Research Australia Annual Report 2024/ 2025

ANNUAL REPORT RESEARCH AUSTRALIA

2024-25

CHAIR AND CEO FOREWORD

Reflecting on 2024–2025, it is clear that this has been a defining year for Research Australia and for the health and medical research and innovation sector more broadly. Set against the backdrop of a Federal Election, the year presented a critical opportunity to articulate a clear, collective vision for the future of Australia’s health and medical research system and to ensure that vision was heard by decision-makers.

We remain deeply aware that policy and funding uncertainty continues to place significant pressure on researchers, clinicians and innovators across the pipeline, affecting both professional and personal lives. This context has strengthened our resolve to advocate for a system that is sustainable, coordinated and fit for the future.

Throughout the year, Research Australia worked closely with our members and partners across our policy, advocacy and advisory activities to elevate the priorities of the sector and help shape national conversations. In the lead-up to the 2025 Federal Election, we convened a Pre-Election Summit in Canberra, bringing together leading researchers, innovators and funders to identify the sector’s priorities for the 47th Parliament. Building on this work, we delivered a series of webinars in early 2025 to further explore and communicate the four Priority Reforms that emerged from the Summit.

These Priority Reforms, a whole-of-systems approach to health and medical research and innovation; smarter investment; a supported and diverse workforce with a focus on emerging and mid-career researchers and clinician researchers; and a stronger emphasis on advancing prevention policy, underpinned by equity, data, and digital transformation - guided Research Australia’s policy and advocacy throughout the year.

They also informed our close working relationship with Rosemary Huxtable AO PSM and the team at the Office of Health and Medical Research leading the development of the National Health and Medical Research Strategy, reflecting sustained advocacy by Research Australia for a coordinated, national approach.

Equity in health and medical research and innovation, including in women’s health and rural health, remained a core priority. Our advocacy in this area also contributed to national policy outcomes. Research Australia’s submission to the Senate inquiry into issues related to menopause and perimenopause was reflected in the Committee’s report released in September 2024, with the Committee’s first recommendation aligning closely with our call for commissioned research to establish a comprehensive evidence base on the impacts of menopause and perimenopause on women in Australia.

This outcome underscores the importance of evidencebased policy and the role of targeted research in improving health outcomes for women across the life course. This work has continued with sponsorship from Besins Healthcare Australia, where we undertook a comprehensive review and consultation process to address entrenched gender biases and inequities in the system.

We also continued our strong collaboration with the CSIRO through the Minimising Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Mission. This included the launch of our report, Antimicrobial Stewardship: Enabling Evidence-based Antibiotic Prescribing, developed through stakeholder workshops and consultation. Health and medical research and innovation are central not only to improved health outcomes, but also to Australia’s economic resilience and productivity. Addressing challenges such as AMR demonstrates the value of coordinated evidence-based investment across the research and innovation ecosystem.

Building the next generation of leaders remains essential to the future of our sector. Following a successful inaugural year, we were proud to continue the Future Health Leaders Program, supporting young people to explore careers in health and medical research, innovation and life sciences.

None of this work would be possible without the commitment and engagement of our members.

As the voice of Australian health and medical research, we are privileged to represent your expertise, advocate on your behalf, and champion the extraordinary contribution you make to improving health outcomes, strengthening the economy and advancing Australia’s global standing in health innovation.

We also extend our sincere thanks to our Board colleagues for their guidance, leadership and unwavering support throughout the year.

Looking ahead, we remain confident in the strength of our sector and resolute in our commitment to collaboration, advocacy and impact. Together, we will continue to advance a health and medical research system that supports its people, translates innovation into practice, and delivers lasting benefits for all Australians.

Martin Bowles AO PSM Chair

Nadia Levin CEO & Managing Director Research Australia

YEAR IN REVIEW JULY 2024–JUNE 2025

The 21st annual Research Australia Health and Medical Research Awards were held in Melbourne on 14 November 2024. The event celebrated individuals and groups across the spectrum of health and medical research and innovation, while also highlighting to state and federal politicians the vital role Australian health and medical research plays in improving lives and driving national progress. Research Australia remains committed to recognising and celebrating the outstanding contributions of our health and medical research community, from discovery and innovation through to translation and commercialisation. The next Awards will be held on 20 August 2026 in Sydney, bringing together the 2025–26 program in a combined celebration.

