Category: Submissions 2024

Building research into the Allied Health Workforce Strategy

In May 2024 the Department of Health and Aged Care released a consultation paper on a draft outline of the National Allied Health Workforce Strategy, intended to to ensure there are enough highly trained allied health professionals distributed across the country.

Research Australia’s responses to the consultation paper focus on the need for the strategy to recognise the role of allied health professionals as clinician researchers in creating a self improving allied health sector and supporting retention of allied health professionals. To achieve this the Strategy needs to better support clinician researchers and the submission highlights ways to do this.

Read our submission here.

A National Immunisation Strategy to 2030

In May 2024 The Department of Health and Aged Care released a consultation paper to support the development of the Next National Immunisation Strategy for 2025-2030. The consultation paper proposed a vision, mission, priority areas, and opportunities for action for the next Strategy.

Research Australia’s submission has welcomed the overall direction of the Strategy but proposed some amendments to the Vision and Mission. We have also highlighted areas where the Strategy could better engage and make use of researchers, including the secure sharing of more data, and learning the lessons of the COVID pandemic. We have also proposed an expert panel from research organisations and industry to periodically advise on the latest developments and trends in vaccine development and delivery technologies.

Research Australia’s submission is available here.

Effective and meaningful consumer involvement in HMR

In March 2024, the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and the Consumers Health Forum of Australia Ltd (CHF) commenced a review of the 2016 Statement on Consumer and Community Involvement in Health and Medical Research (the Statement).

The Statement aims to support consumer and community involvement across all types and levels of health and medical research.

Research Australia’s submission has supported the expanded involvement of consumer and community representatives in HMR while emphasising the need for research organisations and funding bodies to appropriately train and resource researchers to ensure the involvement of consumers and community representatives is effective and meaningful.

Research Australia’s submission is available here.

The Chronic Disease Framework and the role of research

In March 2024 the Department of Health and Aged Care commenced a refresh of the National Strategic Framework for Chronic Conditions.

‘The Framework was published in 2017 with a timeframe of eight years, from 2017 to 2025. The Department of Health and Aged Care (Department) is leading a review and refresh of the Framework to ensure it remains current, accurate and relevant.

The refresh of the Framework will consider how chronic conditions can best be prevented and managed for all Australians, including priority population groups.’ (Consultation paper, page 7)

Research Australia made a submission in response to the consultation on the initial Strategic Framework, and has now followed this up with a response to the new consultation, emphasising the need to identify a broader role for research.

Research Australia’s submission is available here.

Research in perimenopause and menopause

Research Australia has responded to the Senate Inquiry into issues related to perimenopause and menopause.

Our submission identifies areas in which further research into perimenopause and menopause is required; and where research is needed to improve the understanding of existing evidence on menopause and perimenopause among the medical community, individuals, employers and disadvantaged populations.

Our current knowledge of the symptoms of perimenopause and menopause and their prevalence and impact in the Australian community and economy is patchy. This lack of evidence is impairing the response to perimenopause and menopause in Australia. We recommend a more strategic approach to the funding of research into menopause and perimenopause in Australia to address these gaps.

Research Australia’s submission is available here.