Imagine a future Australia where science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) underpins our high standard of living. Where innovation anchors everything we do, and we lead the world with a clean, smart and inclusive economy. Advanced manufacturing. High-paying jobs. A nation others aspire to emulate.
This isn’t a theoretical vision. Australia can become a highly productive economy, but only if we invest deliberately and early in our future workforce. And that investment must start early, at primary school, when curiosity is strongest, and ambition is still unshaped by bias. That belief sits at the heart of the newly launched Tom Ashmor Foundation (TAF).
My children and I established TAF not only to honour my late husband, Tom Ashmor’s legacy. The Foundation is focused on one clear mission: equipping public primary schools with the essential practical STEM resources they need to inspire the next generation of innovators, engineers and problem-solvers.
Tom Ashmor was a celebrated leader in Australia’s IT, digital and start-up sectors. He tragically passed away in early 2024 at just 44, following a rare autoimmune condition. After immigrating to Melbourne from Israel in 2001, Tom taught himself to code despite having no tertiary education and a humble background. He went on to become one of Australia’s most respected technical directors and creative thinkers, working alongside leading digital entrepreneurs, including Larry Kestelman and Harold Mitchell, before co-founding ShadowBoxer with four partners, including Konrad Spilva. The agency was acquired by Reece Group shortly after Tom’s passing.
Tom’s story matters because it demonstrates what’s possible when talent is nurtured early. When Tom was in primary school, a relative bought him a computer. That simple act of exposure altered the trajectory of his life. It’s a reminder that access determines outcomes and that brilliance exists everywhere, if we give children the tools to discover it.
TAF was also established to respond to an urgent gap in public education. With TAF’s support, Gardenvale Primary School in Victoria has purchased robotics kits, 3D printers, purpose-built furniture and scientific equipment to supercharge its STEM program. Hundreds of students from Prep to Grade Six now attend weekly STEM sessions, learning to code algorithms and exploring future STEM pathways.
Two more Victorian public primary schools have received grants this month, with a third to follow soon. Future grants are dependent on donations. TAF is a Public Ancillary Fund with Deductible Gift Recipient status, and all donations are tax-deductible.
The initial cohort of schools was selected for a clear commitment to making STEM a core part of their curriculum, with dedicated classrooms, specialist teachers, and a readiness to scale their programs. From 2027, support will extend beyond Victoria, with a national application process for public primary schools.
Our vision is clear and ambitious: every Australian child, regardless of gender, physical ability, religion, socio-economic background or postcode, should have access to a world-class STEM education. Primary school is when young minds are most open, before assumptions take hold about who “belongs” in science or technology.
The urgency is undeniable. Australia’s productivity growth is now among the worst in the developed world. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Australia ranked in the bottom two of 35 advanced economies for productivity growth between 2019 and 2024, outperforming only Mexico. This places Australia behind almost every comparable advanced economy, despite our strong institutions, skilled population and economic advantages.
This is not a short-term dip. It reflects years of underinvestment in innovation, technology capability and workforce skills, particularly at the foundational level. Productivity cannot be rebuilt through policy tweaks alone. It must be cultivated deliberately, starting early.
The Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering warns we could face a shortfall of 200,000 STEM-skilled workers by 2030 without decisive, structural action. An ageing population, record-low fertility rates, rapid advances in artificial intelligence and intensifying global competition only sharpen the risk.
The OECD has consistently emphasised that countries with resilient, high-performing economies embed digital capability, applied problem-solving and STEM literacy early in education, long before students enter the workforce. Today’s primary school students are tomorrow’s employers and employees, the innovators who will shape industries we have not yet imagined.
At a time when Australia’s social cohesion is being tested, we also need shared national pursuits that promote opportunity, optimism and egalitarianism. A standardised approach to excellence in primary school STEM education is not just an economic investment, it is a nation-defining one.
We don’t have to imagine a more productive future. We know how to build it. The question is whether we are prepared to invest early enough to secure it, by backing the next generation of Australian STEM talent before it’s too late.
Kate Ashmor is a lawyer and Chair of the Tom Ashmor Foundation.