Orygen, along with 13 of Victoria’s independent medical research institutes, has joined the Association of Australian Medical Research Institutes (AAMRI) Victoria in calling for urgent funding reform to ensure this critical sector can remain viable into the future.
Securing the future of Victoria’s independent medical research institutes requires major changes to the Operational Infrastructure Support (OIS) program, which provides support for institutes to meet the costs of research.
In addition to calls for increased funding, AAMRI is calling for Orygen, along with the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, to be included in the OIS program, as these two institutes currently receive no OIS funding to cover the costs of conducting their vital medical research.
In 2023 the gap in funding for the full costs of research was over $200m, and is expected to rise to over $370m in 2029. Currently for every $1 of research grant funding received, Victoria’s independent medical research institutes must find an additional 48c to meet the indirect costs of that research. Currently, the OIS program provides 7 cents for every $1 of research grant funding received by institutes.
While Orygen and other medical research institutes are world leaders in research and innovation – securing millions of dollars in competitive research funding every year – there are many indirect costs not covered by research grants.
These costs include things like cyber security to protect health data, legal and financial support staff, labs and office space. Covering these costs is critical continuing Victoria’s globally recognised medical research, which is one of the five key industries driving Victoria’s future economic growth.
AAMRI VIC has warned that without changes to funding, Victoria’s medical research sector could see job losses of up to 81 per cent of the sector’s more than 5,000 strong workforce by 2029, with most becoming unviable in the next three to four years.
Orygen is fully supportive of AAMRI VIC's call for wholesale reform of the national funding system, as well as an urgent increase in funding for the indirect costs of research by $60m per annum, starting in the 2025-2026 budget.