The Digital Health Cooperative Research Centre (DHCRC) has welcomed the release of Ambitious Australia: Strategic Examination of Research and Development (SERD) Final Report, highlighting the inclusion of Health and Medical as one of six National Innovation Pillars, the support of a world class research system, and the focus on upskilling the future workforce as critical innovation drivers for the next generation.
The report states Australia’s research, development and innovation (RD&I) system needs bold reform. It highlights both the challenges and the opportunities – and how Government, business, workers, industry, universities, researchers, and scientists can work together to lift productivity and boost Australia’s economic resilience.
Commenting on the report findings, DHCRC CEO Annette Schmiede said the report presents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reset the foundations of our RD&I system.
“Australia has a world-class research and education sector,” Ms Schmiede said. “But what we need is greater coordination, more targeted government support, greater private investment, and a long-term focus. This report directly addresses each of these areas.”
DHCRC has been operating at this interface, supporting system‑embedded research, enabling Australian digital health SMEs to scale and create real-world impact, and building the necessary workforce capability required to safely implement and use innovation, like AI, in real health systems.
“Our experience over the past eight years in driving research investment across the healthcare sector has shown us first-hand the benefit that evidence-based research can deliver when translated into real-world applications. However, investment in RD&I is still too siloed and lacks genuine partnerships with the private sector. We must scale up impact to make a tangible difference across the economy.”
“The proposed National Innovation Council, as a single body responsible for oversight, planning and coordination of national research infrastructure, presents a significant opportunity to drive this change from the top down.”
Fortifying Australia’s research sector
The DHCRC is strongly encouraged by the support shown in the report for Australia’s research sector. The report commits to building investment in competitive grant schemes to globally competitive funding levels, and ongoing government funding to ensure the sustainability of Australia’s research infrastructure.
“Australia has a world-class research capability, especially in healthcare,” Ms Schmiede said. “It is important we recognise the value this delivers and invest over the long term to build national resilience and ensure it continues to deliver productivity and efficiency gains for the Australian economy.” Investing in national infrastructure to support research innovation will be critical to the Report’s ambition. Nationally coordinated health data infrastructure will be crucial for this success.”
Like the SERD report, the DHCRC recognises that government leadership has an important role in enabling innovation adoption.
“Australia consistently ranks among the top healthcare systems globally, yet many promising local digital health innovators struggle to find a foothold in our own public healthcare sector. If Australia is serious about securing a world-class, innovative digital health industry, then our procurement policies must match our ambitions – and government purchasing power is one of the most powerful tools at our disposal.”
Skilled workforce critical to future success
The SERD report also reinforces the role of the workforce and the need to support talent as a national imperative.
“The calls to deliver inclusive training in partnership with universities and to increase the attractiveness of PhD programs is clear and needed,” Ms Schmiede said.
“At the DHCRC, we have a proven approach to deliver this in practice, with our system-wide approach to workforce development that brings together universities, industry, government, and health services.
“We welcome the call for bold reform, and now policymakers, researchers, and industry leaders must come together to deliver on this reform agenda. We have come a long way, but we see there is still much to do, and we welcome engagement with our partners to help deliver on this critical national reform agenda.”
