New NHMRC Statement recognises the power of community-shaped research

The Kids Research Institute Australia welcomes the updated 2026 National Health and Medical Research Council Statement on Consumer and Community Involvement in Health and Medical Research, which makes clear that consumer and community involvement is not optional but essential to research – an expectation The Kids have long championed and is embedded in our work.
 
The Kids Executive Director, Professor Jonathan Carapetis, said the updated NHMRC statement reflected growing recognition across the sector that research was stronger, more relevant and more impactful when informed by the voices and experiences of the people it aims to serve.  

“We’ve seen firsthand that when community voices lead, the outcomes are more meaningful and more likely to create real change,” Professor Carapetis said. 

“Over the past 35 years, The Kids has built deep and enduring partnerships across Western Australia, working with advocates in chronic disease, disability, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health, infectious disease and more.
 
“Community input, expertise and lived experience are essential to our work tackling the biggest health challenges kids face today.  

“It is encouraging to see this expectation now clearly set at a national level through the NHMRC Statement.” 

The Kids was pleased to support the national consultation process behind the Statement by coordinating roundtables involving 497 consumers, community representatives, researchers, clinicians, policymakers, funders and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders.  

Consumer and community involvement is already deeply embedded across the Institute, from shaping research priorities to influencing study design, implementation and translation into real-world impact.  

Senior Manager Community Engagement Belinda Frank said The Kids has built a culture where effective partnership with community is central to better research outcomes. 

“At The Kids, we have seen firsthand the value of partnering with consumers and communities throughout the research process. When people with lived experience help shape research, the outcomes are more relevant, more inclusive and more likely to create real-world impact,” Ms Frank said. 

The Kids also welcomed the inclusion of its Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Research Standards among the Statement’s official supporting resources under Principle 1: Involving consumers and communities across all stages and types of research. 

The recognition reflects The Kids’ longstanding commitment to culturally safe, community-led research and highlights the growing importance of Indigenous governance, lived experience and connection to Country in shaping health and medical research practices nationally.
 
The updated Statement also recognises that responsibility for meaningful involvement extends beyond individual research projects, with researchers, institutions, funders and policymakers all playing a role in embedding best practice across the wider research system.
 
“We are hopeful the release of the 2026 Statement will help drive a broader cultural shift across the sector, where meaningful consumer and community involvement becomes the expectation, not the exception,” Ms Frank said. 

“This work reinforces the importance of ensuring the people most impacted by research have a genuine voice in shaping it, and we are proud to support a national framework that recognises the value of those partnerships.”