Contents
1 Name#
This instrument is the Medical Research Future Fund (Australian Medical Research and Innovation Priorities 2026-2028) Determination 2026.
2 Commencement#
(1)Each provision of this instrument specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.
| Commencement information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
| Provisions | Commencement | Date/Details |
| 1. The whole of this instrument | 6 November 2026. | 6 November 2026 |
Note 1: This table relates only to the provisions of this instrument as originally made. It will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of this instrument.
Note 2: Subsection 32E(5) of the Medical Research Future Fund Act 2015 has the effect that Australian Medical Research and Innovation Priorities are in force for 2 years.
(2)Any information in column 3 of the table is not part of this instrument. Information may be inserted in this column, or information in it may be edited, in any published version of this instrument.
3 Authority#
This instrument is made under subsection 32E(1) of the Medical Research Future Fund Act 2015.
4 Schedules#
Schedule 1 to this instrument contains the Australian Medical Research and Innovation Priorities 2026-2028.
Artificial intelligence (AI) in research and health systems
| Description | Why it’s important | How to guide MRFF Investment |
| Nationally coordinated, safe, and ethical use of artificial intelligence across research and health systems that accelerates equitable innovations in preventive health, diagnostics, therapeutics, and service delivery across the care continuum. | The establishment of safe, trusted and innovative AI-enabled health care requires nationally coordinated, expert-led and evidence-based approaches, with strong governance, consumer involvement and transparency at every stage of research.Building Australia’s sovereign AI capability will strengthen research to translate into more effective, equitable care, particularly for priority populations, wherever they live. This includes Indigenous data sovereignty and the ethical stewardship of health data. It will also strengthen workforce capability, improve clinical decision-making, and enable prevention and early intervention. | Invest in nationally coordinated research programs to advance AI-enabled health and medical innovations across prevention, diagnostics, therapeutics and service delivery. This will require embedded safety, ethics and transparency, alongside robust governance and evaluation, to ensure AI-enabled health innovations deliver measurable improvements in health outcomes and health system performance.Invest in multidisciplinary programs that accelerate the translation of system wide, AI-enabled health innovations. This will build workforce, data and infrastructure capabilities across health systems and industry, leading to strengthened sovereign capability for scalable AI adoption and health system performance. |
Integrated digital health systems
| Description | Why it’s important | How to guide MRFF Investment |
| Research-informed, person-centred and data-driven digital health capabilities that improves the efficiency and quality of the health system through interoperable, secure and high-quality data utilisation, linkages and infrastructure. | Integrated digital health systems, enabled by technologies, tools, devices and data-driven approaches, are essential to deliver more efficient, connected and equitable health care.Investment in research-informed digital health innovations will advance prevention, early intervention, translation and adoption, and improve access to high-quality health care. It will also provide data for future health care research.Digitally enabled improvements in healthcare decision-making will be supported by approaches that uphold Indigenous data sovereignty and promote the secure, ethical and responsible collection, use and sharing of high-quality health data. | Invest in data-driven digital innovation that transforms health care delivery across prevention, diagnosis, monitoring and treatment to enable more integrated, person-centred and sustainable models of care. Embedding advanced digital tools and technologies into routine care and service delivery will improve access, quality and other dimensions of health system performance, contributing to improved health system outcomes.Invest in research that builds data, workforce and infrastructure capabilities and includes better linkages with existing national data and infrastructure programs, such as the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy and the National One Stop Shop for clinical trials. This will support safer and more efficient clinical care, strengthen patient participation and trust, and promote digitally enabled health literacy, particularly for priority populations. It will also enable better use of data to improve shared decision-making and health and wellbeing outcomes. |
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community governed and directed research
| Description | Why it’s important | How to guide MRFF Investment |
| Community-governed and directed research and capacity building to support thriving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples' health and wellbeing | Research that addresses priorities identified by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and that are led by, and conducted in partnership with communities, is critical to closing the gap in health and wellbeing outcomes. Anchoring Indigenous values, knowledge and worldviews within community-led, governed, and directed health research will enable thriving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ health and wellbeing.Investing in self-determined solutions, grounded in Indigenous ways of knowing, being and doing, with Indigenous governance and data sovereignty is key. This includes building workforce capability in research directed and governed by, and conducted with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities, so that research is culturally safe, trusted, and positioned to support thriving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s health and wellbeing. | Invest in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander researchers and organisations to lead, design and deliver community governed and directed research and to implement innovative solutions. This will strengthen career pathways and effective skills and knowledge transfer, while building workforce capacity and capability. