NHMRC plays a vital role in advancing health and medical research translation in Australia, supporting the uptake of research findings into health policies, practices, and technologies through a range of targeted funding schemes, guidelines and initiatives. NHMRC also aligns with national strategies to promote research translation aimed at improving health outcomes.
Our role in research translation
NHMRC is supported by the National Health and Medical Research Council Act 1992 (the Act) which aims to raise the standard of individual and public health in Australia. The Act enables NHMRC to engage in activities to achieve its intentions and foster the consideration of ethical issues relating to health.
Research translation has long been one of NHMRC's 3 strategic purposes, along with investment and integrity. NHMRC's Research Translation Strategy 2022–2025 sets out NHMRC's role in the translation of health and medical research into policy and practice, and the priority actions it will take to drive the translation of health and medical research.
To align with the National Health and Medical Research Strategy a new NHMRC Research Translation Strategy for the years 2026–2030 is currently in development.
Supporting research translation
One of NHMRC's primary responsibilities is supporting the effective and rapid translation of research findings into health policy, practice and technologies. Current measures include those in the following sections:
Alignment
- To support effective translation of research findings into health policy and practice, NHMRC aligns its translation priorities with broader national strategies and initiatives. This includes the National Health and Medical Research Strategy and reviews, such as the Strategic Examination of Research and Development.
Initiatives
- The Research Translation Centre Initiative encourages excellent health research and translation in Australia by bringing together researchers, healthcare providers, education and training to improve the health and wellbeing of patients and the populations they serve.
Funding schemes
- Partnership Projects contribute to translation by creating new opportunities for researchers and policy makers to work together to define research questions, undertake research, interpret the findings and implement the findings into policy and practice.
- Centres of Research Excellence aim to improve health outcomes and promote or improve translation of research outcomes into policy and/or practice.
- Development Grants support and increase the rates of translation of health and medical research into commercial outcomes within a foreseeable timeframe, resulting in improved health and medical knowledge.
- Clinical Trials and Cohort Studies Grants support high–quality clinical trials and cohort studies that address important gaps in knowledge, leading to relevant and implementable findings for the benefit of human health.
- The 2025–26 Research Translation Centres grant opportunity accelerated the objectives of the Research Translation Centre Initiative by supporting the NHMRC–accredited Research Translation Centres to meet their strategic aims and objectives.
- The 2024 Collaborations in Health Services Research grant opportunity supported improvements in translation capacity through the stimulation of programs of small–scale, health service–focused research projects that related to the health system, conducted in a health service setting, by a collaboration of health services/research organisations.
Guidelines
- Guidelines translate research evidence into recommendations for clinical practice, public health and environmental health.