Chaired by Professor Russell Gruen and a series of guest chairs, Research Australia’s University Roundtables continue to be vibrant discussion forums, and important sources of input and advice to the Research Australia Board and to Research Australia’s policy positions on behalf of our university members. University Roundtables are held quarterly and provide a forum for Research Australia’s university members to discuss issues relating to health and medical research which are particular to universities. In addition to focussed

discussions on health and medical research innovation in universities, each roundtable has a theme, supported by panellists and a dialogue. In 2024-2025, the themes were:

• Data and Digital Health

• Social Determinants of Health

• Engaging Industry in Health and Medical Research

• Health and Medical Research in Regional, Rural, Remote and Very Remote Australia

In October 2024, Research Australia held a Pre-Election Summit. The Summit brought together the health and medical research and innovation sector to explore key issues impacting the future of health and medical research in Australia and agree on the key reforms our sector needs to thrive.  We heard from researchers, industry leaders, funders, parliamentarians and departmental officials throughout the day. The themes explored on the day, as well as member surveys, events and meetings in the lead up to the Summit, led to the development of Research Australia’s four Priority Reforms:

Member Event Series is a digital engagement forum to bring members rapid updates on key emerging issues in health and medical research policy. In 2024-2025 Research Australia hosted our annual Post-Budget Briefings, grant writing information sessions, a seminar focused on improving the career trajectories of early and mid-career researchers, a webinar launching the 2024 Public Opinion Poll and an information session about the national health and medical research agenda, including the National One Stop Shop and the Quality Standards and Accreditation Scheme for HRECs and their host institutions.

• A whole-of-systems approach to health and medical research and innovation

• Smarter investment in health and medical research and innovation

• A supported and diverse workforce, with a focus on EMCRs and clinician researchers

• A greater emphasis on advancing prevention policy

Underpinning these priorities is equity, data infrastructure and digital transformation.

These Priority Reforms were developed and shared throughout the 2025 Federal Election. In the lead-up to the Election, Research Australia hosted the Election Policy Webinar Series, to further develop and unpack these four Priority Reforms for the health and medical innovation sector, which were identified through extensive consultations and member engagement.

The webinars were supported by guest speakers from across Research Australia’s membership.

YEAR IN REVIEW JULY 2024–JUNE 2025

This year, we partnered with the CSIRO on their mission to Minimising Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR). In November 2024 we launched, Antimicrobial Stewardship: Enabling Evidence-based Antibiotic Prescribing, developed through stakeholder workshops and consultation.

Research Australia’s advisory services team partnered with the Mito Foundation to deliver their clinical trials action plan through consultation with stakeholders across Australia. This plan is a strategic roadmap towards increasing clinical trial opportunities for mito in Australia which was launched in April 2025.

As part of our ongoing commitment to equity in health and medical research and innovation, Research Australia has been working with sponsorship from Besins Healthcare Australia over the past year to address entrenched gender biases and inequities in health and medical research. Stakeholder consultation carried out in early 2025 will be used to develop a roadmap for system reform to drive better health outcomes.

After a successful first year in 2024, the second cohort of the Future Health Leaders Program commenced in 2025. Sponsored by AbbVie, the program brings together twelve female Year 11 students for an inspiring opportunity to explore careers in health and medical research. Students gained handson experience in a university setting and engaged with exceptional female leaders across research, healthcare, government, media and industry. Supplementary online mentoring sessions complemented the program, showcasing the diverse career pathways available in life sciences and sparking new possibilities for participants’ futures.

Australia Speaks Opinion Poll Every year Research Australia partners with Roy Morgan to test Australians’ attitudes to health and medical research through our national Australia Speaks! polling. This years’ polling highlighted strong support for various areas, including mental health research, government investment in local medical product development, and an emphasis on trust in doctors for clinical trial participation. We also noted several ongoing trends, such as the sustained prioritisation of health research funding and noted a decline in individual donations amid rising living costs.

INSPIRE is our digital publication, published three times a year, showcasing researchers, innovation, technology, advocacy and philanthropy.

This year INSPIRE amplified the voices of our community, publishing member-led articles that showcased Australia’s research breakthroughs and innovations

Member Working Groups

1. Health Economics Working Group

Health Economics Working Group: Established in 2023, this group brings together key experts in health economics to connect expertise and insights with government to work towards improving funding and impact for the health economics research community and further leverage the role of the Research Australia Health Economics Roundtable in informing health economic policy and reform.

2. Early and Mid-Career Researcher Working Group

Early and Mid-Career Researcher (EMCR) Working Group: Established in 2022, members of this group are EMCR representatives of Research Australia’s members. The group provides a forum to encourage collaboration and investigate matters of relevance to EMCRs in Australian health and medical research as well as develop potential responses and solutions to identified challenges.

3. Consumer Remuneration Working Group

Consumer Remuneration Working Group: Established in 2023, this group brings together experts in consumer-engaged research to undertake a project exploring approaches to consumer remuneration. The project will develop a sector standard approach to

consumer remuneration and showcase best practice approaches across the sector. This working group is jointly facilitated by ANU and Research Australia.

4. Mental Health Working Group

Mental Health Working Group: Established in 2023 this group of experts seeks to identify, and advise government on, what priorities in mental health research funding should be, based on areas of greatest need and of greatest potential impact.

