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The Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research is examining research workforce issues such as the need to meet the impact of an ageing academic workforce and wider workforce demands for people with higher degree by research (HDR) qualifications. As an initial piece of work, the Department commissioned the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) to undertake a research study on the ‘Future supply of and demand for higher degree by research (HDR) qualifications’. This is the final report of this study. It presents a snapshot of Australia’s current HDR supply and its characteristics as well as projected supply and demand of HDR qualifications between now and 2020. The findings of the report will inform further analysis of research workforce issues in Australia. The research also catalogues a number of existing data sources that can be utilised for research into this population and identifies key gaps in the current collections which inhibit some areas of analyses into this level of qualification. The HDR qualifications, the doctorate by research (or PhD) and the masters by research, provide important skills and knowledge that can be effectively used to build the innovation and research capacity of the Australian economy. As the developed world becomes more reliant on knowledge as a vital part of economic growth and development, the importance of highly skilled workers who can create, disseminate and use new knowledge becomes integral. The role of those with the skills and competencies provided through higher research degrees is therefore of increasing importance to the future development of the Australian economy.