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Helping shape government quantum policy

EQUS input into Queensland’s Quantum and Advanced Technologies Strategy

After EQUS contributed to Australia’s National Quantum Strategy in 2019, the Centre saw an opportunity to take a more hands-on approach at the state level. Building on the success of its Translational Research Program, EQUS senior leaders Halina Rubinsztein-Dunlop, Andrew White, and Michael Harvey began exploring how Queensland could strengthen its quantum ecosystem and support the deployment of emerging technologies.

The effort began in 2021 with a series of stakeholder roundtables designed to capture a holistic view of the sector. Government representatives, universities, industry players, and start-ups were invited to share insights, challenges, and priorities. This was policy advocacy in action, aimed at shaping a practical roadmap for Queensland’s quantum and advanced technology landscape.

One key insight from the process was summed up as: “Quantum is not an island, entire of itself.”

“Quantum is a team sport.”
– Michael Harvey, EQUS Translational Research Program Manager

With an engaged Office of the Queensland Chief Scientist and a receptive Queensland government, EQUS doubled down on its efforts. The Centre invested significant time and resources to demonstrate both the value of the strategy for the wider ecosystem and the need for a broader support network to enable quantum technologies. EQUS members were tasked with drafting the initial discussion papers that would inform the backbone of the state’s strategy, turning the insights from stakeholder meetings into actionable recommendations.

“We’ll do something about it and take action.”
– Andrew White, EQUS Director

EQUS took the lead in organising meetings, taking detailed notes, preparing drafts, and synthesising contributions from a wide range of participants. T The Centre was deliberate in ensuring the process was inclusive, giving all parties the opportunity to participate and ensuring all voices were heard. By handling the heavy lifting, EQUS ensured that all stakeholders were ready, willing, and enabled to engage.

The consultation process drew on expertise from government officials and universities, including the University of Queensland, Griffith University, Queensland University of Technology, and University of Southern Queensland. Academics, university technology transfer offices, investors, and industry participants all contributed perspectives, ensuring the strategy reflected cutting-edge research while considering practical pathways for translating ideas into real-world impact. Importantly, the process also provided capacity-building opportunities: it introduced many academics to their first interactions with government, gave them experience in briefing and policy considerations, and demonstrated to early career researchers that they can have real influence over the sector in which they work.

By the end of the process, EQUS had successfully guided a collaborative, evidence-based approach to policy development. In September 2024, the Queensland Government released its Quantum and Advanced Technologies Strategy, underpinned by an $89.7 million investment over five years to build deep science capabilities, grow the local ecosystem, develop the workforce, and attract investment. The result was not only a reflection of the state’s priorities but also a testament to what can be achieved when an independent, trusted research authority brings together diverse voices to create a shared vision.

This approach was later mirrored in Western Australia, informing the state’s 10-Year Science and Technology Plan and demonstrating the replicable value of EQUS’ methodology: listening, organising, drafting, and facilitating collaboration.

The goal was never to direct more funding to universities, but rather to ensure that research translates into tangible benefits for the community – a quintessentially EQUS philosophy.

Through this work, EQUS showed that shaping the future of quantum technology isn’t just about discoveries in the lab. It’s also about fostering connections, coordinating expertise, and ensuring evidence-based insights influence the policies that guide tomorrow’s innovation.

Read the strategy

by EQUS Editor

A playbook for decision makers: A MOOC moving quantum from hype to strategy

What if quantum wasn’t just for physicists?

What if quantum wasn’t just for physicists? What if leaders across sectors – from banking and logistics to policy and health – had a way to cut through the hype and learn how quantum technologies might shape their industries?

That’s the thinking behind Quantum Technologies for Decision Makers, an online course (MOOC) co-developed by EQUS members and UQ partners, launched on the edX platform in 2023. Known more casually as QTechX, the course was designed to move quantum out of the lab and into the boardroom.

In just two years of existence, over 600 learners from around the world have enrolled, including entrepreneurs, investors, policy-makers, and professionals from sectors as diverse as agriculture, IT, defence and veterinary science. While most participants take the instructor-paced course informally over 12 weeks, a growing number have opted for the verified track, completing a final assessment to develop their own quantum innovation strategy.

