Tag: productivity commission inquiry

Doubling Philanthropy by 2030

The Commonwealth Government has set an ambitious target to double philanthropic giving by 2023 and has asked the Productivity Commission (PC) to advise on how this can be achieved. The PC has launched an Inquiry, and in this first phase it is seeking data on philanthropy and ideas on actions the Government can take to achieve this goal.

Philanthropy plays a critical role in funding health and medical research and innovation in Australia. Research Australia’s submission has provided information about the nature of philanthropy in our sector and the role it plays in complementing other sources of funding. We have drawn on our many years of annual opinion polling to provide information about motivations for donating to research, tax deductions, trends in donations and attitudes to charities partnering with government to jointly fund research.

We have suggested that a more strategic approach by the Australian Government to working with charities could lead to efficiencies and greater effectiveness in the funding of HMR.

Research Australia’s submission is available here.

We will also respond to the second stage of the PC’s Inquiry, later in 2023. If you would like to join our working group on philanthropy, please email Greg Mullins, Head of Policy, at greg.mullins@researchaustralia.org

Response to Health Department Consultation on Productivity Commission Recommendations on Mental Health

Having commissioned an Inquiry into mental health by the Productivity Commission, the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing has now undertaken a consultation on the recommendations contained in the Commission’s final report.

The Consultation was undertaken using an electronic survey, which has restricted the response to each question to a maximum of 500 words. Research Australia’s response to each of the questions posed by the survey is provided in our submission. Our responses emphasise:

    • the critical role of research in supporting the evaluation of existing programs and measures and the development and implementation of new programs;
    • the need to focus on implementation and scalability as part of translating research findings into new and effective preventive mental health programs; and
    • the essential role of data in evaluating the effectiveness of programs and the performance of the mental health system as a whole.

Research Australia acknowledges the contribution of our members to this submission, especially Black Dog Institute, Orygen, SANE Australia and Beyond Blue.

Public Sector Data Availability and Use

The Productivity Commission is undertaking an Inquiry into the availability and use of public data. Research Australia’s submission in response to the Issues Paper emphasises the importance of improved access to public data as a means of facilitating Australian health and medical research. It highlights the importance of linked datasets and identifies a number of cultural and legislative barriers to the greater use of data for research purposes. It also provides some case studies and makes some recommendations for improvement.

Data Availability and Use