NEWS & EVENTS

BDHP welcomes the Australian Government commitment to health and medical research

09 May 2018

Last night, Treasurer The Hon. Scott Morrison handed down 2018/19 Budget, with a long-term commitment from the Federal government to fund health and medical research across Australia and extended support for the Advanced Health Research and Translation Centres (AHRTCs) and Centres for Innovation in Regional Health (CIRHs) with $75 million over four years. Brisbane Diamantina Health Partners Executive, Ms Areti Gavrilidis said: “As one of nine AHRTCs, BDHP welcomes the commitment of the Federal government to continue funding the centres along with the strengthened commitment towards health and medical research and translation as announced in last night’s budget. “This commitment to ongoing funding for health and medical research in Australia will see organisations continue to collaborate to deliver better health outcomes and patient care for all Australians.” Amongst the announcements last night are a $1.3 billion National Health and Medical Industry Growth Plan, which aims to support Australia’s health and medical research and technology development. Within the Growth Plan are a number of exciting investments through the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF), including:

• $125 million over nine years to establish a Targeted Translation Research Accelerator focused on diabetes and heart disease and other key chronic condition challenges.
• $240 million investment for Frontier Health and Medical Research – a scheme for researchers and collaborators to secure support for innovative ‘out of the box’ ideas and discoveries of great potential.
• $248 million for rare cancers and rare diseases clinical trials programs, increasing access to national and international clinical trials and accelerates research in areas of identified unmet need.
• $500 million over ten years for the Genomics Health Futures Mission.

“And we are pleased to see recognition of the need to collaborate across wider networks being supported through funding of enablers such as data and medical technology,” Ms Gavrilidis said. Additional highlights from the Budget announcement include:

• Mental health – $125 million over 10 years for a Million Minds Mental Health Research Mission to support priorities under the Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Plan.
• Preventative health – $18.1 million over four years for a Keeping Australians Out of Hospital program to support preventive health, behavioural economics and reduce avoidable presentations to hospital.
• Health systems research – $39.8 million over four years for a Targeted Health System and Community Organisation Research program with a focus on comparative effectiveness studies and consumer-driven research.
• Women’s Health – $17.5 million over four years for research into Women’s Health and research into Maternal Health and First 2,000 Days to address the underlying social determinants of health that impact on a child’s early days in life.

The full 2018/19 Budget can be reviewed at www.budget.gov.au