Medical Research Future Fund’s Indigenous Health Research Fund 2026 Grant Opportunity Consultation

Overview

The Medical Research Future Fund’s (MRFF) Indigenous Health Research Fund (IHRF) is investing $160 million over 11 years, from 2018–19 to 2028–29, for research to improve the health of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people.

The Productivity Commission’s first review of the progress on the National Agreement on Closing the Gap recommended putting the principle of self-determination into practice for government programs.

In alignment with this recommendation, the IHRF’s next grant opportunity will award $28.5 million through an open and competitive process to an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Community-Controlled program to support health research projects.

A Working Group of the NHMRC-MRFF Indigenous Advisory Group, led by Professor Yvette Roe, has provided advice to the Department on design of the grant opportunity.

This consultation is to seek feedback on the key sections of the draft grant opportunity guidelines (objectives, outcome, assessment criteria, and additional glossary definitions) and on the draft assessment scoring matrix. Both documents are available below.

Feedback is encouraged from the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled sector to ensure the grant opportunity aligns with community aspirations and the recommendations of the Productivity Commission’s review.

Feedback is to be provided through the questions in the online survey. If you would prefer to provide your feedback in a different format, such as video, please contact us through the provided email address.

Feedback will be provided to the Working Group to inform their advice to the Department on any refinements to the design of the grant opportunity.

As part of this consultation, a webinar will be held on 3:00PM (AEDT) 10 November 2025 to provide further information and to answer any questions. Register for the Webinar.

Applying to the grant opportunity and other ways to be involved

The grant opportunity is expected to open in quarter 1 of 2026 as listed in the MRFF grant opportunities calendar.

If you would like to apply to the grant opportunity, please ensure that the intended lead organisation is an MRFF Eligible Organisation. Collaborative applications are encouraged.  

We would like to ensure that the Grant Assessment Committee (GAC) that assesses grant applications has a diversity of expertise, including community-based researchers and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge holders. If you are interested in being a member of the GAC, please visit the MRFF GAC Expressions of Interests webpage.