The Morrison Government is providing an additional $7.58 million for Australian research into COVID-19 and bushfires.
Minister for Education Dan Tehan today announced new investment in cutting-edge technology, equipment and people to conduct research into Australia’s response to the dual national challenges of coronavirus and natural disasters.
The Morrison Government will provide:
- $1.5 million to Bioplatforms Australia to establish a new nucleic acid testing facility for fast-response COVID-19 analysis, to assist with overflow from public health laboratories.
- $1 million to Phenomics Australia to develop COVID-19 models to uncover the drivers of the virus in humans.
- $1.2 million to Translating Health Discoveries to support an additional five full-time staff to work on COVID-19 projects.
- $1.7 million to the Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network (TERN) to replace ecosystem monitoring equipment damaged by the recent bushfires with more resilient, fire-resistant equipment.
- $1.65 million to the Australian Urban Research Infrastructure Network to replace decade-old information technology hardware and software.
“Australian researchers are leading the way as part of a global effort to find a vaccine for COVID-19 that will save lives and get us firmly on the road to recovery,” Mr Tehan said.
“Our researchers are at the forefront in areas such as diagnostics, treatments and vaccine development. We are also undertaking ground-breaking research on national and global priorities such as bushfires.
“The Morrison Government is supporting these efforts through targeted, additional funding for leading-edge infrastructure and expertise.”
The additional funding will be provided through the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS). The Morrison Government is currently providing $4 billion in funding under NCRIS which helps drive innovation by supporting leading national research infrastructure projects.
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