“It’s incredible who’s taking this course,” says Russell Manfield, instigator and Senior Lecturer/Entrepreneur-in-Residence at UQ. “People are reflecting deeply on how quantum might affect their field. One learner, a vet in Singapore, submitted a strategy for improving animal diagnostics using quantum sensors. I was not expecting that. Another in Canada leading a debt collection enterprise is leveraging the course learning to develop quantum-based modelling algorithms to better engage with his clients. The sheer diversity of industry use cases is illuminating”

From hallway conversations to global launch

The idea for the course grew organically. In late 2021, Russell met EQUS’ Michael Harvey to discuss a list of 11 possible student-led venture opportunities around quantum – but none gained traction in that particular target postgraduate course. Around the same time, physicist Tom Stace had designed the Masters in Quantum Technology program, while Russell and others noticed they were delivering the same foundational explanations over and over again.

“Eventually we said: let’s just make something,” recalls Russell. “We’ll build it once – properly – and make it accessible to a wider audience.”

By early 2022, a core team had formed: Russell Manfield, Michael Harvey, Andrew White and Neville Plint. Their goal? A course that would blend business and science, translating quantum concepts into practical insights for decision-makers. As Russell puts it, “We wanted to reframe the question. Instead of asking ‘What’s your quantum strategy?’, ask: ‘What problem can’t you solve today that quantum might help with tomorrow?’”

With initial support from EQUS and UQ’s Business School, the team began recording interviews with scientists, strategists and entrepreneurs. Andrew White played a pivotal role in brokering connections, helping the team secure contributors from across Australia and around the world.

A test-drive bootcamp at the inaugural  Quantum World Congress (QWC) 2022 in Washington DC provided valuable feedback, followed by a second iteration at ETOP 2023 (Education and Training in Optics and Photonics) in Florida and a third at QWC 2023 . The responses were overwhelmingly positive.

A new model for quantum education

The course finally launched on edX in May 2023, after 18 months of hard work and (some) stress. Structured over four self-paced modules, QTechX offers learners a mix of video content, interviews, reflection exercises, strategy extensions and optional assessments. Learners who opt into the verified track complete a capstone assignment: a quantum innovation strategy tailored to their organisation or sector.

QTechX is built around a design thinking pedagogy, inviting learners to iterate, reflect and explore new ways of thinking.

“We aren’t trying to make everyone a quantum expert,” Russell explains. “But we wanted to give them enough of the science to ask the right questions, and the tools to start connecting the dots.”

That includes use cases in sensing, communications and computing, and the ability to distinguish realistic opportunities from hype. Interviews with scientists ground the course in real research, while voices from industry and government help bridge translation.

With UQ planning to withdraw from the edX platform early in 2026 and EQUS winding down in 2025, the search is on for a new home. There are discussions underway with Quantum Australia to become the course’s next guardian – ensuring its legacy continues.

Distributing the promo card at key international conferences also helped put Australia on the map. “It gave us presence and credibility,” Russell notes. “It showed that Australia wasn’t just doing great science; we were helping lead the global conversation.”

International collaboration is growing and there is now interest in translating QTechX into other languages, including French, with support from Belgian partners.

Visit course page

Building a quantum-literate ecosystem

QTechX wasn’t just a one-off course – it was a strategic tool. As Australia develops its quantum industry and national strategy, education for non-technical audiences is crucial.

“It’s about building a quantum-literate ecosystem,” Russell says. “You need the scientists, yes. But you also need investors, policy-makers, and CEOs who understand what quantum can and can’t do and when.”

The project also had unexpected benefits for its creators. For Russell, it reshaped how he teaches and how he thinks about research translation.

“Making this course changed how I teach,” he reflects. “It reminded me how powerful innovation excitement is. I want students to feel that same spark – that sense of possibility. And I’m already thinking about version two: broader voices, more policy insight, more global perspective.”

