2025-26 Research Australia Health and Medical Research Awards

Nominations for the 2025-26 Awards will open soon.

General Criteria

  • To nominate you must identify a primary nominating organisation and a secondary nominating organisation.
  • The primary nominating organisation must be a current financial Research Australia member.
  • The secondary nominating organisation does not need to be a Research Australia member.
  • You can nominate across as many categories as you choose and submit multiple nominees under one/each category.
  • A nominee may also be nominated across more than one category
  • A person/individual can only be contact of the primary nominating organisation across a maximum of 2 award categories (more allowed only if internal protocol absolutely dictates they must be the key signatory/approver of the nomination) ie  If you are submitting multiple nominations then please vary the primary nominator/contact where possible.

How to Nominate

You will soon be able to download ALL the Criteria and Nomination information here. Once you are familiar with all the criteria and questions to answer, you can complete the form on the online portal, which will be made available when nominations open. You then fill in the form with all the details and submit your nomination.

Nominations will close in the first half of 2026.

If you have any questions you can email awards@researchaustralia.org or call 02 9295 8545.

Advocacy Award

This award recognises excellence within advocacy and recognises exceptional contributions made by advocates (either an individual, group, or an organisation) that help raise community awareness and understanding of the importance of advocacy in health and medical research. 

The Awards Committee will be looking for examples and evidence of advocates who have shown outstanding practice in the past 12 months of helping and advocating for communities within Australia.  

The application may outline the personal strength of the nominee that is through time, skills and resources, given to any region around Australia and made a difference or inspired others to contribute to their community.  

Great Australian Philanthropy Award

This award profiles philanthropy that is outstanding in its generosity, effectiveness, vision, high impact and transformative quality. The Award recognises and encourages personal or professional philanthropic donations over a period of time by an individual(s), partnership, family or business to Australian health and medical research.

Discovery Award 

The HMR sector is committed to support and develop early career researchers.   

This award recognises an early career researcher (anytime from qualification but no more than 5 years past PhD or research higher degree) whose paper/patent/discovery has already demonstrated its importance or impact. 

Health Services Research Award

Embedding research in Australia’s health system can ultimately deliver safer, more effective, evidence-based and efficient health care. Translating research findings efficiently and in a timely manner into changes in clinical practice is one of the keys to improving patient management; reducing adverse events and readmissions; and reducing wasted spending on unnecessary tests and treatments.

This Award is for an individual or team who has provided leadership and made an outstanding contribution to health services by driving research that has led to a significant improvement in healthcare; and/or has championed the development of the health services research field.

Frontiers Award

The Frontiers category showcases Australia’s potential to extend beyond existing knowledge and boundaries to transformative practical application. Australia is already a global leader in health and medical research excellence, the challenge is to leverage this advantage through bold leadership and game changing innovation. 

This category recognises transformative research by an individual, team or corporate that could revolutionise health outcomes within Australia and potentially internationally. 

A frontier outcome could be, but is not limited to, applying emerging capabilities in areas such as machine learning, artificial intelligence or robotics; understanding how humans’ function in extreme environments; reducing healthcare costs without compromising patient outcomes; or ground-breaking transformative medicine. 

Digital and Data Health Innovation Award 

The Digital and Data Health Innovation Award recognises an individual, team or organisation leading the innovative use of digital health technologies, data, data linkage or data matching to improve healthcare delivery, outcomes, or research. Eligible innovations must be supported through Australian health and medical research and involve at least one Australian collaborator. The award celebrates work that is emerging, implementable, and scalable within a five-year horizon, with the potential to influence health outcomes or policy at the local, state or national level. We are seeking nominees whose innovation demonstrates tangible impact on Australia’s health and medical research landscape.

The Peter Wills Medal

The Peter Wills Medal was created in honour of a great leader whose work led to the inception of Research Australia. The Peter Wills Medal is the flagship award and recognises someone who has made an outstanding, long-term contribution to building Australia’s international reputation in areas of health and medical research and fostering collaboration for better health. 
 
Nominations are welcome from any individuals who have made an outstanding contribution in the field and should not be regarded as being limited to researchers.