The CSIRO Divison of Radiophysics was established as the CSIRO Radiophysics Laboratory in 1939 to conduct radar research. After World War 2 experimental radar instruments were applied to the developing field of radio astronomy. Current areas of research for the Division, which is host to the new Australia Telescope (AT), are radio astronomy, antenna technology, satellite communications, signal processing and microelectronics.

The AT has three observatory sites, all in New South Wales: six antennas near Narrabri, over 500 km from Sydney, the 27-year-old Parkes observatory, 350 km from Sydney, and one antenna near Coonabarabran, between Parkes and Narrabri. Most staff are located at the Division’s headquarters in Sydney, where the main library is also located, and small collections are maintained at the Parkes and Narrabri observatories.