Benefits to the Community

Health and medical research brings many benefits to Australia, and to individuals and countries around the world. Benefits for the community include access to better health services, discoveries in disease prevention and treatment, and improved lives and livelihoods.

It means our health system can run more effectively and efficiently by finding better solutions to health problems.

By having a world class medical research sector it means that we can attract the world’s brightest, pioneering minds to Australia.

Medical research makes a significant economic contribution that extends well beyond the life-changing health outcomes for individuals. Medical research creates jobs and a larger, more productive workforce by improving the health and well being of the population. A healthier population has a wider flow-on impact in other industries across the economy.

In 2018, the KPMG report The Economic Impact of Medical Research in Australia, showed that for every dollar invested, Australian medical research returns $3.90 in benefits to the population.

Medical research from 1990 to 2004 has delivered net present gains of $78 billion – $52 billion in health gains and a further $26 billion in wider economic gains.

Medical research creates high value, knowledge-based jobs that contribute substantially to the economy. Over 110,000 people are employed in medical research and the medical technologies and pharmaceuticals (MTP) sector.