Submission: National Health and Medical Research Strategy Survey #2

The Australian Government’s development of a national strategy must highlight opportunities to build our sovereign capability.

The following submission outlines an extract of the Association of Australian Medical Research Institutes (AAMRI) response to the Australian Government’s National Health and Medical Research Strategy – Webinar 2 Survey. This was the second survey to help develop the National Strategy, with questions based on the webinar content shared on 7 April 2025.

AAMRI’s submission highlighted three key priorities:

• Funding the full costs of research is essential for delivering the next generation of world-leading Australian health and medical discoveries and translation.
• Job insecurity and workforce – Australia’s medical research workforce is hampered by short term job insecurity and a lack of sustainable career pathways. Ensuring Australia has a well-supported and appropriately skilled workforce, from trainees through to senior researchers, across the research pipeline is paramount to the future of our HMR excellence.
• Coordination between funders will identify where future strategic investments should be directed, the establishment of purpose-driven collaborative networks in priority areas, capacity building and training, and policy and regulatory alignment.

The medical research sector in the United States is facing significant challenges due to widespread cuts to the National Institutes of Health. This development underscores the urgent need to strengthen Australia’s sovereign capacity in medical research.

Of particular concern is the recent US decision to reduce funding to overseas research institutions. In 2024, the US provided $386 million for Australian-based research – a figure equivalent to approximately 45% of NHMRC’s annual budget. To lose this funding moving forward is alarming and further highlights the critical importance of ensuring a robust and self-reliant medical research sector in Australia. 

The online submission extract is available to view – see below.