The team

QTechX Co-Creators

  • Dr Russell Manfield
  • Dr Michael Harvey
  • Prof Andrew White
  • Dr Neville Smith
  • Ashlee Caddell (online facilitator)

Contributors and interviewees

  • Prof Sir Peter Knight
  • Dr Cathy Foley
  • A/Prof Jacqui Romero
  • Prof Tim Kastelle
  • Dr Glen Harris
  • Dr Thomas Monz
  • Kim Shyu
  • Dr Pete Shadbolt
  • Prof Jingbo Wang
  • Prof Andre Luiten
  • Prof Kai Bongs
  • Prof Winfried Hensinger
  • Prof John Rarity

 

Read the paper

by EQUS Editor

Cutting through the noise: Photon control for next-generation timekeeping

Advanced optical filters improve signal isolation in quantum timing technologies

Quantum clocks depend on more than precise atomic transitions – they also require control systems capable of delivering and detecting extremely weak optical signals with high fidelity. In 2024, EQUS researchers developed a new class of optical filters designed to address this challenge, with potential benefits for clock stability, signal quality and broader photonics-based quantum technologies.

The filters are based on fibre Bragg gratings – microscopic patterns of varying refractive index inside optical fibres. These structures reflect specific wavelengths of light, and by introducing controlled variations in the pattern, the EQUS team was able to suppress strong control beams while allowing single-photon signals to pass through with minimal loss.

Led by PhD candidate Ben Field (University  of Sydney), the study achieved more than 100 dB attenuation of unwanted light – reducing background signal intensity by a factor of 10 billion. This represents a substantial improvement over existing filter technologies and directly supports the requirements of quantum clock systems, which often depend on high dynamic range and low-loss filtering to preserve coherence.

The work complements the EQUS Quantum Clocks flagship, which explores how quantum hardware can improve timekeeping performance. Reliable filtering of control light is essential for isolating quantum signals used in optical readout, feedback and transduction processes.

The filters were fabricated in collaboration with the ANFF Advanced Fibre Bragg Grating Facility at the University of Sydney. The project also drew on expertise from classical photonics and astrophotonics, demonstrating how cross-disciplinary approaches can address hardware bottlenecks in the development of scalable quantum timing systems.

by EQUS Editor

Low-noise superconducting connections enabling large-scale quantum computing

Connecting superconducting processors and optical networks for scalable quantum computing

To realise large-scale quantum computers, isolated processors must be connected into distributed systems. This requires new interfaces capable of coherently linking superconducting circuits operating at cryogenic temperatures with optical networks that function at room temperature.

In 2023, EQUS researchers in the Quantum Integration Laboratory, led by Chief Investigator John Bartholomew (University of Sydney), developed theoretical and experimental approaches to achieve precisely this. Their work focuses on converting microwave photons – used in superconducting qubits – into optical photons suitable for transmission in fibre networks.

The team explored solid-state rare-earth-ion crystals as a medium for this conversion. These crystals exhibit transitions at both microwave and optical frequencies, making them strong candidates for hybrid quantum interfaces. PhD student Gargi Tyagi, working with Chief Investigator Andrew Doherty and Associate Investigator Thomas Smith, proposed a source of entangled microwave–optical photon pairs using magneto-optical nonlinearities. This design supports pulsed operation, long-term quantum memory, and multimode entanglement – features valuable for scalable architectures.

In parallel, the team collaborated on an integrated platform combining superconducting circuits, erbium atoms and nanophotonic resonators on a single chip – an important step towards practical quantum transducers.

This work supports the goals of EQUS’s Quantum Engines and Instruments program, which aims to integrate disparate components into functioning quantum machines. By developing tools that connect superconducting processors to optical networks, the team is addressing a key challenge in scaling quantum computing. These hybrid interfaces also have broader applications in quantum communication and sensing, and will be essential for real-world deployment of quantum technologies.

by EQUS Editor

Quantum dark matter sensing: Detecting the undetectable

Quantum optomechanics unlocks new frontiers in ultra-sensitive detection

The Optomechanical Dark-matter Instrument (ODIN) is a clear example of EQUS pushing quantum sensing technologies to new extremes.

Developed by EQUS Research Fellow Dr Chris Baker (UQ) and Chief Investigator Dr Maxim Goryachev (UWA), ODIN aims to detect dark matter by measuring one of the faintest possible signals: the scattering of dark-matter particles off superfluid helium.

Such collisions would generate tiny vibrations, or phonons – far too weak for conventional sensors to detect. ODIN overcomes this by using quantum optomechanics to transduce these low-energy phonons into high-energy photons, producing a measurable signal with minimal added noise. The device operates at ultracold temperatures, where quantum noise is reduced and sensitivity approaches the fundamental quantum limit.

