Our role in unlocking access to Australia’s health and medical data
Despite significant strides in data sharing and linkage, Australia lacks a visible, cohesive, nationally-recognised blueprint.
This gap is difficult to reconcile with our national ambition of a data-driven, outcomes-focused, and equitable health system, especially as public investment in data and digital infrastructure grows.
While several initiatives, including the Australian Data Strategy, Digital Economy Strategy, National Digital Health Strategy and others, have outlined important priorities, they remain largely separate. It is not clear how these strategies relate to one another or how they collectively support the broader vision.
The DHCRC is committed to working with industry and government to develop a national blueprint to guide the effective use of health and medical data with shared goals, measurable targets, and delivery timeframes.
Find out more about DHCRC’s ongoing work in unlocking access to Australia’s health and medical data:
- Australia’s health data landscape: a strategic snapshot of the current national health and medical data landscape, with a focus on key stakeholders, alliances and enablers shaping its evolution
- Towards a blueprint for national infrastructure for health & medical data: join the conversation to transform health data into one of Australia’s most powerful national assets
- Publications: find publications from DHCRC research projects and related activities evidencing where and how existing restrictions impact access to data
- View our submissions: read our submissions to current and past consultations
Explore each of the tabs above to understand why unlocking Australia’s health and medical data remains an issue for researchers; why the way we govern and protect data still requires standardised approaches; and why we are calling for bold, long-term national investments to unlock Australia’s rich health and medical data assets.
Australia’s health data landscape
Australia is uniquely positioned to lead in data-driven health care delivery, medical research and innovation.
The convergence of artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and national health data assets offers a generational opportunity to improve health outcomes, enhance public services, and fuel the economy. However, without unified national coordination, Australia risks engineering complexity instead of coherence – duplicating capabilities, fragmenting impact and losing momentum.
As part of its national remit to enable world-class research and unlock the value of health and medical data, the DHCRC has undertaken a strategic mapping of the health and medical data ecosystem in Australia. This work builds on earlier DHCRC reports – including Flying Blind and A Call to Action for a National Data Governance Framework (see below) – which have identified persistent barriers to data use, including poor discoverability, fragmented access, and lack of interoperability.
This desktop mapping exercise analysed 75 entities across Australia involved in health and medical data— as users, contributors, or beneficiaries. It aims to understand the landscape by examining organisational remits, funding models, and data capabilities amongst other things within the ecosystem. From this work, five strategic observations have emerged—each highlighting a critical area for attention to ensure Australia realises the full potential of its health and medical data assets.
Access the report
Health Data is a National Asset: Observations into unlocking the value of Australia’s Health & Medical Data for Research, Improvement and Innovation
Towards a blueprint for national infrastructure for health & medical data
Australia needs a blueprint for national health and medical data infrastructure – coordinating ethical, united use of health and medical data to power research, innovation and system improvement.
In June 2025, Research Australia and Digital Health CRC co-hosted a virtual workshop with key stakeholders from across the health and medical data, research and innovation ecosystem, bringing together 25 representatives from 18 organisations including government representatives from the National Strategy, SERD, and NRIR secretariats and policy directors.
The workshop explored how a unified national coordinated data capabilities could strengthen data-driven healthcare, accelerate research and innovation, and improve health outcomes and economic performance. There was strong consensus on the urgency and critical need for a bipartisan national framework involving government, industry, and the broader health and medical research community. Such a framework should guide long-term investment and coordination in Australia’s health and medical data infrastructure, enabling world-leading data-driven research, improvement, and innovation.
Communique
Long-term Strategic Guidance of Australia’s Digital Health and Health Data Infrastructure:
If you wish to be part of the national conversation work to drive this national priority and build this critical asset for Australians’ health and the nation’s economic prosperity, contact info@dhcrc.com.
Publications and articles
DHCRC Submissions
For Australia to have a healthcare system that enables all Australians to access evidenced-based healthcare services, medicines and prevention-based information and support, current delivery and research systems, infrastructure and culture needs to be urgently transformed into a data informed, digital healthcare system.
Any questions? Get in touch via our contact page
