The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) understands the importance of engaging with consumers and the community on our role and activities. We also provide leadership and guidance to the health and medical research sector on the meaningful engagement of consumers throughout all stages of research and health care.
NHMRC has a statutory responsibility under the NHMRC Act 1992 (the Act) to raise the standard of individual and public health throughout Australia, and foster the development of consistent health standards between the various states and territories.
The functions undertaken by NHMRC in executing these responsibilities are outlined in Section 7(1)(a) of the Act. NHMRC inquires into, issues guidelines on, and advises the community on, matters relating to:
- the improvement of health
- the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease
- the provision of health care
- public health research and medical research
- ethical issues relating to health.
There is significant interest from individuals and groups within the Australian community on how we carry out our legislated functions. We understand the importance of engaging with consumers and the community to the successful performance of our functions. The following are some examples of our engagement with consumers and the community.
On this page:
Public consultation
Public consultation is an important mechanism by which we engage with the Australian community. Section 3(2) of the Act states:
It is the intention of the Parliament that, to the extent that it is practicable to do so, the NHMRC should adopt a policy of public consultation in relation to individual and public health matters being considered by it from time to time.
As directed in Section 3(2) of the Act, NHMRC adopts a policy of public consultation in relation to individual and public health matters it considers. All Guidelines developed by NHMRC undergo a period of public consultation prior to consideration by Council.
Section 13 of the Act outlines the process that the Council or Committee must follow:
- draft guidelines must be prepared
- a notice must be published containing a summary of the draft guidelines, stating where the draft guidelines can be obtained and inviting submissions within a specified timeframe
- due consideration must be given to consultation submissions.
The NHMRC Regulations 2016 require that public consultation runs for a minimum of 30 days.
Specific requirements for consumer and community engagement apply during the development of the clinical practice guidelines. Requirements for meeting NHMRC Standards are detailed in the publication Procedures and requirements for meeting the NHMRC standards for clinical practice guidelines. NHMRC will only approve guidelines that meet all mandatory requirements.
Representation on NHMRC committees
The Council and Principal Committees of NHMRC are established under Sections 20 and 35 of the Act respectively. Under the Act the Minister must establish Principal Committees called the Research Committee and the Australian Health Ethics Committee. The Minister may also establish such other Principal Committees the Minister thinks are necessary to assist Council to carry out any of its functions.
Consumer and community representatives are routinely appointed to NHMRC Council and Principal Committees and, where appropriate, working committees established under section 39 of the Act. Further information on the functions and membership of all NHMRC committees is available on leadership and governance.
Consumer Advisory Group
The joint NHMRC and Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) Consumer Advisory Group (CAG) advises the Australian Medical Research Advisory Board (AMRAB), and the Chief Executive Officers of the NHMRC and the Health and Medical Research Office (HMRO).
CAG advises on strategies to strengthen consumer and community involvement in health and medical research, including in NHMRC and HMRO grant administration processes, and advises on issues of relevance to the Australian community and consumers of health care.
Further information is available at Consumer Advisory Group.
Peer review
Since 2017, we have been trialling the involvement of consumer and community reviewers in peer review for selected grant opportunities. A person who has direct knowledge of the lived experience of a certain health condition or understands good consumer involvement in research settings may be appointed to a peer review panel as a consumer or community peer reviewer (depending on the nature of the grant opportunity). Consumer and community peer reviewers are involved in the formal scoring of applications to our Targeted Calls for Research scheme, using dedicated consumer assessment criteria. This model will also be implemented in the 2025 Clinical Trials and Cohort Studies grant scheme.
Further information on the NHMRC peer review system is available on Peer review.