The NSW Consortium of the Australian National Fabrication Facility (ANFF) is one of 10 projects sharing in a multi-million-dollar funding injection into New South Wales’ strategic research infrastructure.

The NSW Consortium of ANFF involves six members of our ANFF-NSW, ANFF-Materials, and ANFF-OptoFab Nodes. These ANFF locations are partially funded through the NSW NCRIS Support Program, which is a competitive program to enable the delivery of, and equitable access to, NSW-based essential research and innovation infrastructure that is also funded through the Commonwealth Government’s National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS).

A total of $15.2 million over two years from the NSW Government’s NCRIS Support Program has been invested in cutting-edge research and development facilities, including the awarding of over $3.2 million to ANFF’s NSW locations.

The Commonwealth Government NCRIS 2023 announcement provided $650 million over four years to fund the continued development of state of the art infrastructure at the 15 NCRIS providers. This infrastructure investment is a critical support for the Commonwealth Government’s $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund. This substantial investment is being further leveraged by the NSW NCRIS Support program in the 8 NCRIS providers with NSW-based operations and by the institutions that host these critical facilities. Together, this increases the scale of infrastructure investment and capability in NSW.

Since the Commonwealth Government established the NCRIS Program in 2006-07, the NSW Government has provided more than $65 million to NSW-based NCRIS facilities through the Office of the Chief Scientist & Engineer.

NSW Chief Scientist & Engineer Hugh Durrant-Whyte said, ‘We recognise the vital role NCRIS facilities play in supporting the state’s research and development sector. These facilities enable the most advanced research and commercialisation opportunities to happen right here in NSW. These activities are a critical driver for innovation in the state’s economy.’

‘Once again, the NSW Office of the Chief Scientist and Engineer has recognised the incredible return on investment that state-of-the-art infrastructure can bring. This latest round of funding will see a continuation of the amazing services on offer at the 6 ANFF locations across New South Wales,’ said ANFF CEO Jane Fitzpatrick.

The provision of open-access world-class fabrication facilities, training and expertise for a diverse range of applications will drive greater innovation and collaborative R&D in NSW and beyond.

For the full NSW Chief Scientist news release, visit https://www.chiefscientist.nsw.gov.au/news/nsw-research-receives-$15-million-funding-boost

For the list of 2023 NCRIS NSW recipients, visit https://www.chiefscientist.nsw.gov.au/funding/research-and-development/ncris-support-program/2023-ncris-nsw-recipients