This first-of-its-kind application of optomechanics to individual particle detection demonstrates the power of quantum-enabled diagnostics to extend beyond traditional sensing tasks. It aligns closely with EQUS’s Program 2 goals: to build systems with greater sensitivity and resolution, and to prove quantum advantage in real applications.

While ODIN is designed for discovery science, its technological significance extends far beyond dark matter. The same principles – quantum-limited amplification, low-noise environments, and transduction of weak excitations – are directly relevant to future sensors in fields like gravity mapping, materials science, and biomedical diagnostics.

ODIN is not only a bold step in the search for dark matter, but a platform for quantum sensing innovation. It reflects EQUS’s broader mission to build deployable, next-generation diagnostic tools that surpass classical limitations and open new frontiers in measurement.

by EQUS Editor

Engineering new quantum states with superconducting circuits

Exotic quantum phases in engineered superconducting systems

Superconducting circuits offer a promising platform for building artificial quantum materials. In 2023, researchers in the EQUS Superconducting Quantum Devices Laboratory – led by Chief Investigator Arkady Fedorov – developed new experimental techniques to create and control exotic quantum states in superconducting waveguide systems.

These systems operate at ultralow temperatures, where quantum effects dominate and superconductivity emerges. The team used superconducting qubits – engineered analogues of atoms – to explore and manipulate a new phase of quantum matter known as an atom–photon bound state. This hybrid quantum state arises when a qubit interacts with the electromagnetic field in a structured waveguide. The bound state is mostly localised on the qubit but also extends as a photon field into the surrounding structure.

By precisely engineering the qubit–waveguide interaction, the researchers demonstrated control over the spatial structure and chirality (directionality) of these bound states – an important step towards using them to engineer more complex quantum systems. Their new scheme enables perfect directional control using just a single tunable qubit, and can be readily implemented in both superconducting and quantum dot platforms.

This work contributes to EQUS Program 1’s goal of engineering strongly interacting, entangled systems with fine-grained control. Atom–photon bound states offer a novel way to couple distant qubits with minimal cross-talk, helping pave the way for scalable, modular quantum architectures. These engineered systems expand the set of quantum behaviours accessible in the lab.

In parallel, the team worked on related technologies with potential applications in quantum computing, clocks, and signal routing. Collaborations across EQUS addressed noise characterisation, quantum-limited measurement, and on-chip signal control –highlighting how precision control over superconducting components can enable the construction of complex, many-body quantum systems from the bottom up.

by EQUS Editor

Expanding capability: New EQUS labs expand national research capability

Strengthening Australia’s quantum research infrastructure

EQUS helped strengthen Australia’s quantum research capability by investing not only in people and ideas, but also in physical infrastructure.

A standout example was the opening of two purpose-built laboratories at the University of Queensland in 2022 – the Superconducting Quantum Devices Laboratory, led by EQUS’ A/Prof Arkady Fedorov, and the Bose–Einstein Condensate Laboratory, led by EQUS’ Prof Halina Rubinsztein-Dunlop AO and Dr Tyler Neely.

Both labs were designed to support cutting-edge quantum experiments, providing the stability, control and technical capacity required for foundational research in quantum computing, sensing and simulation. Despite delays caused by COVID-19 and global supply chain disruptions, the labs opened to strong support from government, with federal and state science ministers and senior ARC leaders attending the launch. Their presence reflected growing national recognition of quantum science as a priority for future industry and security.

At the launch, UQ Vice-Chancellor Prof Deborah Terry noted that Australia’s quantum researchers attract a disproportionate share of global venture capital, and called the labs an example of how government and university collaboration can unlock economic opportunity. EQUS Director Prof Andrew White highlighted the importance of these facilities not just for current research, but for training the next generation of scientists.

For EQUS, these labs represent more than bricks and equipment – they are part of a broader effort to build long-term quantum capacity.

Across its nodes, EQUS contributed to the development of specialist facilities and enabling technologies, including novel laser systems, precision timing tools and advanced imaging infrastructure. These assets remain in place beyond EQUS’ funding term for future research, industry collaboration and education, continuing the Centre’s legacy.

