On Friday 22 May, Flinders University was the stage for a major national health and medical research announcement.

Minister for Health and Ageing Mark Butler MP chose Flinders – one of the nation’s fastest growing research universities – as his location to outline the future of health and medical research funding in Australia for the next decade.

Joined by Vice-Chancellor Professor Colin Stirling, and with an audience of Flinders researchers gathered at our state-of-the-art Health and Medical Research Building, the Minister revealed the Federal Government’s commitment to boost investment in medical research, with $508 million in additional funding through the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF).

The additional funding for MRFF is aimed at improving health outcomes and encouraging innovation, including establishing:

• the Australian Cancer Research Program to deliver coordinated research into cancers including brain cancer, low survival cancers, and childhood, adolescent and young adult cancers, and
• the Precision Health Research Program, developing a grant program to boost genomic health care and research capability, improve genetic testing and treatment, and support earlier identification of people at risk of developing disease.

The MRFF announcement aligns with the release of the National Health and Medical Research Strategy 2026-2036, supporting researchers like those at Flinders, who are searching for new treatments that will change lives for the better.