May 21, 2026 — 12:45pmAustralia’s national science agency has confirmed it will shed 92 jobs, the majority of which will come from environment and climate modelling teams.Staff were pulled into town hall meetings across the country at 11am on Thursday and told about the job cuts, which had first been foreshadowed in November ahead of consultation with staff and stakeholders.CSIRO flagship RV Investigator in Antarctica this summer, with Aurora Australis lighting up the sky.CSIROIn March, a CSIRO spokesman said a comprehensive review of the agency’s research portfolio had identified “complementary and duplicative capabilities” in the environment research unit, which had been formed through an earlier merger of two units.“The proposed changes impact 102 FTE [full-time equivalent] roles and are intended to reduce this duplication, better integrate science across disciplines, more effectively address critical national challenges and maximise science impact within available funding,” he said.After a period of consultation and feedback, the agency announced it would cut 92 jobs – 10 fewer than initially foreshadowed.The agency has announced it will pursue a “renewed emphasis” on climate adaptation and resilience research to deliver “practical science”.CSIRO’s modelling has been used to predict the impact of climate change on Australia and its neighbours.CSIRO“CSIRO is making essential strategic research shifts to focus its efforts on where we can deliver the greatest national impact,” the spokesman said.“To achieve this sharpened focus, we are exiting research where we lack scale to achieve significant impact, or areas where others in the sector are better placed to deliver.”Critics said this would shift CSIRO’s research focus from climate change mitigation to adaptation.The losses cap a tumultuous period for staff at the agency, with more than 300 roles to be cut in the current redundancy round, following about 800 jobs lost over the past year.CSIRO insiders fear for the future of the Australian Community Climate and Earth System Simulator (ACCESS) model, built in partnership with the Bureau of Meteorology, universities and international partners.ACCESS is a system which, CSIRO says, “provides a national weather, climate and Earth system modelling capability for operations and research”. It is used by climate scientists across the country to underpin and inform their own research and modelling about the impacts of climate change on landscapes, oceans, animals and agricultural viability.It’s understood five of the 15 specialised climate modellers working on ACCESS will lose their jobs.Leading climate scientist Professor Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick, president of the Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society, said cutting one-third of the specialised workforce would devastate CSIRO’s capacity to predict and model the effects of climate change.“Basically, without the ACCESS model, we’re running on a dial-up modem,” she said.In a submission to a Senate inquiry into CSIRO’s funding and resourcing, Science and Technology Australia chief executive Ryan Winn said CSIRO’s work was “deeply embedded in the broader research ecosystem” in Australia.“It is a vital partner in projects with universities and industry and hosts critical research infrastructure assets,” Winn said.“Any reductions to CSIRO’s capacity to maintain this essential support will send far-reaching and enduring ripple effects across the [research and development] system.”The Australian government committed an additional $387.4 million to the agency over the forward estimates in this month’s federal budget. On May 9, a CSIRO statement said this funding would support the agency’s sustainability and “provide greater stability for its workforce”.More to comeBianca Hall is The Age's environment and climate reporter, and has worked in a range of roles including as a senior writer, city editor, and in the federal politics bureau in Canberra.Connect via X, Facebook or email.Mike Foley is the climate and energy correspondent for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via email.From our partners