Visit the EQUS labs and research groups

by EQUS Editor

The EQUS Idea Factory teaching transferable skills

Developing communication and research impact skills

EQUS’ annual Idea Factory workshops brought early career researchers together to building collective collaboration and research communication skills.

Beginning in 2016, cross-disciplinary and cross-node teams met on North Stradbroke Island to establish possible research collaborations. Science communication training was developed and exercised by the different workgroups, leading up to a final presentation to a panel of judges.

Idea Factory workshops proved to be an excellent opportunity to meet other young researchers, learn more about science communication and proposal writing, and to put forward new ideas and projects.

The Idea Factory was open for all EQUS PhD Students (2nd year and beyond) and all EQUS postdoctoral Research Fellows.

From 2018 to 2023, the EQUS Idea Factory was expanded to include another Centre of Excellence, with researchers from Future Low-Energy Electronics Technologies (FLEET) joining in, expanding members’ networking opportunities and expanding even further the diversity of science being discussed.

Each year, the Idea Factory program would focus on particular aspects of early career researchers’ skill sets, with external trainers brought in when needed to supplement expertise from the two Centres of Excellence.

For example the 2019 Idea Factory brought in expertise from  CSIRO’s ON program, design to build researchers’ skills and aptitude to create real-world positive commercial, environmental and social impact.

EQUS and FLEET participants applied these insights to their research areas in advanced materials and quantum technologies, pitching a ‘product’ to a panel of entrepreneurs and local high-school students. (Many researchers were surprised to find it was more daunting and more difficult to present to the high-school students than to the seasoned entrepreneurs – excellent practise for pitching to future non-physics investors.)

The 2021 Idea Factory focused on building scientific communication, grant-writing, and presentation skills, facilitated by Dr Merryn McKinnon of the ANU Centre for Public Awareness of Science.

The 2022 Idea Factory brought in trainers from research impact consultancy Cruxes Innovation, teaching practical tools, and helping participants develop an action plan for translating their research and ideas into impact.

Such tools and frameworks set participants up for future success, with a mindset of laying out a ‘pathway to impact’ for not just their current work, but for every future research project.

by EQUS Editor

New error-correcting surface codes for fault-tolerant quantum computing

EQUS researchers’ low-overhead surface-code approaches to implementing logic gates with qubits protected by error-correcting codes, implemented in Google’s quantum processor in 2024.

Functional quantum computers will require fault-tolerant architectures based on quantum error-correction codes to mitigate the high levels of noise present in quantum hardware.

The idea is to arrange qubits in such a way that if some break or go wrong while performing a computation, they can be corrected using an appropriate code, with the
most common correction architecture being a 2D-mapped family of codes known as a surface code.

A surface code uses adjacent qubits in a 2D grid to detect and fix errors.

But conventional surface codes come with a high ‘overhead’ – meaning a dauntingly large number of physical qubits and gates would be needed to achieve the required performance.

In 2021 an EQUS team at the University of Sydney made a small tweak to the conventional surface code – a local change of basis, or a rotation of every second qubit.

“By flipping half of the qubits in our design, we found we could effectively double our ability to suppress errors,” says Pablo Bonilla, who was a 21-year-old undergraduate student at the outset of the work.

They showed that architectures based on the new code, which they named the XZZX surface code, have much higher memory thresholds and lower overheads than those based on conventional surface codes.

The XZZX code exploits the common structures in the noise affecting physical qubits. It can be tailored to fix the types of errors we know are most likely to occur in any particular physical qubit-hosting platform, whether that be silicon or trapped ions or superconducting plasmons.

In other words, XZZX can “correct very efficiently for the dominant source of errors, and spend fewer resources on correcting very rare errors,” in the words of team supervisor Prof Stephen Bartlett.

The far more scalable surface code can also continue to counter quantum decoherence as more qubits and gates are added to the system.

“What’s great about this design is that we can effectively retrofit it to the surface codes being developed across the industry,” Stephen Bartlett said.

“We are optimistic that this work will help the industry build better experimental devices.”

Indeed the potential of the new code was immediately apparent, supported by excellent publicity efforts by the team behind the code. Pablo Bonilla and supervisor Dr Ben Brown’s communication efforts were recognised by the EQUS award for Best Contribution to Public Debate in 2021, featuring in an ABC News story, with the associated YouTube video viewed over 100,000 times.

