The Allen Consulting Group report is the first to quantify the economic benefits delivered by the government-funded research centers.

It says consumers are A$0.60 cents wealthier for every A$1 invested in CRC research by the government.

Real consumption in the economy was up by A$763 million, investment by A$417 million and tax revenue by A$66 million compared with what would have been the case without CRC research.

"This represents the minimum accounting of the returns from the program, with actual returns likely to be significantly higher," the report said.

Australia has more than 70 CRCs covering areas including manufacturing, information technology, mining, agriculture, environmental research and medical science.