Skilled and enabled Workforce
Every discovery depends on people. We make the case for a workforce that’s strengthened, skilled and enabled.
Fifty-four per cent of university researchers and 74% of medical research institute researchers are on contracts, most often for 12 months. Our position: Australia’s health and medical research and innovation workforce, including early and mid-career researchers and clinician researchers, needs the skills, support and conditions to meet today’s needs and tomorrow’s.
Impact To Date
What we did, and what happened next
A workforce paper we published is now with government.
What we Focused On
The gap between finishing a PhD and running an independent research programme, and the clinicians who want to do research but can’t get protected time to do it.
What we did
Published a national policy discussion paper on the research workforce, developed with a university steering committee, and took it to government. Pressed for career security in our funding submissions.
What happened in the system
The paper is now with government, shaped by feedback from CQ University, Deakin University and Monash University during development. A government response is still pending.
Where the system leaks
The research career pipeline
1
PhD & training
Strong intake. Domestic PhD completions rose 41% between 2005 and 2023.
2
Early career
The sharpest loss. Enrolments fell 8% between 2018 and 2023, and MRFF grant success rates sit around 20%.
3
Mid career
Contract insecurity doesn’t end at early career: 54% of university researchers and 74% of medical research institute researchers are on fixed-term contracts, most commonly just 12 months.
4
Established
Where the pipeline should be producing its most senior researchers, and often isn’t.
BY THE NUMBERS
The scale of the problem
1 in 3
early- and mid-career researchers are considering leaving academia because of funding or job insecurity.
Source: Australian Academy of Science, 2026.
12 months
The most common length of a research contract, against grant cycles that typically run 3 to 5 years.
Source: Australian Health and Medical Research Workforce Audit, 2024
39,690
Active researchers across Australia’s health and medical research workforce.
Source: Australian Health and Medical Research Workforce Audit, 2024
The proof
Evidence on this platform
Every item below is citable.
Report
Arthritis
2026
Australia’s research workforce at a glance
Our national policy discussion paper on the future of the research workforce, developed with a university steering committee.
Report
Clinical trials
2024
Clinician Researchers: Research Activating the Health System
Recommends joint clinical/research positions with protected time and a funded research salary component, based on interviews with 40 clinician researchers.
Communique
Digital health
2024
Measures to Support Early and Mid-Career Researchers
A national survey of 37 institutions on what workplace support EMCRs actually get, and where it’s missing.
Help shape the workforce Australian research depends on
Universities, research institutes, health services and industry all shape the positions we take to government on workforce. Join them as a member, or talk to our policy team about the evidence we’re building.