Health and life sciences | Global Business and Talent Attraction Taskforce

Australia’s high-quality and affordable healthcare system is envied around the world. It’s underpinned by a world-class medical research sector, which is nurtured in our universities and hospitals, medical research institutes and life science companies.

Health and life sciences is our 8th largest export sector, worth A$8.5 billion.

A culture of innovation

Australia is a sought after hub for cutting edge life-saving medicines and procedures. Medical research pioneers are drawn to a culture of innovation backed by generous funding and incentives. Our history of producing Nobel Prize- winning research and high tech solutions are making a significant contribution to global medical scientific discovery.

Check out the new patent box for Australian medical and biotech technologies. Companies will pay a concessional corporate tax rate of 17% on income from Australian medical and biotech patents.

When you bring your talent to Australia, you’ll have access to collaborative innovation hubs and research centres, and a world-class clinical trials ecosystem.

Add to this strong intellectual property protection, an ideal test bed market for clinical trials and access to large export markets, and you have an ideal location for the development of new diagnostics, devices and therapies.

Life sciences research in Australia

ranked 8th globally overall

ranked top 6 in optometry, ophthalmology, paediatrics and reproductive medicine

Doctor using ultrasound on pregnant woman

A high-energy ecosystem

Our top-ranking universities and academics are global leaders in clinical medicine and pioneers in many areas of health and life sciences research. We’re breaking new ground in specialist fields such as oncology, neurology, regenerative medicine, medical devices, tropical diseases, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and diagnostics.

Australia is home to several comprehensive cancer care centres that are pioneering genome research. We also boast world-leading immunology facilities with the infrastructure and expertise to develop viral vectors and companion diagnostics.

Our medical technology, biotechnology and pharmaceutical sectors work lockstep with industry, entrepreneurs and academics. Collaborating with an Australian university can give you access to some of the world’s best minds and a share of the impressive A$10.6 billion in revenue generated via partnerships with Australian universities each year.

We’re also world leaders in electronic medical records, and big data and artificial intelligence are swiftly being adopted by the Australian healthcare sector, with fantastic opportunities to access and create data-driven health services and products.

Australia’s national science agency CSIRO is leading new strategies to prevent and minimise the impact of diseases through the delivery of evidence-based products, programs and services, including its molecular diagnostic solutions and precision health and medicine research.

It’s also an internationally renowned catalyst for advanced manufacturing, connecting industry to global supply chains. Its work with industry on research into 3D printing has led to world-firsts in printing human body parts. It even invented Wi-Fi, the empowering technology at the heart of the digital health revolution.

CSIRO is in the top 1% of the world’s scientific institutions in 15 of 22 research fields.

Ideal location for clinical trials

Australia’s clinical trial capabilities, skilled workforce and specialised infrastructure are second to none. With some 50 trial networks and biobanks across the country, Australia started 1880 clinical trials in 2019 with 95,000 Australian participating. Conduct your clinical trials in Australia and you benefit from:

streamlined regulatory and ethics approval
a multicultural population ideal for trials
high-quality data that is recognised around the world
cost effectiveness – it’s 28% cheaper to run trials here than in the US.

It’s no wonder that our sophisticated clinical trials environment draws both local and international participants, with nearly one-third of industry-led trials in Australia led by multinational companies.

Scientist removing a sample out of a petri dish using a pipette

Australia ranks fifth on the International Property Rights Index 201

Australia has the 2nd largest biotech public market

500

500 medtech companies in Australia

Top 20

Australia is in the global top 20 for medtech patents

Medtech, biotechnology and pharmaceuticals

Combine our advanced manufacturing capability with our expertise in medical technology, biotechnology and pharmaceuticals and the result is world-leading medical products – from drugs, biologics and vaccines, to innovative devices and diagnostics.

We’re in the world top 20 for medtech patents and our booming medical devices export industry was worth more than A$2.6 billion in 2018.

Australia’s strengths include:

drug and vaccine development
personalised medicine
immunotherapies
medicines manufacture
bionic devices
implantables
nanotechnology
wearable devices
digital smart devices
digital therapeutics
3D-printed body parts.

The 1200+ home grown and international companies working here in the medical technology, biotechnology and pharmaceuticals sector, include global powerhouses like CSL, Resmed, Cochlear and Nanosonics, and newer players like Vaxxas and OncoRes Medical.

Our long history developing and growing the biologics industry is underpinned by CSL, and its vaccine facilities.

Australia is a receptive market for the development of genomics and precision medicine.

75% of Australians would be willing to use genetic testing to identify the most effective drug to treat their disease.
95% are willing for their results to be used to improve treatments for future patients.

As COVID shut down businesses around the world, Australian manufacturers ramped up. Development that would usually take years became innovative solutions within weeks or months. Australia’s medical technology sector played a key role in our swift response with companies pivoting to deliver essential supplies such as face masks, ventilators and diagnostic tests.

Centres of excellence

Our world leading immunology and medical research institutes include the Doherty Institute, University of Queensland’s Centre for Clinical Research, the Translational Research Institute and the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute.

