Research Australia calls for national strategy on health and medical research

Research Australia has called for a comprehensive national strategy for Australia’s health and medical research sector.

‘The current system for health and medical research in Australia is fragmented and lacks leadership,’

Elizabeth Foley, Research Australia CEO said today while commenting on Research Australia’s submission to the Australian Government’s Strategic Review of Health and Medical Research, headed by Australian of the Year 2011 Simon McKeon

‘At the Commonwealth level, responsibility for health and medical research is split between the Minister for Health and the Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills, Science and Research. Within each Minister’s portfolios there are numerous programs, and bodies which fund, assess, regulate or influence health and medical research.

Within the State and Territory governments, responsibility for the funding of health and medical research largely sits with the science portfolios. However, the State and Territory Health departments are key providers of health services and are a vital component of health and medical research. Some State governments have also been active in the past in creating or funding a range of agencies engaged in fundraising, health promotion and awareness, and research.

Research Australia is calling for the development of a National Health and Medical Research Strategy that outlines the roles and responsibilities of each Commonwealth, State and Territory ministry for the funding, support, evaluation and regulation of health and medical research in Australia. The strategy should also articulate the roles of the health providers, universities, research institutes, charitable foundations and the private sector in Australian health and medical research, with the aim of achieving better coordination across the whole sector.’

Research Australia’s CEO also commented on the amount of red tape that are tying up the sector.

‘Our members regularly complain about the hundreds of hours they spend each year on paperwork to secure funding. This is time they could be better spending actually undertaking research that has the potential to save lives.’

Research Australia is calling for its members and the whole sector to provide the Review with examples of red tape.

‘The Review is all about improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the sector- cutting out some of the current layers of bureaucracy and form filling is the best way to achieve this. The Review needs to be provided with as many examples of red tape as possible.’ 

The key themes of Research Australia’s submission are:

• a single clear, comprehensive and coordinated National Health and Medical Review Strategy
• ensuring health and medical research leads to better health outcomes
• continued support for world class research
• the importance of collaboration in modern health and medical research
• the importance of promoting philanthropy as a partner in funding research
• better support for early and mid career researchers
• reducing red tape

Research Australia has undertaken a comprehensive process of member and sector consultation to inform the positions taken in the submission. Research Australia believes that paying attention to these themes will ensure that the Review is able to establish a direction for health and medical research which will serve Australia well over the next decade and beyond. Research Australia looks forward to the opportunity to engage further and in more detail with the Review during the course of its consultations.