Research Australia, the national peak body for the health and medical research sector, welcomes today’s announcement by the Hon Mark Butler MP, Minister for Health and Ageing, of the draft National Health and Medical Research Strategy.
The draft Strategy, which will enter a consultation period to help shape the final strategy due to the Federal Government by the end of 2025, outlines a 10-year plan for the health and medical research and innovation sector.
Research Australia has led the call for the development of this strategy emphasising the need to elevate the awareness, contribution and opportunity the sector makes to both a healthy nation and a healthy economy. The Strategy must facilitate coordinated, sustainable investment in research; strengthen the connection between research and healthcare; and support emerging innovative health industries.
Research Australia has been working closely with Rosemary Huxtable AO PSM and her Secretariat team as well as Minister Butler and his office throughout the year and it is positive to see recommendations developed in partnership with our members picked up in the draft Strategy, including:
• Embedding collaboration systemically across the health and medical research and innovation ecosystem.
• Smarter investment in funding for health and medical research and innovation.
• Developing a Health and Medical Research and Innovation Workforce Plan.
• Streamlining regulatory pathways for medical technologies and therapeutics and reduce the time it takes to bring innovations to the Australian market.
• A focus on equity, including rural, regional and remote.
“From the very beginning of this process, Research Australia has been actively calling for a Strategy that doesn’t just sit on a shelf. So we are very pleased to see the focus on governance structures, implementation and evaluation frameworks included in the draft Strategy released today”, said Nadia Levin, CEO of Research Australia.
Developing the National Health and Medical Research Strategy provides an opportunity to bring a whole of pipeline and whole of governments approach to health and medical research. Research Australia reiterates the call that the Strategy must be developed in partnership with other national reform processes such as the Strategic Examination of R&D, National Research Infrastructure Roadmap, Clinical Trials Reform Agenda, and the HTA Review.
“If we continue to only tinker at the edges of reform, we consign ourselves to being consumers of global innovation rather than producers — dependent, reactive and increasingly uncompetitive”, Ms Levin said.
Research Australia is looking forward to working with the Department and Minister’s office in the next phase, including as part of the Technical Reference Group.
