CSIRO is closing several research sites, including relocating world-renowned climate research from its long standing atmospheric laboratory in Victoria, following the federal government’s budget cuts.

An annual direction statement, written by CSIRO chief executive Megan Clark and obtained by the organisation’s staff association, details significant internal changes to research as CSIRO enacts the cuts and offsets lower expected commercial revenue.

The organisation will cut key research areas such as geothermal energy, marine biodiversity, liquid fuels and radio astronomy and close eight sites across the country.

The CSIRO Staff Association says closure of some sites was expected as a consolidation of property in capital cities but others were surprising.