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander-led research will embed community voices, values, knowledges and worldviews, and uphold Indigenous governance and data sovereignty.Invest in the prioritisation of health and wellbeing research by and with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people through community partnership and early-stage innovation that is governed and directed by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities. This will increase community capability and participation in research, strengthen trust and improve Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ health and wellbeing. Research prioritisation should be contextual and, where appropriate, should align with national and local initiatives to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and wellbeing. These include the National Agreement on Closing the Gap, the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Plan 2021– 2031 and the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workforce Strategic Framework 2021– 2031. |
Advanced therapeutics and emerging technology
| Description | Why it’s important | How to guide MRFF Investment |
| Accelerated translation and commercialisation of advanced therapeutics and technologies into effective health products and services | A coordinated, end-to-end approach to translating and commercialising research discoveries into health products, technologies and services is an important driver for reducing translational bottlenecks, strengthening sovereign capabilities and streamlining pathways to implementation, including community-control and commercialisation.Health technology development and commercialisation have the potential to advance Australia’s biomedical industry, generate jobs, build domestic workforce and infrastructure capabilities, attract and retain expert talent, diversify the economy, and deliver improved health outcomes. | Invest in translation and commercialisation research that moves high-potential discoveries from pre-clinical development and proof-of-concept towards clinical validation. This approach will facilitate the implementation and adoption of effective therapeutics, technologies and models of care into practice. Embedding consumer and community involvement where appropriate across the translation pathway will facilitate innovations which are culturally appropriate, acceptable and responsive to consumer needs, while strengthening the likelihood of successful uptake and real-world impact.Invest in coordinated translational research and partnerships that connect researchers, industry, health services, governments and communities. This will accelerate regulatory readiness (including health technology assessment), implementation, early market development and scale-up of advanced therapeutics and health technologies. De-risking innovation and enabling Australian discoveries to be translated into scalable products and services will strengthen sovereign capability, deliver economic benefits, and improve health system outcomes. |
Health impacts from environmental factors, including climate change
| Description | Why it’s important | How to guide MRFF Investment |
| A climate-resilient health system that is prepared for and responsive to the health impacts of environmental factors, including climate change. | Human-caused environmental change amplifies chronic disease, mental health conditions, antimicrobial resistance, zoonotic spillover, habitat destruction, food insecurity, and infectious disease risks, disproportionately impacting vulnerable communities and at-risk populations.Coordinated research investment into understanding, preventing, and addressing the health impacts of environmental factors, such as pollution and climate change, will translate evidence into practical interventions and support robust surveillance and monitoring systems. This will also help address misinformation and disinformation, and strengthen global and regional leadership.Research outcomes will support a climate-resilient health system that emphasises prevention, surveillance, preparedness, and rapid responses to existing and emerging health threats, improved social and emotional wellbeing, and equitable access to care. | Invest in multidisciplinary and cross-sectoral research and partnerships to understand and address global health and biosecurity issues, including surveillance, preparedness, prevention, response and countermeasures through a One Health approach. This includes research that will strengthen Australia’s capacity to detect, prevent and respond rapidly to emerging health threats across human, animal and environmental systems, and improve regional and global health security.Invest in interdisciplinary, cross-sectoral research to address health challenges resulting from environmental factors, including pollution and climate-related risks. This will build the evidence needed to inform effective interventions, strengthen surveillance and prevention efforts, enable climate-resilient health care, and improve health outcomes for and with communities disproportionately affected by environmental change. |
Multiomics-informed healthcare[1]
| Description | Why it’s important | How to guide MRFF Investment |
| Multiomics-informed research systems that accelerate precision therapeutics, preventive strategies, and early-intervention approaches. | A transformative shift from reactive to preventive care can be achieved through genomics and multiomics-informed, risk-stratified approaches. This shift will improve the effectiveness and targeting of interventions while strengthening population health outcomes.Investment in multiomics-informed research will enable advances in precision medicine that are translated into equitable, cost-effective and sustainable health system practices, so that benefits are realised across diverse populations and care settings. This includes enabling Indigenous data sovereignty and the safe and ethical use and sharing of data. | Invest in research that advances the translation, validation and testing of genomics and multiomics-informed prevention, early-intervention and precision therapy approaches. This includes life-course screening and risk stratification, to enable targeted, effective and scalable interventions with stronger population health impact. Promote research to develop screening approaches for rare and common diseases that will improve health system efficiency and population health outcomes.Invest in consumer and community co-designed implementation research to support the adoption of equitable, multiomics-informed precision medicine into routine health care. This supports the delivery of preventive, diagnostics, monitoring, and therapeutic approaches that are acceptable, accessible and tailored to diverse populations. |
