Author: Amanda Stonestreet

Marking National Close the Gap Day on 15 March, the Minister for Health Greg Hunt announced MRFF funding of $6 million over three years to the Central Australian Academic Health Science Centre (CAAHSC). The CAAHSC was recognised in July last year by the NHMRC as a Centre for Innovation in Regional Health, and has an emphasis on Indigenous-led and community controlled research. This funding is provided as part of the Rapid Applied Research Translation Program, designed to support the translational research efforts of the the seven Advanced Health Research Translation Centres and the two Centres for Innovation in Regional Health. It follows the announcement last year of MRFF funding of $10 million under this Program to the Academic Health Research and Translation Centres.

Please visit the MRFF Funding Announcements page for more information about all MRFF funding announcements.

Research Translation has become an integral part of health and medical research as pressures increase to demonstrate the impact research will have on health outcomes. However, there is often confusion around what this means, why it is important, and how it can be incorporated when designing and communicating research.

To help us better understand some of the complexities of this topic, Research Australia is working with our Foundation member, BUPA Foundation, on a Research Translation Breakfast and workshop event. Research Australia will be represented by our CEO, Nadia Levin, who will be presenting on the day and a number of our members who will be in attendance. We encourage you to follow the activity on the day through our Twitter account at @ResAustralia.

The breakfast will include the awarding of the Bupa Health Foundation Emerging Health Researcher Award, and we would like to wish the finalists all the best of luck. We are pleased to note that all finalists for this year’s awards come from Research Australia member organisations:

• Dr Amanda McCullough, Centre for Research in Evidence-Based Practice, Bond University
• Dr Bridianne O’Dea, Black Dog Institute
• Dr Emma Beckett, The University of Newcastle, School of Medicine and Public Health
• Dr Jaquelyne Hughes, Menzies School of Health Research and Royal Darwin Hospital
• Dr Rae-Anne Hardie, Australian Institute of Health Innovation, Macquarie University
• Dr Thushara Perera, Bionics Institute

Research Australia is pleased to be working with one of our Foundation Members on such a significant event, stay tuned to the Research Australia website for a recap on the day’s activities.

Later this month Research Australia will be using our unique convening power to bring together key representative organisations from across the health and medical research pipeline to identify the key issues that unite us as we approach the next federal election.

Our inaugural Pre-Election Summit will be held at Old Parliament house in Canberra, on 27 March. As the national convenor of the health and medical research sector, Research Australia will capture the issues our sector wants commitment to – from a future Australian Government of any political persuasion.

Some of the issues to be discussed on the day will include:

• A bipartisan commitment to the Medical Research Future Fund reaching $20b in funds under management by 2021.
• Sustainable, predictable research and development tax-incentives.
• A renewed commitment to strengthening Australia’s international attractiveness as a destination for clinical trials
• A bipartisan commitment to the national roll-out of My Health Record and the secondary use of deidentified My Health Record data for research purposes.

Research Australia will be sharing the outcomes of the event in the news section of this website after the conclusion of the event.

The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) has announced a new funding opportunity through the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) with a Low Survival Cancers and Diseases (LSCD) Grant Opportunity.

The competitive grant opportunity will provide support for clinical trials that address low survival cancers and diseases. Applications to this grant opportunity must propose a single clinical trial that aims to improve survival rates for Australians with a low survival cancer or other disease.

Applications for the grant open today, please visit the NHMRC website for more information on the opportunity including key dates, grant guidelines and details on how to apply.

There has been some big news coming out of Canberra in the last few days, with two major announcements regarding the Medical Research Future Fund.

“Million Minds” health mission to focus on mental health

Earlier today, the Minister for Health announced a National ‘million minds’ Health Mission, focusing on mental health, to be funded from the MRFF. The plan for the Mission is to be developed ‘over the next six months’, including details of what the MRFF will fund. This follows on the Brain Cancer mission announced last year.

$2.5 million announced for National Action Plan for endometriosis

The Federal Government has announced that $2.5 million will be available for a targeted call for research into the diagnosis and treatment of endometriosis. The funding was announced by the Health Minister on 2 March 2018 as part of the Government’s development of a National Action Plan for Endometriosis.

Please visit the MRFF Funding Announcements page for more information about these and other MRFF funding announcements.

Research Australia is pleased to announce that the 2018 Health and Medical Research Awards will be held in Sydney on Thursday 8 November.

Research Australia invites you to join us for the 16th installment of our annual Health & Medical Research Awards to celebrate the best of Australian health and medical research. Our Awards bring together the Who’s Who of the health and medical research pipeline, including researchers, government, health corporates, pharmaceutical companies and consumer interest groups to honour our Award recipients.

It will be a night to hear from our sector leaders, catch up with colleagues and old friends, exchange stories and reflect on the year’s achievements. Keep an eye out on the Research Australia website in coming weeks for more information about each Award and how to nominate.

For now, please Save The Date in your diary so you don’t miss this night of nights.

When: Thursday 8 November, from 6.30pm
Where: Sofitel Darling Harbour – Sydney, NSW
Dress: Black Tie

Please keep an eye on the Awards page for information on nominations, which will be opening shortly.

For more information about any aspect of this year’s Awards, contact the Research Australia team via email admin@researchaustralia.org or phone 02 9295 8546.

We look forward to seeing you there.

It seems hard to believe the ACNC has been with us for five years. For many charities, including the large number active in health and medical research, the drawn-out process around the creation of the ACNC, the new registration and reporting requirements, and the prospect for several years of it all being unwound seem much more recent.

Nonetheless, the ACNC Act requires the review of the legislation be undertaken after five years and this is now happening. The Terms of Reference, available from the Treasury website are fairly open ended and straightforward, seeking input in a range of areas. Submissions to the Review are due by 28 February.

In an interesting development the newly appointed ACNC Commissioner, Dr Gary Johns, has already made a submission to the Review, which is publicly available.

In a move that has raised concerns in many circles in the not for profit sector, Dr Johns has proposed that he be given additional powers to:
(a) promote the effective use of the resources of not-for-profit entities; and
(b) enhance the accountability of not-for-profit entities to donors, beneficiaries and the public.

In the past Dr Johns has been critical of charities that participate in advocacy, and many in the sector are seeing this proposal as a move by the ACNC Commissioner to take greater control of the activities that charities undertake. This comes at the same time that a Bill before Parliament seeking to improve transparency in relation to political lobbying has the potential to impose additional red tape on charities that engage in a broad range of ‘political expenditure’. (The ACNC Commissioner has criticised these measures in a submission to the Senate Inquiry.)

If your organisation is a charity, you may want to consider making a submission to the review of the ACNC legislation and responding to the Commissioner’s proposals. Research Australia is considering its own position and is keen to hear from its membership. Please contact Greg Mullins, Head of Policy, on 03 9662 9420 or via email at greg.mullins@researchaustralia.org if you would like to contribute to our submission or discuss any aspect of the review.

For information about this and other government reviews, consultations and new legislation of relevance to the health and medical research sector, visit the Current Consultations page on Research Australia’s website.