Category: Media, Uncategorized

Doubling Philanthropy by 2030

The Commonwealth Government has set an ambitious target to double philanthropic giving by 2023 and has asked the Productivity Commission (PC) to advise on how this can be achieved. The PC has launched an Inquiry, and in this first phase it is seeking data on philanthropy and ideas on actions the Government can take to achieve this goal.

Philanthropy plays a critical role in funding health and medical research and innovation in Australia. Research Australia’s submission has provided information about the nature of philanthropy in our sector and the role it plays in complementing other sources of funding. We have drawn on our many years of annual opinion polling to provide information about motivations for donating to research, tax deductions, trends in donations and attitudes to charities partnering with government to jointly fund research.

We have suggested that a more strategic approach by the Australian Government to working with charities could lead to efficiencies and greater effectiveness in the funding of HMR.

Research Australia’s submission is available here.

We will also respond to the second stage of the PC’s Inquiry, later in 2023. If you would like to join our working group on philanthropy, please email Greg Mullins, Head of Policy, at greg.mullins@researchaustralia.org

Research to support Health Literacy

In October 2022, The Commonwealth Department of Health released a draft National Health Literacy Strategy for consultation. The new Health Literacy strategy is being developed under the National Preventive Health Strategy 2021-2030. As such the Literacy Strategy is intended to provide the public with the skills and abilities to maintain their own health and wellbeing as well as improve interactions with the health system.

Research Australia’s submission to the consultation emphasised the role research can play in supporting the implementation of the Strategy, and the need to recognise older Australians as a priority target population.

Research Australia’s submission is available here.

Research Australia’s Pre Budget Submission September 2022

Research Australia’s submission ahead of the Alabnese Government’s first Budget, to be handed down in October, acknowledges the large debt the Government is faced with. In keeping with the Government’s objective to fund activities that will boost productivity, we have outlined how investing in health and medical research can help grow Australia’s economy and provide well paid jobs, now and for future generations.

We have reiterated the need for a National Health and Medical Research Strategy and for a research workforce plan to support this objective.

Research Australia’s submission is available here.

Ms ELIZABETH KOFF AM APPOINTED TO THE BOARD OF RESEARCH AUSTRALIA

The nation’s peak body for health and medical research and innovation, Research Australia, has welcomed Managing Director of Telstra Health, Ms Elizabeth Koff AM, to its Board.

Chair of Research Australia Associate Professor Annette Schmiede said, “As the national peak body across all health and medical research in Australia, our Board is drawn from the leaders in our membership across our sector.”

“During her time as Secretary of NSW Health Ms Koff oversaw the NSW response to the Covid pandemic and advised the Government on the management of covid and the successful vaccine rollout. Elizabeth’s experience in both the public and private sector will provide an invaluable contribution to our strategic focus on health and medical research advocacy.”

Ms Koff said, “The pandemic demonstrated unequivocally the value of health and medical research. I am pleased to be joining the Research Australia board and contributing my support for this vital sector.”

Research Australia’s CEO, Nadia Levin said, “Ms Koff’s appointment reflects our recognition of the importance of cooperation between public, private enterprise and government when it comes to the broader scientific research endeavour in this country.

“Ensuring that Australia’s people continue to enjoy good health and a quality of life means we must make greater use of our research outcomes to drive greater health and economic impact.”

Research Australia has also expressed its heartfelt thanks to outgoing Director and past Telstra Health Managing Director, Professor Mary Foley. “Professor Foley’s contribution to the health and medical research community is immense and she will continue to share her deep health system expertise with Research Australia as part of our prestigious alumni group,” Annette Schmiede said.

