Why support Photonics? 

Photonics is a crucial capability that will support the future defence and security, prosperity, and social cohesion of Australia. It includes devices, technologies, products, and processes that generate, control, transmit, and detect light. Photonics technologies have an impact on almost every aspect of modern life, but their significance is often unknown to the public. Hence, it is often referred to as a "hidden economic engine".

From 2016 to 2022, employment in the photonics sector in South Australia has grown from 800 to approximately 1,500 jobs, and photonics revenues have grown from an estimated AUD$200 million to AUD$400 million per annum. There is every reason to expect that this growth can accelerate the state’s leadership in this field given the unique collection of physical and human assets already residing in the state.

South Australia has emerged as a global leader in photonics, boasting a thriving ecosystem of research institutions and commercial enterprises. There are scores of companies and organisations in South Australia that depend on photonics for critical aspects of their operations. Almost without noticing it, businesses that range in size from telecommunications giants stretching fibre optic cables across the Australian and global landscape, to vendors selling glittering novelty items on the street, have – in one way or another – become dependent on photonics, the ‘electronics of the 21st century’.

There are five areas of photonics in which South Australian institutions and companies unquestionably excel:

With strong government support recognising photonics as a key technology, South Australia fosters a vibrant ecosystem for researchers and businesses to develop the future of light-based technologies.