CANBERRA, May 9 (Xinhua) -- The Australian government will invest an additional 387.4 million Australian dollars (about 280.7 million U.S. dollars) into the country's national science agency over the next four years to ensure sustainable delivery of groundbreaking research, a senior minister said on Saturday.

"Publicly funded science is absolutely critical to the national interest and to solving some of Australia's biggest challenges," said Minister for Industry and Innovation and Minister for Science Tim Ayres in a media release.

The freshly announced funding for the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is in addition to the 278 million dollars announced in 2025, and on top of its existing approximately 1 billion dollars annual funding allocation, according to the release.

This investment will ensure the CSIRO can meet the longer-term costs of operating critical science and research infrastructure, and meanwhile, maintain greater workforce stability to deliver the research and technological breakthroughs Australian industries rely on, said the release.

The CSIRO said on Saturday that the additional funding provides greater certainty and workforce stability over the funding period, adding that it will still cut jobs of up to 350 roles as announced last November. ■