The Morrison Government has announced the membership of the Council of the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC).
The new Council will play a key role in supporting the NHMRC in its mission of building a healthy Australia.
The Council will serve a three-year term to June 2024 and will be chaired by Professor Caroline Homer AO.
Membership of the Council brings together expertise in biomedical science, clinical and public health, nursing, health care training and the medical profession, as well as business and consumer perspectives, and expertise in the health needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Eleven of the 15 non-ex-officio members are women, a record in female membership of the Council.
Professor Homer is an internationally-renowned midwifery researcher, scholar and leader in maternal and newborn health care and service delivery. With more than 25 years’ experience in clinical practice, research, education and international development, she is Co-Program Director of Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health at the Burnet Institute and an Emeritus Professor of Midwifery at the University of Technology Sydney.
Professor Homer is current Deputy Chair of the Australian Medical Research Advisory Board and Chair of the NHMRC’s Peer Review Analysis Committee. She was a member of the Council in 2018–2021 and has previously been a member of the NHMRC’s Research Committee and Chair of the NHMRC’s Women in Health Science Committee.
The NHMRC is the nation’s leading body supporting excellent health and medical research to improve health outcomes for all Australians. It provides the foundation for Australia’s medical research capability, funding the best research and researchers, ensuring consistent health standards and advising on ethical issues in health. The Council’s role is to ensure that robust expert advice reflecting a wide range of perspectives is provided to the NHMRC Chief Executive Officer, Professor Anne Kelso AO, to support these functions.
I would like to thank the former Chair of the NHMRC Council, Professor Bruce Robinson AC, and all members of the former Council for their contributions and commitment to supporting the work of the NHMRC throughout the previous triennium (2018–2021).
NHMRC Council 2021–2024:
| Appointees | Position | Expertise |
| Professor Caroline Homer AO | Chair | |
| Professor Steve Wesselingh | Member and Chair, Research Committee | Expertise in public health research and medical research issues |
| Professor Ingrid Winship AO | Member and Chair, Australian Health Ethics Committee | Expertise in ethics relating to research involving humans |
| Professor Emily Banks AM | Member and Chair, Health Research Impact Committee | Expertise in public health research and medical research issues |
| Professor Yvonne Cadet-James | Member | Expertise in the health needs of Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islanders |
| Ms Ainslie Cahill AM | Member | Expertise in consumer issues |
| Ms Bronwyn Le Grice | Member | Expertise in business |
| Professor Ian Frazer AC | Member | Expertise in public health research and medical research issues |
| Professor Jane Gunn | Member | Expertise in health care training. Other expertise: mental health |
| Professor Elizabeth Hartland | Member | Expertise in public health research and medical research issues. Other expertise: basic/biomedical science |
| Professor Richard Murray | Member | Expertise in professional standards Expertise in the medical profession and postgraduate medical training |
| Professor Carolyn Sue AM | Member | Expertise in rare diseases |
| Professor Nicholas Talley AC | Member | Expertise in public health research and medical research issues |
| Professor Debra Thoms | Member | Expertise in the nursing profession |
| Professor Alison Venn | Member | Expertise in public health |
| Professor Paul Kelly | Ex-officio Member | Chief Medical Officer of the Commonwealth |
| Dr Kerry Chant PSM | Ex-officio Member | Chief Health Officer, New South Wales |
| Dr Kerryn Coleman | Ex-officio Member | Chief Health Officer, Australian Capital Territory |
| Dr Michael Cusack | Ex-officio Member | Chief Medical Officer, South Australia |
| Dr Hugh Heggie PSM | Ex-officio Member | Chief Health Officer, Northern Territory |
| Professor Tony Lawler | Ex-officio Member | Chief Medical Officer, Tasmania |
| Dr Andrew Robertson | Ex-officio Member | Chief Health Officer, Western Australia |
| Professor Brett Sutton | Ex-officio Member | Chief Health Officer, Victoria |
| Dr Jeannette Young PSM | Ex-officio Member | Chief Health Officer, Queensland |