MRFF Funding Opportunities

Several funding opportunities are currently available under the MRFF, seeking to address a range of different diseases and issues in different health settings. They are presented in order of application closing date below.

Want to assist with assessing MRFF grants?
The Department of Health is currently seeking interest from a range of stakeholders to assist in MRFF grant review and assessment as a member of a Grant Assessment Committee. More information is available here.

Open for application now

2024 Enhancing Medical Device Surveillance Through Registries

$14 million is available in grants of up to $7 million to:

Stream 1: establish or expand a registry to collect and promote analysis of information on medical devices and tools used to treat atrial fibrillation, including evaluation of cost-effectiveness and clinical outcomes

Stream 2: expand coverage of device-specific data and improve nationwide data collection and analysis on spinal procedures using implantable devices, including evaluation of cost-effectiveness and clinical outcomes.

This grant is administered by the NHMRC. Minimum data is due by 17 July.

2024 BioMedTech Incubator Operators

The Government is seeking organisations to ‘identify, select and support Australian SMEs undertaking early-stage medical research and medical innovation projects that have commercial potential….Applicants may propose to support development of innovations in their area/s of strength (i.e. applicants are not required to propose a program that covers the breadth of the biomedtech sector).’

$99 million is available over three years from 2024/25. Applications close on 31 July  on the Business Grants Hub.

Research Data Infrastructure

$10 million is available on grants of up to $2.5 million to support projects that use novel methods to harness multiple existing data infrastructure types in developing and implementing new approaches for addressing an unmet medical need. For the purposes of this grant opportunity, types of ‘research data infrastructure’ include clinical quality registries, biobanks, data collections, linkage platforms, data collection from wearables, use of artificial intelligence and informatics.

Administered by the Industry Grants Hub, applications close on 28 October. More information is available on Grant Connect.

2024 International Clinical Trial Collaborations Grant Opportunity

$12.6 million is available in grants of up to $3 million for projects that:

    • promote Australian involvement in international collaborative investigator-initiated clinical trials research through the establishment and co-ordination of clinical trial site/s in Australia.
    • provide high-quality evidence of the effectiveness of novel health treatments, drugs or devices in ‘usual care’ settings, which will support a decision on whether to deliver the intervention in an Australian setting.

This grant opportunity is being administered by the NHMRC in two rounds, with minimum data due by:

    • Round 1: 3 July 2024
    • Round 2: 4 December 2024

Long COVID

Funding for Post Acute Sequelae of COVID (PASC) research is available under 4 streams. $14 million is available in grants of up to $5 million.

Minimum data for Streams 1-4 was required by 18 October 2023.

  • Stream 4:
    • Stage 1 Minimum data was required by 18 October 2023.
    • Stage 2 will establish a multidisciplinary national adaptive platform trial that accelerates assessment and implementation of therapeutic interventions (pharmacological and non-pharmacological) for PASC. Up to $8 million will be available for Stage 2, and applications will close on 30 April 2025.

This grant  is administered by the NHMRC. More information on Stream 4, Stage 2 is available here.

MRFF Frontiers

Frontiers Health and Medical Research offers funding to support medical research and medical innovation programs of research that deliver a ‘moonshot’ by creating a treatment for a currently serious and incurable health condition, through a series of linked projects. The program of research can propose to develop novel health technologies and/or re-purpose existing health technologies in a novel way.

The process to get funding has two stages:

    • expression of interest – outlining a proposed program of research with a 10-year time horizon
    • full application, for a project of up to 5 years under the program of research.

Full applications may be submitted by invitation only. Applicants may propose to start research at any stage in the research pipeline from proof-of-concept, with the intention of achieving full implementation of the proposed technology in 10 years.

The program is administered by Business Grants Hub and an expression of interest can be submitted at any time. More information is available here.