Determinants of health
| Description | Why it’s important | How to guide MRFF Investment |
| Evidence-informed and equity-driven health research that addresses determinants of health and wellbeing, including structural, social, and environmental. | Health is shaped beyond the healthcare system.Addressing the structural, systemic, commercial, environmental and social determinants of health and wellbeing is essential for driving systemic change by focusing on the upstream contributors to health outcomes.Outcomes-focused, evidence-informed research across prevention, food systems, physical activity, urban planning, housing, nutrition, education and related domains will generate scalable interventions that reduce preventable conditions and address persistent health inequities.Shaping environments that make healthy choices easier and more equitable will deliver lasting prevention-focused improvements in population health and wellbeing. | Invest in the development of population-level prevention and early intervention strategies addressing the determinants of health, embedding implementation pathways and community co-design to ensure policy-ready impact. This includes funding local- or system-level research that partners with communities and policy makers and generates evidence to support health technology assessment and population-level policy adoption.Invest in consumer-involved and equity-driven preventive health research to promote long-term health and wellbeing across all stages of life. This will enable the implementation, evaluation and translation of early risk identification and coordinated, accessible care pathways to support scalable and sustained impact. |
Embedding research in the health system
| Description | Why it’s important | How to guide MRFF Investment |
| A research-rich learning health system informed by real-world evidence that drives culturally safe, high-value care and prevention, continuous system-wide learning, equity, and capability building. | Strong partnerships between researchers and health service providers enables research that is integrated into real-world service needs and rapidly translated into practice.Co-locating and co-producing research within health systems - supported by a hybrid workforce of clinician-scientists, health service leaders and researchers - will break down barriers between evidence generation, implementation, uptake and scale. In addition, this will support the critical need to enable research across the continuum of health systems and services from primary and community care to hospitals.This approach will support continuous learning and sovereign capability to deliver measurable improvements in outcomes, equity and system performance, including reduced risk of re-hospitalisation. | Invest in programs that embed research and researchers within health systems, integrating evidence generation, translation and adoption into culturally safe routine health care across the care continuum. Aligning research more closely with health service priorities and consumer needs will accelerate the uptake of evidence into practice, attract, grow and retain a skilled workforce, and improve health system performance and outcomes.Invest in cross-disciplinary and collaborative research that enables continuous learning and adaptation across the research-to-practice pipeline. Research that is co-produced and implemented with researchers, clinician-scientists, health services, consumers and community, and that is responsive to the needs and experiences of diverse population groups, will improve relevance, uptake, equity, and impact. |
Skilled and sustainable health and medical research workforce
| Description | Why it’s important | How to guide MRFF Investment |
| Sustainable, skilled and future-ready health and medical research workforce that strengthens research translation, implementation and innovation | Health and medical research workforce capability and capacity building is critical to build a productive, stable and inclusive sector that is equipped with stronger cross-disciplinary skills to deliver lasting impact. This includes creating equitable opportunities for researchers from under-represented backgrounds, and better recognition of diverse career stages.Support for researchers, innovators and inventors across academia, health services, alongside peer researchers will broaden research expertise, improve the relevance and public trust of research outputs and accelerate the translation of research into practice. | Invest in high-quality research that creates career opportunities for researchers across diverse career stages, pathways and expertise. This includes investment in interdisciplinary teams comprising diverse skillsets and career stages, alongside targeted capability building for under-represented research disciplines. This will attract, grow and retain a skilled, valued, inclusive and future-ready health and medical research workforce across academic, clinical, health services, industry, consumer and community research sectors. Strengthening workforce diversity and providing stable, long-term support promotes continuity. This will accelerate research outcomes into equitable and sustainable products, services and practice that improve health and wellbeing. |
Priority Populations
A fundamental aim of the Australian health system is to prevent disease, intervene early and reduce the burden of ill health, helping people to live healthier lives for longer. Population groups that experience social inequalities and disadvantage resulting in health inequity are considered “priority populations”. The Australian Government’s Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) will promote research that is conducted with the genuine involvement of priority populations to investigate appropriate solutions to health challenges.
For the duration that the MRFF Priorities 2026-28 are in force, MRFF Priority Populations includes:
[1] Multiomics refers to the application of multiple layers of molecular data - such as genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics and metabolomics - to provide a more comprehensive understanding of biological systems in health and disease.
Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation at legislation.gov.au, © Commonwealth of Australia, licensed under CC BY 4.0. Compilations may have been reformatted.