Industry accelerators and incubators aim to drive innovation. Many are attached to our leading universities and halve development times and accelerate growth. There are more than 30 medtech incubators and accelerators in Australia, helping to grow small and medium-sized companies. Examples include:

Medtech Actuator: Australia’s national medtech accelerator
Cicada Innovations: a program-driven incubator for deep tech startups
Medical Device Partnering Program (MDPP): ideas incubator for medical technologies with global potential
ANDHealth: program-driven accelerator/incubator for digital health technology..

We also have health innovation hubs throughout Australia, including the Melbourne Biomedical Precinct, the Adelaide BioMed City, the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research in Perth, and the Macquarie Park Innovation District and Westmead Health Precinct in Sydney.

CSIRO is building Australia’s first collaborative worldwide accredited lab for producing protein for Phase-I and Phase-II trials.

Australia has a strong and active Regenerative Medicine (RM) industry ecosystem with internationally-recognised basic and translational research, clinical trials framework and clinical centres, with more than 30 companies in Australia developing products and more than 30 clinical trials in progress. The sector comprises 1200 researchers across 12 universities and 45 medical research centres.Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre is a world leading cancer research, education and treatment centre and Australia’s only public health service solely dedicated to caring for people affected by cancer. The more than 3200 staff, including more than 700 laboratory and clinical researchers, are all focused on providing better treatments, better care and potential cures for cancer.

Australia is home to several comprehensive cancer care centres that are pioneering genome research, including:

Australian Genomics in Victoria,
the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute in Victoria,
the Kinghorn Cancer Centre at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in NSW.

All have a history of international collaboration.

Top Australian innovations

CPAP – a successful, non-invasive breathing support device – invented in 1981 and used by patients during the COVID-19 pandemic

EVestG – a diagnostic tool that detects mental and neurological illnesses

Gardasil – the HPV vaccine that is significantly lowering the risk of HPV-related cancers for women around the world

Electronic pacemaker

Ultrasound for pregnancy

Bionic ear

Spray-on skin

Prevention of spina bifida with folate

Penthrox green whistle - pain relief inhaler used in trauma/emergency settings

Case studies

Health IT

Opportunities for developing digital health capabilities in Australia have expanded dramatically. We’re world leaders in electronic medical records and the Australian healthcare sector is embracing big data and artificial intelligence, opening up exciting opportunities to access and create data-driven health services and products.

This is partly driven by the development of national health infrastructure that is highly interoperable. Australia’s federal and state governments are investing in multi-billion dollar infrastructure programs focused on supply chains, health identifiers and authentication services. By 2022, the first regions in Australia will showcase comprehensive interoperability between all public and private health services, and care services.

Australians are eager to embrace new technologies in health. A national electronic patient record was rolled out in 2018 and is now used by 90% of Australian citizens.

AR and VR tools have been developed to help ensure healthcare professionals in rural and regional areas can maintain their training certifications and keep informed by attending conferences virtually.

Australia’s National Digital Health Strategy sets out the priority areas for Australia’s vision of digital health, including the safe and secure exchange of clinical information and the development of new digital services to support newborn children, the elderly and people living with chronic disease. It will also support wider use of telehealth to improve access to services, especially in remote and rural Australia and set standards for better information sharing in medical emergencies. The strategy creates multiple opportunities for investment.

The Australian digital health market was estimated to be worth US$1.85 billion in 2020.

Case studies

The University of Newcastle has developed a VR tool called Road to Birth for midwifery students. A digital headset takes users on a 3D-journey through pregnancy, depicting a life-size female figure in front of them, whose gestation can be explored and observed.
SIMTICS has created online simulations of over 120 clinical procedures to enable clinicians to practice their techniques, including sonography, radiography and ultrasounds.
EDIE is a virtual reality smartphone app that helps people look through the eyes of a person living with dementia
Visionflex is enabling remote assessment and diagnosis

Aged care

Aged care is a growing industry in Australia, with governments spending A$21.5 billion nationwide in 2019–20. The Australian population is ageing rapidly: the proportion of people aged 65 years or over in the total population is projected to increase to between around 22% in 2066.

The sector is undergoing major reforms to improve care experience, quality and safety, workforce design, technology and innovation, strategic planning, infrastructure optimisation, and operational alignment.

If you’re a newer business or startup, there are incubators like innovAGEING to help you network and advance your ideas.

Aged care providers made around $1.7 billion in profits in FY 2018–2019.

Case studies

Aged care provider IRT Group and CheckedIn Care developed the IRT Connect App, which helps clients stay connected to loved ones and manage their services.
U City retirement residences were recognised for their innovation. They are considered the most mixed-use demographic high-rise developments in Australia, with access to extensive community service programs

My Dementia Companion is an award-winning web-based tool that provides personalised and practical support to people caring for someone with dementia.