Biography
In April 2022 Elizabeth was appointed Managing Director of Telstra Health, Australia’s largest digital health company and a subsidiary of Telstra Corporation.
Prior to this Elizabeth was Secretary, NSW Health for a six year term. As Secretary, Elizabeth was responsible for the management of the NSW health system, the largest health system in Australia with a $30 billion budget and 124,000 FTE. Key strategy achievements include the implementation of value based care across NSW, the progression of e-Health initiatives and a $2B/year capital infrastructure program. In 2020/2021 Elizabeth lead the NSW Health system through the COVID-19 pandemic and advised NSW crisis cabinet on the management of covid in NSW, and the subsequent vaccination roll out.
Elizabeth was chair of the Australian Health Ministers Advisory Council (AHMAC) and its subsequent iteration of Health Chief Executives Forum. She is also a member of Chief Executive Women.
Elizabeth was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in the Queen’s Birthday 2022 Honours.

MEDIA RELEASE – RESEARCH AUSTRALIA ANNOUNCES NEW DATE FOR ITS 19TH ANNUAL HEALTH AND MEDICAL RESEARCH AWARDS THURSDAY DECEMBER 8, 2022

Research Australia will hold the 19th Annual Health and Medical Research Awards on Thursday 8th December 2022, at the Metropolis, Melbourne.

As the national peak body for health and medical research, Research Australia’s Awards are highly regarded and coveted by the health and medical research sector. These prestigious awards are our recognition of the outstanding efforts and achievements of individuals and teams who drive and support the opportunities that health and medical innovation bring to each and every one of our lives.

Acknowledging talent and excellence in our sector is not only a key part of Research Australia’s role in advocacy for health and medical research, it is also paramount to encouraging future generations of great researchers. This event allows student, early to mid-career researchers and the sector’s more prominent influencers to share an experience which not only celebrates current innovation but encourages future growth in research, funding and corporate leadership.

Past Award winners include: Professor Brendan Murphy AC, The Hon Bob Carr, Lady Mary Fairfax AC OBE, Dame Elisabeth Murdoch AC DBE, Laureate Professor and 2018 Scientist of the Year, Nicholas Talley AC, Sir Frank Lowy AC, Connie Johnson OAM & Samuel Johnson OAM and Andrew Forrest AO and Dr Nicola Forrest AO.  Prominent politicians, both Federal and State, are invited to attend each year to speak and present the Awards.

For more information on Research Australia’s Annual Health & Medical Research awards and how you can nominate someone to win one of these prestigious awards visit the website.

ENDS

Research Australia is the national peak body for health and medical research, representing the entire health and medical research pipeline.

Enabling the ARC Industry Fellowships Scheme to work for HMR

Announced in February this year, the ARC Industry Fellowships Scheme is intended to support all of the Government’s strategic target industries, including medical products.

Research Australia believes that the Scheme is at risk of failing to meet its objective of supporting the strategic area of Medical Products unless some form of exemption from, or relaxation of, the ARC’s Medical Research Policy is applied to the Industry Fellowships.

This issue has been raised by Research Australia in ARC consultations on the guidelines for the new Scheme and in a formal submission to the ARC. The submission is available here. 

A new Strategy for the MRFF

Research Australia’s submission in response to the consultation on the new MRFF Strategy 2021-26 and related Priorities has proposed several critical changes:

    • It has emphasised the need for the Strategy to provide more guidance about how the MRFF should be invested.
    • Greater engagement with health systems in the states and territories is essential, as is a focus on preventive health.
    • The Strategy needs to address how evidence arising from the research and innovation funded by the MRFF is embedded into the health system.
    • The new MRFF strategy should identify and address gaps in skills and capability that prevent the implementation of evidence into practice into our health system.
    • Infrastructure funding priorities for the MRFF should be developed in consultation with Department of Education Skills and Employment and state and territory governments, to ensure research infrastructure is funded where needed and complements other programs and initiatives.
    • The Strategy should propose a mechanism for better differentiating the funding programs of the NHMRC and the MRFF. The Strategy should also propose the development of a national HMR strategy to better coordinate funding for HMR from all sources, in much the same way the first strategy proposed a whole of government approach to addressing funding for the full cost of research.
    • COVID-19 has highlighted the particular difficulties facing early- and mid-career researchers. The Strategy could commit the MRFF to considering how the design of the MRFF’s funding programs could better support EMCRs.
    • The effects of COVID-19 in our region provide the opportunity for the strategy to consider how Australia can use its research capability to support our neighbours’ response to and recovery from COVID-19, as an exemplar for broader engagement on regional health issues.