COLLABORATIVE STRATEGY

Research Australia is in the unique position of being the voice of health and medical research participants right across the health and medical research pipeline. It is because of this unique position we have broad insight into what patients and consumers, funders, researchers and commercial groups can contribute and require from it.

We also have a long history of demonstrated expertise in addressing the challenges and opportunities facing Australian health and medical research and we understand the stakeholders who influence the sector’s future.

Our Collaborative Strategy outlines our vision and goals to help shape the Australian of health and medical research landscape for the next three years.

OUR KEY AREAS OF FOCUS AND BUDGET OUTCOMES ARE DETAILED BELOW.

STRATEGY

Advancing digital health technology and health data

Embedding research in the health system

Harness the power of data and digital health technologies to accelerate advances in health.

Smarter investment in health and medical research and innovation

Build stronger collaboration and data sharing between researchers, consumers, industry, health practitioners and health systems.

• Promote the fundamental importance of health data and the digitisation of healthcare in enabling better health outcomes and advances in health innovation

• Encourage policy, investment and infrastructure

• Facilitating research partnerships for digital health initiatives

• Promote faster implementation and adoption

• Promote adoption of emerging technologies e.g., AI, in healthcare settings

• Advocate for National Strategy

• Showcase research and healthcare

The way data is stored, linked and access for research is significantly improved.

Research Australia has a more active role in publicly promoting the use of health data for research.

Research supporting new opportunities for digital health to enable healthcare equity and healthcare efficiency.

Seek and showcase evidence of how healthcare is increasingly based on the latest and best evidence.

More research partnerships to address priorities identified by the health system, patients and the public.

• Collaborated with the AI Co-Lab in June 2025 to convene a panel discussion in Canberra about Ethical AI in Health and Research, with attendance from global and national leaders at the forefront of digital ethics, policy and innovation

• Co-hosted a virtual workshop with the Digital Health CRC in June 2025 focusing on Longterm Strategic Guidance of Australia’s Digital Health and Health Data Infrastructure

• Gave input to the National Health and Medical Research Strategy Secretariat to strengthen the Data and Advanced Technology Enabling

• Submissions to federal departments on a range of topics such as AI in healthcare and digital research infrastructure.

• Advocated for embedding research in the health system through our key role in the development of the National Health and Medical Research Strategy, including hosting workshops and submitting a response to the Draft Strategy

• Convened a health economics working group to establish a Symposium focused on building a sustainable health economics and health services research sector.

• Continued to incorporate how to better embed research in the health system in other government submissions

• Showcased outstanding developments and achievements in research and healthcare through our tri-annual INSPIRE publication

Balance resources with need, capacity and opportunity.

• Advocate for a nationally coordinated strategic investment with a sharper focus on outcomes, and impact and domestic manufacturing

• Campaign for the investment needed in the workforce at all stages to support sovereign capability, from basic research through to its application

• Champion commercialisation

The health and medical research ecosystem better serves the Australian community and researchers through more effective participation by public, private and not-for-profit funders and industry partners.

• Campaigned for the release of the full funds of the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF), and advocated for the development of a new research active healthcare mission in the MRFF to better support the translation of research

• Urged the Australian Government to formally associate to Horizon Europe to unlock new opportunities for Australia’s researchers and innovators

• Actively engaged in the Strategic Examination of Research and Development, including written submissions to all six issues papers

• Research Australia’s 2025-2026 Pre-Budget Submission incorporated the need for smarter investment

• Focused on productivity and future planning for Australia’s health and medical workforce in a series of workshops and submissions to government

• Invested in and supported Australia’s future health and medical research workforce through the Future Health Leaders Program

POLICY AND ADVOCACY

Research Australia has undertaken substantial policy and advocacy activity throughout 2024–25, including the preparation of multiple submissions during the last financial year.

These submissions critically incorporated the views and expertise of our members, ensuring they reflected the priorities of the broader research and innovation community.

Our advocacy has consistently emphasised the essential role of health and medical research in securing the future health, wellbeing and prosperity of all Australians. Over the course of the year, Research Australia engaged extensively with both federal and state ministers and government departments to advance these priorities.

The following table lists the inquires and consultations to which Research Australia responded in the 20242025 financial year.

JULY 2024 Building Research into the Allied Health Workforce Strategy Submission to the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing

AUGUST 2024 Improving Research Culture: A collective responsibility Submission to the National Health and Medical Research Council

SEPTEMBER 2024 MRFF priorities and Act Review Submission to the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing

JANUARY 2025 2025-2026 Pre-Budget Submission Submission to The Treasury

FEBRUARY 2025 Response to the National Health and Medical Research Strategy Submission to the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing

APRIL 2025 Strategic Examination of Research and Development Submission to the Department of Industry, Science and Resources

MAY 2025 Statutory Review of the Data Availability and Transparency Act 2022 Submission to the Department of Finance

Ethical AI in Health & Research: Global Insights – Local Application, panel discussion, Canberra on 3 June 2025.

