The evolution of the Australian start-up and innovation ecosystem: Mapping policy developments, key actors, activities, and artefacts

This paper maps the evolution of the Australian start-up and innovation ecosystem by exploring policy developments and mapping the key actors, activities, and artefacts. The study unpacks policy developments over the past two decades to show the government’s role in shaping the innovation ecosystem and the implications for start-ups. We outline the ecosystem’s key actors, including start-ups, scale-ups, support organisations, investors, research institutions, and their growth over time. We examine the artefacts of the ecosystem to understand start-up and innovation performance in a global context. We also explore the activities of the ecosystem in terms of collaboration, research, and development. The paper concludes with a discussion of policy gaps.