Examples
Worked examples
- Is an instance
A university research office identifies a project matching the MRFF's Genomics Health Futures Mission, applies through NHMRC's Sapphire system in response to a GrantConnect-listed grant opportunity, and receives a grant agreement citing MRFF funding — this is an MRFF grant administered by NHMRC on the Department's behalf, not an NHMRC National Competitive Grants Program grant.
- Is an instance
A medical research institute receives funding under the MRFF's Australian Brain Cancer Mission, which is coordinated and administered by Cancer Australia rather than NHMRC — still an MRFF grant, because the funding source is the MRFF's investment earnings, regardless of which body administers the selection process.
Counter-examples
Looks similar, but isn't
- Not an instance
A grant awarded under NHMRC's Investigator Grant or Ideas Grant schemes, funded from NHMRC's own National Competitive Grants Program appropriation rather than MRFF investment earnings, is an NHMRC grant, not an MRFF grant, even though both are health/medical research funding and both run through the same Sapphire application system.
- Not an instance
A grant from the Australian Research Council, or from a state or philanthropic medical research funder, is not an MRFF grant regardless of the disease area it addresses — the MRFF is specifically a Commonwealth investment fund created by its own Act.
Editorial commentary
The Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) is the Australian Government’s dedicated long-term financing vehicle for health and medical research and medical innovation, established on 26 August 2015 under the Medical Research Future Fund Act 2015. Rather than being funded from annual Budget appropriations the way most other Commonwealth research funding is, the MRFF works as an endowment: its capital is invested by the Future Fund Board of Guardians, and the investment earnings — not the capital itself — are what fund MRFF grants each year. The MRFF reached its original $20 billion capitalisation target in 2020–21 and has continued to grow since; its earnings have supported annual distributions in the hundreds of millions of dollars toward medical research and innovation.
How the MRFF is governed
Three bodies share responsibility for the MRFF, and research offices dealing with an MRFF grant will typically encounter at least two of them:
- The Future Fund Board of Guardians — manages the MRFF’s invested capital and determines the Maximum Annual Distribution Amount (MADA) available for grants each financial year, reporting to the Finance Minister.
- The Australian Medical Research Advisory Board (AMRAB) — an independent board established under section 32B of the MRFF Act. AMRAB is required to set an Australian Medical Research and Innovation Strategy (the MRFF Strategy) every five years under section 32D, and Australian Medical Research and Innovation Priorities (the MRFF Priorities) every two years under section 32E, after public consultation. The Health Minister has regard to the current Strategy and Priorities when deciding how MRFF funding is allocated.
- The Department of Health, Disability and Ageing — administers the MRFF overall and delegates the day-to-day running of most individual grant opportunities to NHMRC, to Commonwealth Business Grants Hubs, or, for some Missions, to another Commonwealth agency (for example, Cancer Australia coordinates the Australian Brain Cancer Mission).
MRFF vs. NHMRC: why the distinction matters on a grant record
The MRFF is not an NHMRC program. It is a separate fund created by its own Act, with its own governance and its own money — investment earnings, rather than NHMRC’s annual National Competitive Grants Program appropriation. In practice, however, the two are easy to conflate because NHMRC administers a large share of MRFF grant opportunities using its own application and peer-review infrastructure (the Sapphire platform), and MRFF grant agreements require recipients to comply with NHMRC’s National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research in the same way an NHMRC-funded project would. For a research office, the practical implication is that funding source (MRFF or NHMRC’s own appropriation) and administering body (which may be NHMRC either way) are two separate facts that both need to be captured correctly on a grant record — reporting an MRFF-funded, NHMRC-administered grant simply as “an NHMRC grant” will misattribute the funding source in institutional and funder reporting.
MRFF Research Missions
A significant share of MRFF funding is channelled through Research Missions — multi-year, dedicated funding streams targeting a specific health challenge, each with its own committed funding envelope set out in the MRFF’s 10-year investment plan. Missions announced to date include, among others, the Genomics Health Futures Mission, the Australian Brain Cancer Mission, the Million Minds Mental Health Research Mission, and the Dementia, Ageing and Aged Care Mission. Missions differ from a standard grant scheme in that they typically fund a coordinated program of related grant opportunities over a decade or more toward a defined outcome, rather than a single annual competitive round. Not all MRFF funding sits within a named Mission — the Fund also runs grant opportunities aligned directly to the current MRFF Priorities outside the Mission structure.
Finding and applying for MRFF grants
Individual MRFF grant opportunities are published on GrantConnect, the Australian Government’s whole-of-government grants publication system, and most (though not all) are applied for through NHMRC’s Sapphire system, using the same application mechanics as NHMRC’s own schemes. Because administration is delegated per opportunity, the correct application portal, eligibility rules, and reporting requirements are set out in the specific grant opportunity guidelines on GrantConnect rather than being uniform across the whole Fund — a research office should confirm the administering body and system for each MRFF opportunity individually rather than assuming it always runs through NHMRC’s Sapphire system.
Frequently asked questions
Is the MRFF part of NHMRC?
No. The MRFF is a separate Commonwealth fund established under the Medical Research Future Fund Act 2015 and administered by the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing. NHMRC frequently administers individual MRFF grant opportunities on the Department’s behalf, but the two are legally and financially distinct, with different governance and different funding sources.
How is MRFF funding decided?
The Australian Medical Research Advisory Board (AMRAB) sets a five-yearly MRFF Strategy and a two-yearly set of MRFF Priorities, following public consultation. The Health Minister has regard to these when directing how the Fund’s annual distribution is allocated across grant opportunities and Missions.
Where do MRFF grant opportunities get published?
On GrantConnect, the Australian Government’s central grants publication system. Application mechanics (which system to apply through, eligibility, and reporting) are set out in the guidelines for each specific grant opportunity, since administration is delegated to different bodies depending on the opportunity.
What’s the difference between an MRFF Mission and a standard MRFF grant opportunity?
A Mission is a dedicated, multi-year funding stream with its own committed envelope targeting a specific health challenge (for example, genomics, brain cancer, or dementia), usually running a coordinated series of grant opportunities over a decade. A standard MRFF grant opportunity outside a Mission is typically a single funding round aligned to the current MRFF Priorities rather than part of a named, decade-long program.
References
- Medical Research Future Fund Act 2015 (Federal Register of Legislation / AustLII)
- Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, “About the MRFF” and “MRFF governance,” health.gov.au/our-work/mrff
- Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, “MRFF Strategy and Priorities,” health.gov.au/our-work/mrff/about/strategy-and-priorities
- Department of Finance, “Medical Research Future Fund,” finance.gov.au
- NHMRC, “Medical Research Future Fund,” nhmrc.gov.au/funding/medical-research-future-fund
- GrantConnect, grants.gov.au
Machine-readable encodings
Use in your systems
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