NHMRC, guided by its Principal Committee Indigenous Caucus (PCIC), conducted a national consultation on the Indigenous Research Excellence Criteria (IREC) to consider how the criteria are working in practice and whether improvements are needed.

The IREC

NHMRC has established certain requirements and processes designed to ensure that research into Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health is of the highest scientific merit and is beneficial and acceptable to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and communities.

The Indigenous Research Excellence Criteria (IREC) are for grant applications proposing to undertake research relating to the health of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples.

To qualify as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health research, at least 20% of the research effort and/or capacity building must relate to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health. 

The 4 criteria to address in grant applications are:

  • Community Engagement
  • Benefit
  • Sustainability and Transferability
  • Building capability

The response to the IREC is used during the scoring of grant applications. However, the IREC have not been reviewed for many years. Find out more about the IREC and about peer review.

IREC Review

The IREC consultation sought feedback on the four Indigenous Research Excellence Criteria and how they are used, as well as the bigger picture of supporting excellence in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health research.

The consultation closed on Friday 8 September 2023. A detailed report on the Consultation is available.

A discussion paper was produced to inform the review. It provides information on the IREC and lists the consultation questions.

All interested parties were encouraged to provide their views by:

  • Providing a submission through the online public consultation, in response to specific questions
  • Attending a face-to-face workshop led by PCIC members.

Contributions will inform recommendations for the improvement of the IREC.

Implementation

A key finding from the Review is that there is strong support for adoption of an approach where all NHMRC applications answer a question about how the proposed research will benefit Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander health. This is in line with the National Agreement on Closing the Gap and NHMRC’s health priority to promote wellness and health equity for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

PCIC has recommended the introduction of such a question as the first action stemming from the Review. NHMRC is piloting the introduction of this question in the Centres of Research Excellence 2025 grant opportunity. For more information, please see the fact sheet on the pilot.

NHMRC, in consultation with PCIC, is continuing to consider how to refresh the IREC. Any changes to IREC will be announced later.

Background

Road Map 3 is the NHMRC's strategic framework for improving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health, through research. The Road Map is accompanied by an Action Plan that outlines our commitments. The 2021-24 Triennium Action Plan includes the commitment to:

Review the NHMRC Indigenous Research Excellence Criteria and their use, and consider the other improvements that could be made to peer review of applications about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health, with the advice of the Principal Committee Indigenous Caucus.

NHMRC is Australia’s leading expert body in health and medical research with a remit of funding research and providing health guidelines and ethical standards. NHMRC operates within the broader Health and Medical Research system, within a framework of:

  • the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP)
  • Closing the Gap (CTG) Targets
  • Population projects
  • Social Justice and Equity considerations.

In the past 30 years NHMRC has achieved significant milestones in its commitment to improving the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

  • In 1994 NHMRC’s first lead Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Chief Investigator to be funded was Professor Ian Anderson.
  • In 1998 NHMRC adopted the Darwin Criteria to ensure that specific standards were addressed and assessed for Indigenous health research.
  • In 2002 NHMRC Council recommended an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander representative be appointed to Council and each of the Principal Committees.
  • In 2008 the target of spending 5% of the Medical Research Endowment Account (MREA) on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health was reached.
  • In 2021 the $10 million National Network of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Researchers (now known as OCHRe) was established.
  • From 2022 onwards NHMRC has set a target of 3.4% of NHMRC grants awarded annually led by an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander researcher. 

Find a timeline of NHMRC's achievements from 1994 to 2021 involving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health research.

One of the Action Items is to publish an annual report of achievements against the Action Plan including reporting against key performance indicators. Read our Report card of achievements 2022.

Contact

If you have any questions about the IREC Consultation email Indigenous.advice@nhmrc.gov.au