A $100 million research Mission - and your support made it happen
The Albanese Government has announced a $100 million Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Conditions Research Mission – the most significant standalone Federal Government investment in this space in Australia’s history.
More than seven million Australians live with arthritis and musculoskeletal conditions. These are conditions that shape every part of daily life – how people move, work, sleep, and care for the ones they love. They cost our health system over $16 billion every year. And for too long, the research investment has not come close to matching that burden.
And now, that changes.
Prime Minister Albanese announced the Mission with a clear purpose: “We want Australian researchers working on better treatments, earlier diagnosis, and better outcomes for patients.”
Minister Butler said “I want to stress how much work Arthritis Australia has done to put this work together over a couple of years. We’re very confident that it will be a Mission that makes real change for the lives of millions of Australians.”
Arthritis Australia CEO Louise Hardy spoke to what this means for the millions living with these conditions: “This hundred million dollars really represents new hope — the hope of better treatments, better quality of life, and ultimately the hope of cures for these debilitating conditions.”
Your advocacy and donations have been critical in fuelling the years of hard work advocating and building the evidence base to achieve this historic outcome.
But here’s what makes this commitment even more significant. This Mission doesn’t replace the work your support has made possible – it amplifies it.
For years, donor support has powered Arthritis Australia’s advocacy, our National Research Program and funded the development of evidence-based resources that help Australians living with these conditions every single day. That work has built the foundation for this announcement . The researchers our community has backed, the evidence we have helped generate, the gaps we have worked to fill – all of it is now part of a much larger national effort.
This is not either/or. It is both. Your support and an ongoing research Mission, working in the same direction, toward the same goal. That is how you achieve real change.
Our National Research Program will remain an irreplaceable incubator for the next generation of young researchers, giving them the opportunity to build their track record and be ready for the larger scale opportunities that the Mission will bring in future.
And our advocacy for better access to care and treatment must continue – there is still so much more to do.
This happened because thousands of Australians – patients, carers, clinicians, researchers, and supporters like you – gave their time, their stories, and their resources to a cause that deserved to be heard.
Arthritis Australia will continue to work alongside government, researchers, and the community to ensure this investment delivers real outcomes. And your support will remain at the heart of everything we do.