Grants, incentives and support

MTPConnect, part of the Australian Government’s Industry Growth Centres Initiative, champions the growth of Australia’s medtech, biotech and pharmaceutical (MTP) sectors. MTPConnect raises awareness, fosters collaboration and competition, and aggregates and shares existing knowledge with the broader MTP sectors. In addition, it delivers several Medical Research Future Fund activities
The Australian Government's A$20 billion Medical Research Future Fund aims to transform health and medical research and innovation to improve lives, build the economy and contribute to health system sustainability. Granting activities from the Medical Research Future Fund include:
- the A$45 million MRFF BioMedTech Horizons, which drives discoveries that address key health challenges towards proof-of-concept and commercialisation, maximising entrepreneurship and idea potential
- the A$22.3 million MRFF Biomedical Translation Bridge Program, which nurtures early-stage health and medical research to reach proof-of-concept with the potential to attract further capital and support
- the A$47 million MRFF Targeted Translation Research Accelerator, which is improving the prevention and treatment of diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Australia’s A$1.5 billion Modern Manufacturing Strategy has a dedicated stream for medical products.
The Research and Development Tax Incentive encourages businesses to invest more in R&D through tax offsets.
The Australian Tax Office’s New Investment Engagement Service gives tailored guidance on tax issues to businesses planning significant new investments in Australia.

Business.gov.au provides information, grants, services and support from across government to help businesses succeed.

Human brain scan in a neurology clinic - stock photo

Case studies

Australia’s health and life sciences ecosystems

Recent arrivals

Zachary M Smith - Medtech

From USA, now based in Sydney

“Australia is not only a great place to work, but also a fun place to live and explore!”

Zachary Smith is a scientific leader in the research of neural prostheses for restoring the sense of hearing. As Director of Algorithms & Applications at Cochlear Ltd in Sydney, Zachary works on the next generation of an Australian invention, the cochlear implant, to improve the lives of those with debilitating hearing loss.

Zachary says he’s especially driven to improve access, effectiveness, and usability of cochlear implants so more people can stay connected with family, work, and community in a world full of sound.

Dr Fatemeh Karimi - Medtech

From Iran, now based in Melbourne

“Australian researchers are pioneering work in health and personalised medicine.”

Dr. Fatemeh Karimi is a biomedical scientist/engineer. She joined the University of New South Wales (UNSW) after receiving the highly prestigious and competitive Vice Chancellor’s Research Fellowship and started her own research team. She completed her PhD in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Melbourne.

Dr. Karimi is a multidisciplinary researcher with extensive knowledge, skills, experiences, and expertise on design, synthesis, and development of polymers, biomaterials, and delivery platforms for various biomedical applications including cardiovascular disease, diabetic wound healing, tissue engineering, and tissue regeneration.

Evelyn Kelly – Health and life sciences

From Ireland

“Australia is a key market for those looking to provide global access to innovative and life-changing rare disease products.”

Irish entrepreneur Evelyn Kelly founded Orphan Drug Consulting in 2017 to support pharmaceutical companies looking to expand and launch in global markets. This involved working with clients from the clinical stage right through to commercial launch.

As Australia is a key market for Evelyn’s clients and potential clients, it made sense for her to bring her business here. Another attraction was the support provided by the Therapeutics Goods Administration’s orphan drug designation process.

Evelyn sees opportunities to help companies expand their operations to the Australian market. She is also keen to provide expert guidance and support to Australian and regional companies who want to supply their products globally.

Jane Ching-Chen Chiu – Health Industries

From Taiwan

“Australia has great economic potential, and the best political and social structure in the world.”

During a visit to the Gold Coast, Jane recognised the impressive opportunities available in the biosciences in Australia. Now, as the managing director of a clinical research company she will bring new clinical research to Australia, to make use of the low cost and high quality sector benefits.

Jane has worked in the pharmaceutical and client research sector for more than 25 years working with clients in the US, EU and Asia.

Hasindu Gamaarachchi - Health and life sciences

From Sri Lanka, now based in Sydney

“Living in Australia allows me to be part of cutting-edge scientific breakthroughs.”

Hasindu Gamaarachchi is a digital health expert, specialising in genomic computations. His work has been internationally recognised with awards and major journal publications.

Hasindu is now a genomic computing systems engineer at Kinghorn Centre for Clinical Genomics at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, where he employs cutting edge research and development for genome sequencing and computation.

Hasindu and his team have made critical contributions to Australia’s world-leading COVID-19 response. Their work in developing and deploying genomic technologies to study virus transmission, evolution and contact tracing has been adopted by public health laboratories across the country.

Dr Jenifer Luman – Health and Life Sciences

From the United States, now based on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland

“The Global Talent visa pathway was intuitive to use and the staff very responsive.”

Dr Jenifer Luman MD is an emergency medicine and disaster management specialist. She has worked in the US National Disaster Medical System on a disaster medical assistance team and aero-medical evacuation response deploying to disaster areas around the world such as Indonesia, Micronesia, Zambia, Thailand, Argentina, and Portugal.

Since arriving in Australia, she has supplemented Australia’s medical response to the COVID pandemic through the Shoalhaven COVID response Taskforce in NSW and by providing services to elite athletes, touring artists and film crews through the Hemisphere Group in Queensland.