The Australian Science Media Centre (AusSMC) is an independent,

not-for-profit A not-for-profit or non-for-profit organization (NFPO) is a Legal Entity, legal entity that does not distribute surplus funds to its members and is formed to fulfill specific objectives. While not-for-profit organizations and Nonprofit organ ...

service for the news media based in

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

, South Australia. Established in 2005, the centre gives journalists direct access to evidence-based science and expertise.

History

South Australian Premier

Mike Rann Michael David Rann (born 5 January 1953) is an Australian former politician who was the 44th premier of South Australia from 2002 to 2011. He was later Australian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom from 2013 to 2014, and List of Australi ...

established the Australian Science Media Centre in 2005 following a recommendation from Adelaide

Thinker in Residence Thinkers in Residence is a program in Adelaide, South Australia, designed to bring leaders in their fields to work with the South Australian community and government in developing new ideas and approaches to problem-solving, and to promote South A ...

Baroness

Susan Greenfield Susan Adele Greenfield, Baroness Greenfield, (born 1 October 1950) is an English scientist, writer, broadcaster and member of the House of Lords (since 2001). Her research has focused on the treatment of Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's dise ...

. For 15 years, it was housed in the old

Adelaide Stock Exchange The Royal Institution of Australia (RiAus) is a national scientific not-for-profit organisation based in Adelaide, South Australia, whose mission is science communication. It opened in October 2009 and is housed in the historic Stock Exchange bu ...

building in Adelaide city In 2025 the AusSMC moved to

Lot Fourteen Lot Fourteen is a business and technology precinct at the eastern end of North Terrace in Adelaide city centre, South Australia. The site formerly accommodated the old Royal Adelaide Hospital, which was moved to a new building at the western ...

Function and description

The centre's aim is to better inform public debate on the major issues of the day by improving links between local and international media and the Australian scientific community. The centre operates a database of scientists who are willing to engage with the media. The AusSMC collects expert comments from scientists in reaction to breaking news, and also runs national media briefings for journalists. Media briefings are also streamed live over the Internet to journalists. Journalists are able to register with the AusSMC to receive media alerts and expert reactions by email, and to get access to embargoed science news via the science news portal it administers, Scimex. The centre also collaborates with media officers and scientists and has an increasing role in combating

misinformation Misinformation is incorrect or misleading information. Misinformation and disinformation are not interchangeable terms: misinformation can exist with or without specific malicious intent, whereas disinformation is distinct in that the information ...

Governance and staffing

The AusSMC is governed by a board of management. Peter Yates AM is its inaugural chairman. The centre's "Statement of Independence" includes the following passage:

"All board members acknowledge that Centre staff are free to disseminate the best available scientific information, regardless of any commercial, political or personal interests, including those of any sponsors or board members. Full editorial control of all material disseminated by the SMC rests with the staff of the SMC, with guidance sought from the Centre's Science and Media Advisory Panel (SMAP) when required."

AusSMC operates with six full-time and four part-time staff and is headed by CEO Susannah Eliott.

Supporters

The AusSMC receives funding from several tiers of supporters and partners. Each supporter's contribution is capped at 10% of the centre's operating costs. Foundation partners are:

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

CSIRO The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is an Australian Government agency that is responsible for scientific research and its commercial and industrial applications. CSIRO works with leading organisations arou ...

Government of South Australia The Government of South Australia, also referred to as the South Australian Government or the SA Government, is the executive branch of the state government, state of South Australia. It is modelled on the Westminster system, meaning that the h ...

New South Wales Government The Government of New South Wales, also known as the NSW Government, is the executive state government of New South Wales, Australia. The government comprises 11 portfolios, led by a ministerial department and supported by several agencies. Th ...

News Corp Australia News Corp Australia is an Australian media conglomerate and wholly owned subsidiary of News Corp. The group's interests span newspaper and magazine publishing, Internet, market research, DVD and film distribution, and film and television prod ...

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW) is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was established in 1949. The university comprises seven faculties, through which it offers bachelor's, master's and docto ...

Flinders University Flinders University, established as The Flinders University of South Australia is a public university, public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia, with a footprint extending across a number of locations in South Australia and ...

AIA AIA or A.I.A. or Aia may refer to: Aia * Aia, a small town in the province of Gipuzkoa, Spain * Peñas de Aya, small mountain range in Oiartzun, Gipuzkoa * Aia, current Kutaisi, ancient capital of Colchis * Aia, another name for Aea (Malis), an ...

, Squiz,

University of Queensland The University of Queensland is a Public university, public research university located primarily in Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland. Founded in 1909 by the Queensland parliament, UQ is one of the six sandstone ...

University of Technology Sydney The University of Technology Sydney (UTS) is a public university, public research university located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The university was founded in its current form in 1988, though its origins as a Institute of technology, ...

Curtin University Curtin University (previously Curtin University of Technology and Western Australian Institute of Technology) is an Australian public university, public research university based in Bentley, Western Australia, Bentley, Perth, Western Australia. ...

Springer Nature Springer Nature or the Springer Nature Group is a German-British academic publishing company created by the May 2015 merger of Springer Science+Business Media and Holtzbrinck Publishing Group's Nature Publishing Group, Palgrave Macmillan, and Macm ...

, and

Nine Entertainment Nine Entertainment Co. Holdings Limited is an Australian publicly listed company with holdings in mass media radio and television broadcasting, publishing and digital media. It uses Nine as its corporate branding. The entity is largely a succ ...

. In December 2024, the AusSMC was endorsed as a deductible gift recipient (DGR) meaning all donations from members of the public in Australia are now tax deductible.

Other SMCs

there are six other international independent SMCs:

Science Media Centre The Science Media Centre is a charitable company, first formed in 2002, two years after the United Kingdom House of Lords Select committee (United Kingdom), Select committee on Science and Technology's third report on "Science and Society" in 20 ...

in the UK; the

Science Media Centre of Canada The Science Media Centre of Canada (SMCC) is a non-profit organization that was formally opened on September 27, 2010. It has virtual offices. The purpose of the Centre is to serve journalists with accurate information on scientific matters. The ...

; and centres in New Zealand, Germany, Taiwan, and Spain.

References

External links

*{{official website, http://www.smc.org.au/ Organisations based in Adelaide A 2005 establishments in Australia