AAMRI 2019 Election Statement


Labor’s response to AAMRI’s Election Statement.

The Greens’ response to AAMRI’s Election Statement.

The Coalition’s Response to AAMRI’s Election Statement.


This Federal Election we are calling on all parties and candidates to show their commitment for Australia’s future health and wellbeing by supporting the following priorities:

  1. Stick to the 2018–19 Budget commitments and deliver a fully funded Medical Research Future Fund by 2020–21 so we can turn our amazing medical research discoveries into improved health outcomes more quickly and efficiently.
  2. Provide continued strong support for new discoveries through the National Health and Medical Research Council.
  3. Attract and retain our best medical researchers by developing sustainable and rewarding career pathways.

You can read our Election Statement in full here. We have also developed a short animation to explain the benefit these priorities will have to all Australians, and why it is critical all candidates and parties should publicly commit to them:

Our past investment in medical research has served us well, helping millions of Australians live longer, healthier and wealthier lives.

But for the first time we face the risk of our quality of life going backwards. More people are expected to be affected by chronic conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and dementia, placing a greater strain on our health system.

Burden of disease in Australia

  • 138,000 are diagnosed with cancer each year More than half a million people are hospitalised with cardiovascular disease each year
  • More than 430,000 Australians are living with dementia
  • Suicide is the leading cause of death among people aged 15–44
  • More than 18,000 people are hospitalised each year with influenza

We already spend more than $180 billion each year on healthcare, an amount which is rising by around 3% in real-terms each year. But we only invest around 0.6% of total health expenditure in MRFF/NHMRC medical research programs.

The only way to continue to improve the health of our aging population, while at the same time keeping costs under control is through investment in research. Knowledge gained through high quality biomedical, epidemiological, preventative and health systems research is the only pathway to a more efficient, effective and sustainable healthcare system.

“Now is the ideal time to step back and look at our health system and see how we can use research to make transformative changes. We need to use research not just to find new cures for diseases, but also to find smart and more efficient ways to deliver healthcare.” – Professor Vlado Perkovic, AAMRI President