRO Chief Executive Doug Hilton needs to stop the games, rule out further CSIRO job cuts and commit to genuine and meaningful consultation with staff and start the process of rebuilding trust and confidence,” Ms Tonks said.
The comments come as the union and CSIRO prepare for enterprise agreement negotiations, with the current deal set to nominally expire in four months.
Ms Tonks said the Staff Association campaign would focus on the priorities set by union members including affordable wage increases, the protection and enhancement of existing workplace rights and conditions, commitments to rebuild job security and measures to improve accountability and transparency.
“We’ll be strongly advocating for improved consultation provisions aimed at getting CSIRO Executive to engage in honest communication, maximum transparency and improved accountability especially when engaged in major change,” Ms Tonks said.
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By Dana Daniel. Canberra Times, 29 July 2026.
After culling more than 1100 roles in two years and with the potential for more losses, Dr Hilton told The Canberra Times he wanted to use upcoming enterprise agreement negotiations to discuss how to speed up the process.
“The mechanism for consulting is long. It’s sometimes drawn out, and it can be frustrating,” he said.
“There’s a general understanding across the organisation that the way we consult could be more efficient and give more certainty to staff.”
In an interview ahead of his National Press Club address on Wednesday, Dr Hilton did not rule out further job cuts – including through the merger of the agency’s Data61 and manufacturing research units into a new Technology Research Unit, where staff have heard that up to 140 roles could be at risk.
He said while no decision had been made about these roles, “we have an opportunity to ask how we can deploy staff to other parts of the organisation.”
“Bringing those two units together allows us to best deploy the skills, especially in areas of AI [artificial intelligence], where those skills can have a pretty profound impact,” Dr Hilton said, naming agriculture, critical minerals, the energy transition and biosecurity as priorities.
“It’s about how we get the most effective science done with the people we’ve got.”
Efforts to redeploy staff is one of the steps employers need to take before any decision to make workers redundant.
The current EBA, which is due to expire in November, requires the Commonwealth Scientific Industrial and Research Organisation to engage in a two-week early consultation process with staff before launching a formal consultation about changes that will affect them.
The CSIRO Staff Association wants this to be retained and for employees to have genuine input after, in the latest round of cuts, staff complained that management had shared little information in consultation meetings.
Early results of a staff survey provided to the union earlier this month suggest employees have lost confidence in the CSIRO’s strategic direction and senior leadership through successive rounds of job cuts.
The agency shed 350 research jobs this year, on top of 800 already culled as part of a shift in research priorities and influenced by financial pressures.
“I can completely understand why staff have a sense of anxiety and uncertainty about the future,” Dr Hilton said.
“It’s my job to continually explain why we’re doing it, why it’s part of being a long-term good steward of an organisation.”
“As a government-funded science agency, we have to be responsive to the priorities of the day … We look at the direction of science, and then we come up with what we believe are the right choices for delivering impact at scale.”
This meant exiting areas of science that were “well covered by other parts of the research sector and industry”.
Earlier this month, the peak housing industry body expressed outrage that the CSIRO was considering shutting its North Ryde fire technology laboratory, which provides independent testing of building materials against the National Construction Code.
Dr Hilton said “difficult choices” had been necessary and that he did not regret the changes, other than their “devastating” impact on staff “who are passionate about their science”.
The CSIRO has now extended the lease until mid-2027.
Dr Hilton said the agency would keep talking to the industry and “come to a sensible view about how to proceed”.
The CSIRO’s $1 billion annual federal budget appropriation has remained stagnant for years, meaning it is falling in real terms, but the Albanese government gave the agency a $387.4 million boost in this year’s budget and $233 million in its December mid-year economic update.
This was mostly for infrastructure upgrades and while it does not prevent job cuts, Dr Hilton said it provided the agency with “much greater stability” and allowed it to fix dilapidated buildings that posed a workplace safety risk.
“We have to have facilities that remain safe for our people,” he said.
Having fit-for-purpose buildings and equipment would help convince university students and graduates that CSIRO “is the place to come if you want to dedicate your life to tackling big challenges”.
Dr Hilton said the agency wanted to attract the best and brightest scientific minds with skills needed to address the nation’s biggest challenges.
“We have an opportunity to recruit smart young people, and that’s what you need to keep your science at the cutting edge, but also to keep your organisation nimble and adapting to the new priorities that are coming up,” he said.
“I’m really excited about that.”