Publications
The FHRI Fund has reporting requirements that are provided in the Western Australian Future Health Research and Innovation Fund Act 2012 and in the FHRI Fund Governance Framework.
Relevant reporting includes financial reporting for the Treasury FHRI Fund (set out in an appendix to the Economic and Fiscal Outlook budget paper of the State Government), the FHRI Account (set out in the Department of Health's Annual Report) and the Annual Report on activities of the FHRI Fund.
The FHRI Fund Strategy and Priorities are also published online.
In addition, from time to time the FHRI Fund will publish other documents, papers and reports that are relevant to its operation and strategic objectives.
The Future Health Research and Innovation (FHRI) Fund was created by re-purposing the WA Future Fund through the Western Australian Future Health Research and Innovation Fund Act 2012 (the Act). The Act, which commenced on 24 June 2020, can be accessed on the Western Australian Legislation website here.
Key features of the legislation include:
- The object of the Act is to provide a secure source of funding to improve, through research and innovation, the health and prosperity of Western Australians, the sustainability of the health system and to advance the State’s standing as a leader in research and innovation.
- The capital of the fund, which is administered by the Treasurer, will grow through the annual crediting of one per cent of the State’s royalty income.
- The investment income earned on the capital will be transferred each year to a Department of Health account, called the FHRI Account, from which funds will be applied to support health and medical research, innovation and commercialisation.
- The legislation provides that the Minister for Medical Research must establish and maintain the FHRI Fund Advisory Council (see the Governance section for further details).
- Special provision is made in 2020-21 for research and innovation related to human coronaviruses of pandemic potential.
Further details about the Act are provided on the FHRI Fund legislation page.
The Governance Framework supports the Act by providing details about process, policies and responsibilities that allow the FHRI Fund to operate responsibly, efficiently and transparently.
For example, the Governance Framework sets out the roles and responsibilities of the Minister for Medical Research and the Department of Health, describes how the Strategy and Priority Goals for the FHRI Fund will be developed and that evaluating the impact of the FHRI Fund will be done systematically, among other things.
The current version of the Governance Framework (v1.1, October 2022) can be downloaded below.
The Western Australian Future Health Research and Innovation Fund Act 2012 (the Act) provides that the Governance Framework will include a requirement for the development of a Future Health Research and Innovation (FHRI) Fund Strategy and FHRI Fund Priority Goals and that these must be tabled in Parliament and published online.
The Governance Framework describes the Strategy, Priority Goals and Programs and Initiatives as follows:
The Strategy provides a high-level vision and goals for research and innovation in WA and forms the basis from which the Priority Goals are derived. The Advisory Council for the FHRI Fund leads development of the Strategy and the extensive consultations that inform this process. The Advisory Council recommends the Strategy to the Minister for Medical Research for approval.
A Priority Goal is an approach, need or opportunity that has been determined to be critical to achieving the vision of the Strategy that is in place at the time and that aligns with the purpose of the FHRI Fund, as described in the object of the Act. The Priorities are prepared by the Advisory Council and subsequently provided to the Minister for Medical Research for approval.
A Program or Initiative is a mechanism through which funding is directed to a specific purpose and that contributes to achieving one or more Priority Goal. Programs and Initiatives are approved by the Minister for Medical Research based on a proposal by the Director General of the Department of Health. However, the Act provides that the Minister for Medical Research must seek a recommendation from the Advisory Council and consider the recommendation subsequently received before making, or applying FHRI Account moneys to, Programs and Initiatives in the financial year.