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

A woman with an off-the-ear cochlear implant

Doctor using ultrasound on pregnant woman

I first worked in Australia in 2004 as a Thinker in Residence in Adelaide. The 3 months working with a wide range of sectors related to science, will stay with me for the rest of my life: I have never before experienced such rewarding teamwork, nor had such fun both inside and out of professional commitments. This initiative then led to my returning to Australia the following year by which time I had been part of exciting new developments, such as the Ri Australia’s Science Media Centre. Since that time, I have returned to Australia at least once a year (apart from during the pandemic) and now feel it is my second home.

In addition to the public sector activities, I’ve now been involved in other projects in Melbourne and Sydney including scientific collaborations and commercial networking. Half of the shareholders in my company (Neuro-Bio Ltd.) are actually Australian. I therefore feel qualified to testify that Australia is a fantastic place for science and all STEM activities. I really feel my experiences there have gone a long way to building my confidence in a way that would not have been possible in the UK.

To anyone considering relocating in Australia, I would say that this is a wonderful opportunity!

Baroness Susan Greenfield, CBE, research scientist and CEO

Neuro-Bio

For 40 years, Cochlear has been the global leader in implantable hearing solutions – providing more than 650,000 devices that give the gift of hearing to people around the world, and showing that Australia has all the ingredients for building a successful global med-tech company. Cochlear was founded in Sydney with just three employees – and now has more than 4,000 employees in over 30 global locations, and provides implants in more than 180 countries.

It all started by bringing together exceptional Australian academic research, entrepreneurial experience, and targeted government support – a combination that continues to be a great model for success 40 years later.

We’re a proudly Australian company, but we’ve succeeded by bringing together exceptional people from all parts of the world. Fortunately for us, Australia is a fantastic place to live and has a blossoming tech community. So we can attract the best people from around the world – the people who will bring our life-changing technology to more people in more places.

Ms Alison Deans, Chair

Cochlear Limited

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.

Podcast: Bloomberg interview with Professor Sharon Lewin

Bloomberg interview with Professor Sharon Lewin, Director, Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity

Audio file

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

Are you a talented individual working in health industries?

Get an idea of the kinds of skills and roles we’re looking for

We’re targeting exceptionally talented individuals who are leading ground breaking projects in medtech, biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, medical research, disease management, and health IT.

The following specialisations are intended to be used as a guide and are not an exhaustive list. The global talent profile provides examples of the calibre of individuals who may meet program requirements.

Specialisations

Antimicrobial resistance
Biochemistry and cell biology
Biostatistics
Biotechnology
Biomedicine and bioengineering
Cell and gene therapies - genomics
Clinical trials
Commercialisation experience in the health industry
Digital health
Healthcare entrepreneurship
Health economics
Implantable and wearable devices (3D printed devices, bionics
and prosthetics)
Infectious disease prevention
Medical devices
Medical physics
Microbiology and immunology
Nanotechnology and genomics
Neuroscience and neurology
Pharmaceuticals
Precision medicine
Point of care diagnostics
Regenerative medicine

Global talent profile

Exceptional candidates

Pharmaceutical executive and founder of a multi-million dollar global company dedicated to accelerating clinical trial processes by utilising a novel e-platform to track patient data.

Renowned infectious diseases researcher and practitioner of international repute.

Strong candidates

Senior auditory neuroscientist with a track record of research in health technologies, leading the research and design of cochlear implant technology.

Biomedical engineer with expertise in medical application of polymers, biomaterials and delivery platforms.

Not usually eligible

The following experience or professions would not usually meet the parameters of the program:

General practitioners
Retail pharmacists
Dentists
Physiotherapists
Nurses
Veterinarians
Aged care workers

Australia’s health and life sciences ecosystems

Recent arrivals

Zachary M Smith - Medtech

From United States of America

“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

“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.

Dr Anukriti Mathur – Health Industries

From India

“The Australian research funding landscape, work culture, job opportunities and professional development programs are exceptional and attractive for early-career researchers like me.”

Anukriti is a postdoctoral researcher in immunology at the Australian National University. Her PhD identified how the immune system detects toxins of a food-poisoning causing bacteria, leading to the killing and removal of bacteria from the body. Her research findings, which demonstrate that a drug in Phase II clinical trials could prevent death caused by the toxin-producing bacteria, have been published in top international scientific journals.

Anukriti has received a number of awards, including the International Cytokine and Interferon Society’s Sidney and Joan Pestka Graduate Award, given annually to one PhD student worldwide who has conducted outstanding research and is making an impact in the field of immunology.

Dr Mee Wa Wong – MedTech

From the United States of America

“Biomedical research is cutting edge in Australia and there are also great government incentives for the medical and biotech industry.”

Mee Wa Wong has a PhD in molecular biology and biochemistry and has worked in the molecular diagnostics and medical device industry for over 20 years. She has combined her scientific knowledge and commercial experience to develop and commercialise new, innovative medical products for clinical research and diagnostics for early detection of critical diseases.

Mee Wa continues to develop global strategic initiatives between research institutes and biotech companies in Australia and the rest of the world to help promote cutting-edge biomedical research here and create new job opportunities for researchers in Australia.

She currently works at Imagion Biosystems Ltd where she leads product development that seeks to combine nanotechnology with biotechnology to develop a non-invasive, non-radioactive platform for early cancer detection. Earlier detection leads to more successful treatment and a better survival rate.

Dr Beatriz Martin Monzon – Health Industries

From Spain

“Australia is a beautiful country, with unique job opportunities and a welcoming multicultural community.”

Dr Beatriz Martin Monzon is a mental health professional with expertise in eating disorders.

She completed her PhD at Western Sydney University, where her research was on alterations to the brain structure of adolescent girls with anorexia nervosa and whether it reversed after weight gain. Beatriz has received several awards, including the Early Career Investigator Award from the international Eating Disorders Research Society.

Beatriz is currently in the process of becoming a registered psychologist.

Sebastien Naze – Medtech

From France

“Australia has an amazing research community, provides exciting professional growth opportunities and a balanced work-life environment.”

Sebastien Naze’s research combines neuroimaging and computational modelling to understand both the general principles of neuronal disorders, like Huntington’s disease, and to help tailor treatments for individual patients.

He has used supercomputers to model the neuro circuitry of Huntington’s disease, a debilitating neurodegenerative disease, to unravel the mechanisms by which it slowly changes normal brain function.

Sebastien has more than 10 years of hands-on expertise in computational brain modelling from prestigious institutions in Europe and the United States, and will participate in developing new treatment facilities to assess the effect of neuronal stimulation on psychiatric disorders.