Welcome to our first newsletter of 2026. It is an exciting time at DHCRC as we enter the final year of our funding agreement with the Department of Industry, Science and Resources (DISR) and focus on optimising and leveraging our achievements to date.
It is a fitting time to reflect on what we’ve accomplished with all of our partners over the past eight years: we’ve built strong foundations, delivered meaningful projects, and demonstrated the value of collaboration in advancing our shared goals.
While you would imagine we are winding down, to the contrary, the year ahead paves the way for the evolution and progression of the significant work we have undertaken to date to advance the digital health ecosystem in Australia. We’ll be focused on finalising several key initiatives currently underway – some of which you’ll read about below – while also turning our attention to what comes next. With strong momentum and a committed network of partners and supporters, we’re determined to ensure the work delivered to date continues to create impact well into the future.
Since we were established in 2018, we’ve worked with over 150 organisations across academia, industry, and government. We’ve delivered over 80 collaborative research and development projects across digital health, and supported 200+ PhD and Masters candidates who represent the future leaders in healthcare.
We’re also exploring opportunities to scale and commercialise several of our innovations. Kinnexus is designed to improve how data is collected, stored, and used across the aged care sector, reducing administrative workload and ultimately releasing workforce capacity to improve productivity and deliver higher-quality care. Read the profile below with Ilya Beda, founder of Beda Software, on his journey working with us to build the Kinnexus solution.
Similarly, our ADAPt platform aims to improve system-wide quality and safety outcomes by shifting from manual, retrospective reporting to near-real-time performance and safety dashboards in acute care.
These are two examples of how digital innovation can reduce the burden on clinicians while delivering tangible benefits for patients.
Looking ahead, we recognise there is still a long way to go with Australia’s health and aged care systems facing mounting challenges: rising demand, workforce and fiscal constraints, and accelerating investment in data, digital and AI-enabled care – yet system-wide adoption continues to lag.
This gap is both a risk and an opportunity. Digital, data, and AI have the power to help address many of these challenges, but it will take a whole-of-sector approach, Federal and State government support, and ongoing engagement with policy makers, clinicians and health consumers on what the future system should look like.
We’re actively discussing with our network where the need is greatest and what the next phase could look like. If you have ideas or see opportunities to work together, please get in touch. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy our latest news and activities.
We hope you enjoy this and the other stories in this edition of our newsletter.
Warm regards,
Annette Schmiede
CEO, Digital Health CRC
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