Mito Foundation and Research Australia hosted Powering Progress: A plan to increase clinical trials for mitochondrial disease in Australia in April 2025.

RESEARCH AUSTRALIA ADVISORY SERVICES

Consulting Expertise and Bespoke Advice

OUR WORK

Research Australia has provided specialist consulting and advisory services for many years. Our consultancy services continue to consistently grow each year, driven by our unique expertise, reputation for high quality work, and strong relationships to drive outcomes and influence system change.

Market scanning – detailed analysis of who is undertaking what research to inform project planning and ensure projects target the right health and medical research stakeholders.

Policy advice – on the funding streams, government policy landscape and political interests that impact your projects’ success.

OUR CLIENTS SAY

Most recently we have worked with state and federal governments, patient groups, industry, hospitals, and aged care. Some of the consulting services Research Australia provides are:

Sector consultation – facilitating engagement with the health and medical research community and the consumers who can best inform approaches to health and medical research.

Grants guidance – evaluating and reviewing grants opportunities and funding programs.

“Throughout the project Research Australia demonstrated exceptional leadership in shaping the Women’s Health Research Roadmap. They drove the direction of the project with clarity and purpose especially after realising that more systemic change was needed, ensuring the final report reflected the evolving priorities of women’s health research in Australia. Their ability to adapt and keep the vision focused speaks to their strategic capability.

As a sponsor, Besins Healthcare Australia was engaged throughout with regular updates and transparent communication, which made it easy to stay aligned throughout the process. We are proud to have supported this important initiative and commend Research Australia for delivering a roadmap that sets a bold vision for equity, collaboration, and impact in women’s health research”.

Lorna Elliot, Director, Corporate Affairs and Business Development, Besins Healthcare

THANK YOU TO OUR MEMBERS

Research Australia wishes to sincerely thank our members for their ongoing loyalty and support.

We are delighted to be the voice of Australian Health and Medical Research. Your active and engaged contribution and commitment to the Research Australia alliance gives us the strength to fulfil our vision and mission. We are genuinely proud to represent each and every organisation in our membership.

A special thanks to our two current foundation members Telstra Health and Calvary Health Care for their membership support and contributions and in their unfailing participation in the key activities of Research Australia.

We would also like to extend a sincere thanks to KPMG for performing Research Australia’s annual audit for over 10 years.

If your organisation is not a member then now is the time to join Research Australia, the only national peak body to represent all sections of the vibrant and active Australian health and medical research sector.

To talk more about the benefits of membership please contact your Research Australia team on 02 9295 8546 or admin@researchaustralia.org

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RESEARCH AUSTRALIA BOARD OF DIRECTORS*

We would like to give our appreciation to our Chair and Board of Directors who are tireless in their advocacy for health and medical research. They represent the sector across the public and private sector. Thank you all for your contribution.

Martin Bowles AO PSM Chair Research Australia National Chief Executive Officer, Calvary Healthcare Australia Director since August 2020

Peter Wills AC Director, Wills Advisory Pty Ltd Founder and Director since 2000

Professor Dawn Freshwater Deputy Chair Research Australia Vice-Chancellor, The University of Auckland Director since August 2019

Assoc. Prof Annette Schmiede Chief Executive Officer of the Digtal Health CRC Director since May 2015

* Board of Directors as at 1st December 2025

Elizabeth Koff AM Managing Director, Telstra Health Director since July 2022

Professor Russell Gruen Australian National University Honorary Professor Director since September 2023

Dr Michael Wilson Vice President, Research CSL Ltd Director since December 2023

Assoc. Prof Greg Kaplan Chief Operating Officer, Woolcock Institute of Medical Research Director since November 2014

Sir Gustav Nossal AC CBE Patron

Research Australia is honoured to have internationally renowned scientist, Sir Gustav Nossal as its Patron. He has been a longstanding, significant figure in Australia's medical and scientific community.

Professor Patricia M. Davidson Vice-Chancellor's Fellow, University of New South Wales Director since June 2023

Professor Nicholas Fisk AM Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research & Enterprise), UNSW Sydney Director since December 2015

Emeritus Professor Christine Bennett AO Patron

Professor Christine Bennet has a longstanding association with Research Australia, and is a leading commentator and strategist on health reform in Australia and internationally.

FINANCIAL SUMMARY

Research Australia is financially sound and has met all its financial obligations. Its main source of income continues to be from membership and sponsorship.

STATEMENT OF PROFIT OR LOSS AND OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2025

The statement of profit or loss and other comprehensive income is to be read in conjunction with the notes to the financial statements.

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION AS AT 30 JUNE 2025

The statement of financial position is to be read in conjunction with the notes to the