Amazon Web Services soon announced plans to implement XZZX in its quantum computing labs.

And in 2024 quantum computing giant Google implemented a variation on the XZZX code to reduce a very common type of noise in their 105-qubit superconducting quantum computing processor ‘Willow’, improving noise reduction.

With this fault-tolerant architecture in place, Google claims Willow features the first processor to achieve ‘below threshold’ quantum error correction, i.e., the ability to achieve fewer errors while scaling up the number of qubits.

by EQUS Editor

Precision low-noise sapphire oscillators for better quantum

Better quantum physics undoubtedly results in better timing. But it’s also true that better clocks give us ‘better quantum’.

In 2023, a ‘better clock’ developed by EQUS researchers in the Quantum Technologies and Dark Matter Laboratory at UWA, was applied by EQUS researchers at the University of Sydney to significantly improve quantum computing performance.

EQUS researchers in the in the UWA Quantum Technologies and Dark Matter Laboratory (led by Michael Tobar and Maxim Goryachev) demonstrated a microwave oscillator with record-low phase noise, based on a cryogenic sapphire resonator.

The cryogenic sapphire oscillator is unique because it produces an extremely clean signal near 10 GHz, working by leveraging a resonance in a high-purity sapphire crystal cooled to about 5 Kelvin.

As part of a project funded by EQUS’ Translational Research Program, the team phase-referenced the microwave sapphire oscillator to a stable microwave source, demonstrating the device could be used as a high-performance frequency reference for advanced applications. Building on this, the current research focuses on achieving the best possible phase noise performance through novel approaches in vibration isolation and interferometric noise suppression. The developed vibration isolation techniques have broad applicability to other quantum systems that are limited by mechanical noise, while the interferometric noise suppression methods are relevant to a wide range of ultra-low-noise measurement systems, including those used in quantum technologies and fundamental physics experiments.

The new oscillator technology was commercialised by a company called QuantX, which had been involved throughout the TRP project.

One of the first applications of the improved timing system was in the trapped-ytterbium-ion system used to simulate chemical dynamics in the USYD Quantum Control Laboratory (led by EQUS’ Michael Biercuk).

Integrating the new oscillator into their trapped-ion quantum computer, the USYD team led by Ting Rei Tan was able to improve the qubit coherence time of a trapped ytterbium ion qubit by a factor of 10 over the previous system.

This significant improvement is enabled by the ultra-low-noise signal stemming from the new oscillator technology developed at UWA.

Following the improvement, the ytterbium qubit coherence time is approximately 8.7 seconds, which currently holds the world record for a ytterbium system.

Clocks flagship an outstanding collaborative environment

The work highlights the high levels of inter-node collaboration characterised by Clocks Flagship projects.

“When we look back in the future, a key legacy of EQUS will be having served as the ‘multiplier’ that brings together basic research in materials and scientific instrumentation, translation, and talented scientists to amplify the overall impact of quantum technologies.” – Dr Ting Rei Tan, University of Sydney

The Clock Flagship was envisioned as a two-way exchange: exploring how quantum systems can advance clocks, and how clocks can enhance quantum systems for broader applications. It created an outstanding collaborative environment, connecting all nodes of the Centre and enabling the free flow of materials, ideas, expertise, and people. All nodes actively collaborated on clock-related projects, leveraging complementary strengths to accelerate progress, particularly benefiting from UWA’s decades-long leadership in world-class timekeeping research.

Clock-related activities were further supported through initiatives such as the Translational Research Program, Early Career Researcher travel schemes, and regular collaborative meetings. The flagship’s lasting legacy is a strong, Australia-wide community dedicated to clocks and timekeeping, which has led to multiple joint inter-institutional grant proposals and ongoing collaborations. This momentum has also attracted interest from external partners, including international research groups and industry.

Low-noise oscillators are also vital components in radar, timing and communication networks, so the team’s work will potentially have wide-ranging application.

The team were also awarded further funding from EQUS’ Translational Research Program in 2023 to improve the microwave sapphire resonator, by using a new type of frequency reference and reducing phase noise further using interferometric feedback.

by EQUS Editor

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