Policy Brief: Collaboration in the Australian Quantum Ecosystem
- Publisher:
- Australian Academy of Law
- Publication Type:
- Other
- Citation:
- 2026, pp. 1-7
- Issue Date:
- 2026-02-13
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This policy brief draws on research funded by an Australian Academy of Law Research Grant 2025. This
scoping analysis of collaboration was undertaken in the context of the 2025 Strategic Examination of
Research and Development (SERD) and the 2024 reforms of the Defence Trade Controls Act 2012 (Cth)
(DTCA). The research finds that in research and development contexts the concept of collaboration is
repeatedly used. It frequently frames discussions and drives research priorities. Yet, the concept of
collaboration is regularly left undefined. Collaboration is integral to research and innovation for new and
emerging technologies. Leaving collaboration undefined, especially when communicating about research
security frameworks, risks causing confusion and misunderstandings about the nature of scientific
research, who may work with whom, and when collaboration might drift into criminal conduct under
Australia’s export control regime and foreign interference laws. The research also identifies potential
blockers and enablers of collaboration as expressed by a subset of submitters who made submissions to
both the SERD and DTCA reviews. The research will be used to inform future work on the theoretical and
practical definitions of collaboration and to enquire into how evolving national and international research
security frameworks might block and enable effective collaboration in the Australian quantum ecosystem.
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