Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science Christopher Pyne and Assistant Minister for Innovation Wyatt Roy have released 10 outcomes from the Policy Hack event held in Sydney last month.
About 150 participants, including entrepreneurs, investors and industry representatives, came together on October 17 to take part in Policy Hack, a brainstorming event designed to help boost Australia’s startup and innovation culture.
Mr Pyne and Mr Roy this month officially launched an outcomes report compiled by peak startup industry group StartupAUS.
The report found that innovative businesses rely on support, and “can only thrive in places where there is a culture in which new ideas and calculated risk are valued”.
It also found that an effective innovative agenda for Australia needs to ensure high-growth companies are supported at every stage – from ideation, to proof of concept, development and commercialisation.
The outcomes report found that unless an innovation agenda includes a plan for immediate, effective action, “Australia risks falling so far behind our competitors that we can’t catch up.”
The 10 key ideas resulting from Policy Hack were:
- Corporate innovation: Make startup accelerators ‘Eligible Research Organisations’
- Social enterprises: Bring innovation to disadvantaged communities through the NBN
- Gender equality: Boost female participation through the ‘Rockstar Initiative’
- Intellectual property: Develop a Patents Box system to create and retain more innovative companies
- Capital: Use income tax and CGT incentives to boost investment in early stage ventures
- Universities: Move the ‘food bowl’ to incentivise and reward engagement and commercialisation
- Government procurement: Engage startups in procurement process and make government data more open and adaptive
- Global awareness: Create start-up ‘Landing Pads’ in key markets to help our startups succeed overseas
- Education: Introduce ‘DICE Kids’ program by starting Lemonade Days in primary schools
- NEIS: Adapt the New Enterprise Incentive Scheme to help founders in accelerators.