Medical Research Future Fund

The MRFF is a major set of research funding initiatives that provides medical sector researchers with funding to translate research discoveries into products and services that meet the biggest clinical demands.

Each year, net interest from the $20 billion investment fund is used to provide a variety of medical research grants. At any one time, there may be 10 or more grant opportunities open across many different areas of research.

For many researchers, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to tackle challenges that usually seem so large as to be over-ambitious or unachievable. But with funding from the MRFF, interstate partnerships between universities, research organisations and corporations allow for a broad base of resources with the power to make great leaps.

MRFF grant funds also help to build a future-proofed medical research industry, one where researchers have the necessary understanding of commercialisation to develop innovative products that meet society’s most pressing medical needs.

These products will not only help Australia’s live more comfortable lives but also to compete on the world stage and keep the economic benefits of research discoveries on Australian shores, where once they may have been lost to other nations with better-established research commercialisation structures.

This fund is part of a medium to long-term plan, based on strategic advice provided by the Australian Medical Research Advisory Board (AMRAB).

The Department of Health states that the MRFF:

• allows Australians to benefit from life-changing medical discoveries
• funds research according to national priorities, filling gaps in areas of unmet need that require more research
• helps our medical researchers and innovators develop their ideas within Australia
• develops Australia’s growing Genomics and BioMedTech industry sectors, creating future jobs and exports
• builds stronger relationships between researchers, healthcare professionals, governments and the community
• invests in all research stages — from research ideas, through laboratory research and clinical trials, to the product commercialisation

The MRFF also played a significant role in the Australian Government’s pandemic response, with more than $77 million in grants awarded to fund critical research projects into COVID-19 during the initial phase of the pandemic.

Since the MRFF’s inception in 2015, more than 30 grant streams have been offered, covering a broad array of activities from clinical trials of new solutions and medications to long-awaited research into rare diseases such as childhood cancers, and others.

A broad variety of research initiatives will fall under the MRFF over the course of its lifespan, from mental illness in young and indigenous people, to rare cancer treatments, stem cell therapy, genomics, and many more areas of medical research.

Some of the areas of medical research funded to date include:

• Brain cancer
• Cardiovascular health
• Improving access to clinical trials
• Clinician researcher fellowships
• Dementia, ageing, and aged care
• Consumer-driven research
• Medical frontier breakthroughs
• Genomics
• Global health threats
• Indigenous health
• Medical research commercialisation
• Mental health
• Critical research infrastructure
• Preventive and public health
• Primary health care research
• Rapid applied research translation
• Research data infrastructure
• Researcher exchange and development
• Stem cell therapy
• Traumatic brain injury

There are four key research themes:

• Patients

The MRFF benefits patients and the general public by funding innovative treatments and supporting clinical trials. It will deliver more advanced health care and medical technology that will improve the health of Australians.

• Researchers

The MRFF supports Australian health and medical sector researchers to make breakthrough discoveries, develop their skills and progress their careers in Australia.

• Research missions

Missions allow researchers to think big. They are ambitious programs of work that are only possible through major funding, leadership and collaboration. The MRFF is funding 8 research missions across a range of topics.

• Research translation

Research findings translate into better health for Australians. It takes focused effort to turn research findings into better clinical care and health outcomes for Australians. The MRFF’s translation initiatives make new medical discoveries part of the daily clinical practice of GPs, other specialists and hospitals.

The MRFF is also about providing the conditions for a healthy population via research into disease prevention via modern techniques like genomics, and a productive population through the creation of job opportunities and commercialisation of innovative globalised products.

Funding Strategy

The MRFF Strategy and Priorities guide the decisions on which research projects to fund.

The MRFF 10-year Investment Plan drives funding allocation priorities and outlines the Australian Government’s plans for the use of MRFF funding from 2022-23 to 2031-32

The Government then designs and advertises funding opportunities on GrantConnect and research institutions and eligible entities apply.

Successful applicants receive funds and carry out their project work, providing regular reporting against milestones.

Funding Allocation

The MRFF funds are allocated to the following types of grants:

• Competitive
• Competitive pre-qualified
• Clinical Leadership
• National Expansion / co‑contribution
• Patient led

Each of which is described in the following table.

Up to 2021, the Australian Government contributed savings from the health budget to reach the MRFF’s goal figure of a $20 billion pool of funding.

This money is invested with a target return on investment of 1.5–2 percent above the cash rate.

The fund generates interest and this is what underpins various grant funding programs out of the fund for research and medical innovation purposes each year.

Research funding projections for 2021–23 are as follows:

• 2021–22: $646 million
• 2022–23: $650 million

MRFF Grant Recipients

The Department of Health and Aged Care has a regularly updated page where you can see a full list of MRFF grants past and present. See link below in learn more about the MRFF program to access.

MRFF Grants Awarded

The table below highlights the key facts and figures outlining the financial scope of the MRFF and its initiatives as of 21 January 2022.

• Total projects funded: 722
• Total funds allocated: $1,948,600,000

The table below includes all MRFF grants awarded and announced since the program’s inception in 2015 and the total value of the grant agreement across all financial years.