Read Research Australia’s submission here.

The new MRFF Strategy, for the period from 2021-2026 was subsequently published on 2 November. It is available here.   More information about the MRFF Strategies and Priorities is available on our website here.

Research Australia monitoring important new MRFF legislation

The Government introduced the Investment Funds Legislation Amendment Bill 2021 into Parliament on 25 August. If passed, it will, among other things, fix the amount of funding disbursed from the MRFF for five years at $650 million per annum. At the end of the five-year period, the investment performance of the MRFF will be assessed to determine if sufficient earnings have accumulated over the period to raise the annual rate of disbursement. This five-year review period will become a permanent feature of the MRFF.

The MRFF 10-year Investment Plan introduced by the Government in the 2019 Budget has allocated roughly $550 million per annum over the period to 2027-28. The proposed legislative change will allow these commitments to be met, while providing approximately $100 million per annum for new commitments and programs.

This change is about reducing the volatility in MRFF disbursements that arises because of the link to annual investment returns. This volatility caused the Government to tip in $175 million to MRFF disbursements in December last year to keep the MRFF 10-year Plan on track.

Research Australia will be closely monitoring performance of the MRFF and continuing to advocate for fund growth to mirror the growth of the health and medical research sector. While fixing the disbursements, as is proposed by the legislation, provides certainty as to how much we can expect to see disbursed from the MRFF every year, we are seeking clarity as to whether this amount will be indexed. At a bare minimum, the MRFF should keep pace with inflation. Research Australia members remain concerned that other key funding streams like the ARC and NHMRC are not indexed to CPI, meaning they don’t keep pace with inflation and, in real terms, are funds in decline.

The Senate Finance and Public Administration Legislation Committee is undertaking an Inquiry into the Bill and is due to report back to the Senate by 14 October.

For further information or to contribute to Research Australia’s submission, please contact Lucy Clynes, General Manager at lucy.clynes@researchaustralia.org

Clearing the pathway for global clinical trials 

Australia’s world-class research community and strong health system, along with low COVID-19 infection rates, should be a beacon, positioning Australia as the preferred global destination for clinical trials.

We have been working with our members from across the pipeline including Novo Nordisk, GSK, PRAXIS Australia and many others to shine a light on the opportunities (and address the challenges) to attract global clinical trials to Australia.

It is fitting that today on International Clinical Trials Day, Research Australia is pleased to publish our report;

Clearing the pathway for global clinical trials

Improving the environment for clinical trials enables Australian patients to benefit from the latest medicines and technologies developed both in Australia and overseas. It also helps Australian health and medical research to flourish in a competitive and lucrative world market.

This report outlines how we can unlock Australia’s potential through 7 key areas:

  1. A world-first, national approach to decentralised clinical trials
  2. Developing a ‘one-stop-shop’ for clinical trial approvals
  3. How to cost and budget for clinical trials
  4. Demonstrating Australia’s high-quality clinical trials capacity to the world
  5. Incorporating health data into Australia’s clinical trial system
  6. The world’s most highly skilled clinical trials workforce 
  7. Working with consumers to build better clinical trials

To read and/or download the report please click here.

MEDIA RELEASE – MORE FUNDING IS WELCOME BUT RESEARCH MUST UNDERPIN AGED CARE AND MENTAL HEALTH REFORM

11 May 2021

Aged care and mental health reform

The national peak body for Australian health and medical research has welcomed additional Government investment in key policy areas including aged care and mental health in the Federal Budget.

However, more thought must be given to the critical role health and medical research plays in health reform.

Research Australia CEO Nadia Levin said, “While more investment in aged care and mental health is undoubtedly welcome, we haven’t yet seen a clear line of funding for the critical role of research in the development and implementation of new programs.

