Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF)

As a “translation fund”, the MRFF will supercharge the growth of Australian health and medical research to better translate research into health outcomes, improve lives, build the economy and contribute to health system sustainability.

View MRFF application instructions

The MRFF is an ongoing research fund set up by the Australian Government in 2015. In July 2020, it grew to $20 billion. The net interest from the fund pays for health and medical research initiatives. 

The Medical Research Future Fund Act 2015 requires the Minister for Health must take into account the Australian Medical Research and Innovation Priorities that are in force when approving MRFF grants.

These are the second set of priorities for the MRFF selected by the Australian Medical Research Advisory Board, and influence the format and direction of both competitive funding rounds and non-competitive investments.

The Department of Health has a useful overview of how the MRFF strategy and each set of priorities have informed the funding programs established so far. There will be opportunity to engage in the national consultations as future MRFF strategies and priorities are set, which will be an important way to represent the fields of research undertaken at the University of Adelaide.

Funding schemes Min Data Internal review Close

Innovative therapies for mental illness grant
Supports medical research projects that use clinical trials to assess the safety and efficacy of innovative therapies using hallucinogens and stimulant drugs supported by psychological or psychiatric care for treatment resistant mental illness.

 7 Jul 2021 14 Jul 2021 21 Jul 2021

COVID 19 health impacts and vaccination schedule
Supports research investigating the long term health impacts of COVID-19 and the efficacy of vaccination programmes.

 4 Aug 2021 11 Aug 2021 18 Aug 2021

Rare cancers, rare diseases and unmet need general grant - streams 1 & 3-7
Enables research teams to conduct clinical trials testing various treatment options and approaches for individuals with rare cancers, rare diseases and conditions with unmet medical need.

  • No maximum grant amount but grants cannot exceed amount of available funds.
  • Further information
 4 Aug 2021 11 Aug 2021 18 Aug 2021

International clinical trial collaborations grants - round 1
Supports Australian research teams in conducting clinical trial research in collaboration with international counterparts. Round 2 opens for applications 26 August 2021.

 25 Aug 2021 1 Sep 2021 8 Sept 2021

Ministerial announcements will frequently precede eventual funding rounds by weeks or months. Wherever possible, such advance alerts will be outlined below.

Funding scheme Min data Internal review Close

International clinical trial collaborations grants - round 2
Supports Australian research teams in conducting clinical trial research in collaboration with international counterparts.

 2 Feb 2022 9 Feb 2022 16 Feb 2022

2021 Improving the Health and Wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mothers and Babies Grant Opportunity
For Indigenous-led projects that translate existing knowledge through culturally safe care for pregnancy, birthing and the post-natal period, for example on-country birthing and continuity of family and midwifery care.

n/a 18 Nov 2021 25 Nov 2021

While MRFF processes are distinct to NHMRC or ARC, and peer review does not obligatorily guide Ministerial funding decisions, some MRFF rounds do utilise peer review processes, managed online by either the NHMRC (Sapphire) or the Department of Industry, Innovation & Science (Business Portal).

Get involved

For schemes that do undertake peer review of grant applications, University of Adelaide involvement is critical.

The NHMRC invite you to self-nominate to assist in MRFF grant review and assessment processes as a member of a Grant Assessment Committee for a number of 2020-21 MRFF grant opportunities. It is necessary to register for these MRFF panels as they are coordinated independent of NHMRC peer review activities. Register here.

Anyone who has volunteered and participated in MRFF Peer Review is urged to contact MRFF Strategic Research Team, for University acknowledgement and support.

It is the intention of the Taskforce to:

  • Capture critical knowledge and information
  • Share the information with groups/individuals who need to know
  • Understand the needs of researchers, to help our University better support MRFF applications and activity

Talk to your representative, or contact the MRFF Strategic Research Team for more information.

Member

Role/Representing

A/Prof Mathias Baumert

Theme Leader – Medical, Health and Bioprocessing Technologies, ECMS

A/Prof Michael Beard

School of Biological Sciences Research Committee chair, and
representative for the Research Centre for Infectious Diseases

Prof Alex Brown

Theme Leader, Aboriginal Health Equity, SAHMRI and Adelaide Medical School

A/Prof Gustavo Carneiro

Professor of Computer Science

Prof Józef Gecz

Adelaide Medical School Research Committee chair

Prof Bronwyn Gillanders

DDR Faculty of Sciences – also represent human health-related Animal and
Veterinary Sciences, Agriculture Food and Wine and Physical Sciences

Prof Tim Hughes

Precision Medicine Theme Leader at SAHMRI; Cancer Council Chair in
Cancer Research and Consultant Haematologist at the Royal Adelaide Hospital.

Prof Mark Hutchinson

Director of the Centre for Nanoscale BioPhotonics

Prof Mark Jenkinson

Professor of Neuroimaging at the University of Adelaide, SAHMRI,
Australian Institute for Machine Learning (AIML), and the University of Oxford

Prof John Lynch

Interim DDR Faculty of Health & Medical Sciences
School of Public Health

A/Prof Anna Ma-Wyatt

School of Psychology Research Committee chair

A/Prof Peter Psaltis

Cardiologist with Central Adelaide Local Health Network (CALHN);
Deputy Leader of the Heart Health Theme and Co-director of the
Vascular Research Centre at SAHMRI.

Prof. Sarah Robertson

Senior Research Fellow

Dr. Nick Smith

Paediatric Neurologist at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital

Mr Steve Whetton

Deputy Director - South Australian Centre for Economic Studies,
representing Health Economics

Dr Peter Zilm

Adelaide Dental School Research Committee chair

Need help?

For further information please contact our MRFF Strategic Research Team.