National Health and Medical Research Council

NHMRC invests in health and medical research through its grant program. Funding received for health and medical research from the Australian Government and other sources through the Medical Research Endowment Account (MREA) amounted to $882.7 million in 2018-19. This amount was exclusive of NHMRC’s administrative costs, which are funded separately to the MREA.

To be eligible to apply, grant applicants are required to work through an NHMRC Administering Institution. With the exception of Targeted Calls for Research and priority areas, NHMRC does not direct funding to any specific disease or health issue. Research topics are investigator driven and funding decisions are the outcome of a competitive process that relies on the collective judgement of independent peer reviewers, guided by NHMRC’s Principles of peer review.

NHMRC’s grant program consists of four funding streams:

• Investigator Grants, which provide the highest-performing researchers at all career stages with funding for their salary (if required) and a significant research support package.
• Synergy Grants, which provide funding for outstanding multi-disciplinary research teams to work together to answer complex questions.
• Ideas Grants, which support researchers at all career stages to pursue innovative and creative research projects.
• Strategic and Leveraging Grants, which support research that addresses identified national needs. These grant schemes include:
  • Targeted and Urgent Calls for Research
  • Clinical Trials and Cohort Studies
  • Centres of Research Excellence
  • Development Grants
  • international collaborative schemes
  • Partnerships for Better Health (Partnership Centres and Partnership Projects).

NHMRC also funds successful applicants to attain a research-based postgraduate degree through its Postgraduate Scholarships scheme.

The funds invested by NHMRC are drawn from its Medical Research Endowment Account and from separate accounts established to hold philanthropic gifts and bequests.

One of NHMRC's primary responsibilities is supporting the effective and rapid translation of research findings into health policy and practice. Specific activities undertaken by NHMRC to support research translation include:

• The development, and support for the development, of Guidelines for clinical practice, public health, environmental health and ethics.
• The Advanced Health Research and Translation Centres (AHRTCs) and Centres for Innovation in Regional Health (CIRH) which bring together researchers, healthcare providers, education and training to improve the health and well-being of patients and the populations they serve.
• The NHMRC Research Translation Symposium, which provides attendees with an opportunity to learn and share information about research translation.
• Funding schemes, including Partnership Projects, Partnership Centres, Centres of Research Excellence, and Clinical Trials and Cohort Studies Grants.
• NHMRC supports national access to the Cochrane Library for all Australian residents. Cochrane promote evidence-informed health decision-making by translating research evidence into high-quality, relevant, accessible systematic reviews and other synthesised research evidence.

NHMRC promotes research quality, ethics and integrity through a range of activities, including:  

• NHMRC’s Research Quality Strategy, which aims to ensure the highest quality of NHMRC-funded research through the provision of guidance and support for good research practices throughout the research cycle.
• The Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research, 2018 and its associated guides, which are co-authored by NHMRC, the Australian Research Council and Universities Australia, and present clear principles, responsibilities and processes to encourage the responsible conduct of research.
• The National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research, which informs the design, ethical review and conduct of human research.
• The Australian code for the care and use of animals for scientific purposes, 2013, which provides guidance for investigators, institutions, animal ethics committees, animal carers and all those involved in the care and use of animals for scientific purposes.
• Administration of the Human Research Ethics Application form website and the National Certification Scheme for the ethics review of multi-centre research, which facilitate timely and efficient ethics review for research involving humans.
• Jointly administering the Australian Research Integrity Committee with the Australian Research Council to undertake reviews of institutional processes used to manage and investigate potential breaches of the Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research, 2018.
• Reviewing and enhancing relevant guidelines and the licensing process relating to the Prohibition of Human Cloning for Reproduction Act 2002 and the Research Involving Human Embryos Act 2002.
• Supporting the work of committees including the Australian Research Integrity Committee, the Australian Health Ethics Committee and the Embryo Research Licensing Committee.

Section 35 of the NHMRC Act 1992 allows the Minister for Health to establish Principal Committees to assist the Council to carry out any of its functions. Two such committees are required by the Act:

• a Research Committee to advise and make recommendations to the Council on the application of the Medical Research Endowment Account, and on matters relating to medical research and public health research
• the Australian Health Ethics Committee to advise the Council on ethical issues relating to health and to develop and give the Council human research guidelines.

Section 39 of the Act enables the CEO to establish working committees to help carry out the functions of the CEO, the Council or a Principal Committee. Peer Review Panels are the most common type of working committee established by the CEO.

In 1998, the Health and Medical Research Strategic Review committee, chaired by Mr Peter Wills AC, presented a report to the Australian Government (The Virtuous Cycle) which led to a significant increase in funding for the health and medical research sector through NHMRC.

Between 2000 and 2018 the number of NHMRC-funded grants – across all research grant schemes – increased from 1870 to 4241 active grants, and total expenditure from NHMRC’s Medical Research Endowment Account increased from $170 million to $861 million: a fivefold increase in funding.

Following amendments to the NHMRC Act 1992, NHMRC became an independent statutory agency within the Health and Ageing portfolio on 1 July 2006.

The Strategic Review of Health and Medical Research in Australia (McKeon Review) was established by the Australian Government in late 2011 and the report of the Review was publicly released in April 2013. The Review recommended a 10-year strategic health and medical research plan for the nation and included recommendations relating to NHMRC.

As part of the 2014-15 Budget the Government announced the establishment of the $20 billion Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF). The MRFF provides funding to address medical research priorities, drive innovation, improve delivery of health care, boost the effectiveness of the health system, and contribute to economic growth. It therefore complements and enhances funding for health and medical research provided by NHMRC.

NHMRC is assisting the Department of Health to implement disbursements from the MRFF. This assistance draws on NHMRC’s application and assessment processes and the expertise available to NHMRC through the health and medical research sector and other sources.

NHMRC’s new grant program commenced in December 2018 with the opening of the Investigator Grant scheme. The development and implementation of the new grant program involved extensive stakeholder consultation on its objectives and peer review processes.

The CEO is the accountable authority of NHMRC. The role of CEO was established in 2000 through a change to the NHMRC Act 1992.

The functions of the Council, led by the Chair, are to provide advice to the CEO in relation to the performance of his or her functions.

Prior to the establishment of the role of CEO, a number of the CEO’s functions were performed by the Secretary of the Council.