“Within the $2.3bn Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Plan, there is $117.2 million for data collection, in part to establish the evidence base for reforms. We will be seeking the advice of key mental health research experts to understand how this data can inform continuous, evidence-based improvement to Australians’ mental health care.

“The Aged Care Royal Commission recommended more funding for research into aged care and healthy ageing. We don’t currently have detail on how that recommendation has been reflected in the Aged Care Reform Package.

“Research Australia has brought together an Aged Care Working Group with leading aged care researchers, health economists, service providers and consumer representation. We’ve formed this Group to put the Aged Care Reform Package under the microscope and provide expert advice to Government on how research can underpin aged care reform.”

Health Innovation

Research Australia has welcomed the Federal Government’s commitment to patent box tax treatment to encourage health innovators to manufacture their discoveries onshore.

“Research Australia has been a long-term advocate for a patent box policy. It has been proven to work overseas and it, along with the R&D Tax Incentive, will help in building local medical manufacturing and reducing Australia’s reliance on medical imports,” Nadia Levin said.

Research Australia has also welcomed the commitment to funding to develop an onshore mRNA vaccine manufacturing capability in Australia.

“This is an important step towards a national capability to ensure Australia is part of a ballooning global supply chain of future medicines and vaccines which will be mRNA-based.

“A nationally significant capability like this requires a coordinated, national approach. We need to draw in Australian mRNA experts from universities across the country, Australian industry partners already doing work in mRNA and the states who are already progressed in looking at their own local mRNA capabilities.

“Research Australia was one of the first groups to call for a feasibility study into mRNA technology because we know that this complex capability cannot be delivered by researchers or industry acting alone.

“We also know that mRNA is not just about vaccines. With further research, RNA has a potential application in cancer immunotherapy, regenerative medicine and genome editing. It can be used to treat genetic disorders like cystic fibrosis and muscular dystrophy, cancers, infectious diseases and cardiovascular diseases.

“An onshore mRNA capability is a golden opportunity to match Australia’s world-class research capability with commercial capability,” Nadia Levin said.

The MRFF and the NHMRC

The Health Budget has also delivered key funding with the Medical Research Future Fund now fully matured and on track to deliver $2.4 billion in research funding over the next four years.

“Australians deserve access to the latest and best treatments and therapies delivered by the world’s most innovative health system.

While the sustained investment in the MRFF in tonight’s budget is a welcome step towards this, funding for the National Health and Medical Research Council and the Australian Research Council fail to even keep pace with inflation.

“In real terms, funding for the NHMRC and ARC is declining. The NHMRC plays a unique and vital role in funding medical research separate to the MRFF and at a minimum, its funding must keep pace with inflation if it is to guarantee the pipeline of health and medical research so vital to our national health and wealth,” said Nadia Levin.

Higher education

Australian universities are critical to carrying out health and medical research in Australia. More than half of Australian health and medical research is conducted in Australian universities and they provide a skilled workforce to the health and medical research sector.

“Without a national plan for the safe return of international students, there continues to be a lost revenue stream for universities which will ultimately start to impact how much health and medical research Australia can do. And whilst last year’s $1bn funding commitment was welcome, long-term sustainable funding is needed if we’re to keep pace with global advances in medicine.

“In the coming months and years, Australians will look to health and medical research and innovation to deliver more effective treatments and more efficient pathways of care to curtail these costs. Research Australia will continue to work with Government to ensure support for the crucial role all parts of the health and medical research pipeline have to play in delivering better, more sustainable care.” Nadia Levin said.

The budget announcements are part of the equation, Research Australia will continue its advocacy efforts, influencing smarter investment in health and medical research and innovation.

Health and medical research must be seen and treated as the critical national capability it is. Not only to ensure our health and quality of life, but as a key driver of our economy.

www.researchaustralia.org

Research Australia is the national peak body for Australian health and medical research – representing the entire pipeline from fundamental research through to health innovation and commercialisation.

Media contact: Lucy Clynes 0404 068 912