The Australian Government’s Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic: Submission to the Senate Select Committee Inquiry

This submission to the Senate Select Committee inquiry into the Australian Government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic focuses on the effects of that response on health and medical research and innovation. Research Australia judges the Government’s public health response highly effective, citing its survey of more than 1,200 health and medical researchers, in which 95% agreed the response was effective and 92% agreed politicians had relied on expert advice. It maintains, however, that border closures, the suspension of non-essential clinical activity and physical distancing disrupted research: 39% of respondents reported disruption from travel restrictions, 21% from loss of access to hospital research settings and 51% said their research could not be done remotely, while 70% expect effects beyond 2020. Survey respondents alone reported an estimated $75 million in financial impact. The submission contends the pandemic exposed a fragmented and fragile funding system: the National Health and Medical Research Council, Australian Research Council and Medical Research Future Fund extended timeframes but not funding, while universities lost up to $2.5 billion in international student revenue for 2020 (putting 38% of research salaries at risk) and medical research institutes (MRIs) lost philanthropic income. It also notes that 54% of university and 74% of MRI researchers are on contracts. Research Australia recommends a national whole-of-governments review of research and innovation, a comprehensive fully funded research strategy, a short-term funding injection for universities and MRIs, and extending JobKeeper to universities and to MRIs excluded by their governance arrangements.