The Academy and the Medical Research Future Fund share a common origin story. We were established at almost the same moment – both created in recognition that Australia’s future prosperity and wellbeing depend on embedding evidence at the heart of our national decision-making.

The Academy was founded to ensure that the nation’s leading health and medical scientists can provide independent, expert advice to government. The MRFF was created to ensure that the discoveries born of Australian research are translated into better health, stronger systems, and economic return. In many ways, we are two sides of the same coin – both grounded in the belief that investment in research and evidence transforms health outcomes for generations to come.

The evidence is clear and consistent. Nations that invest in health and medical research see better patient outcomes, more efficient health systems, and higher national productivity. Every dollar invested in research delivers a return many times over – not only in economic terms, but in reduced disease burden, improved quality of care, and strengthened capacity to respond to future challenges.

The forthcoming National Health and Medical Research Strategy offers a once-in-a-generation opportunity to amplify that impact. It provides a framework for aligning effort and investment – across the MRFF, the NHMRC, our universities, health services, and research institutes – to ensure we’re all pulling in the same direction.

The undisbursed funds within the MRFF now represent a powerful opportunity. Those funds should be strategically deployed to deliver on the goals of the national strategy, a strategy that the Academy – Australia’s trusted advisor to government on the health and medical sciences – and others – have worked to shape.

Our position is a pragmatic one. The MRFF has extraordinary potential, but its promise is realised only when funds flow to where they can make the greatest difference – into research that improves health outcomes, drives innovation, and ensures that policy and practice are guided by the best available evidence. That is what Australians expect, and that is what this moment demands.

Academy media contact: Khaled Chakli: [email protected] (0423 099 568)