28/05/2026
𝑨 𝒘𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝑨𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝒔𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆! 🔬🌱
For years, animal testing has been so embedded in research that it was rarely even mentioned in national planning.
That just changed.
The newly released National Health and Medical Research Strategy for 2026–2036 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐧-𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐥 𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐝𝐬 (NAMs), embedding them into the future of Australia’s research infrastructure, training and sustainability goals.
It even writes: "𝑁𝑜𝑛-𝑎𝑛𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑙 𝑡𝑒𝑐ℎ𝑛𝑜𝑙𝑜𝑔𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑚𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑑𝑠 𝑟𝑒𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒 𝑜𝑟 𝑟𝑒𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑎𝑛𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑙𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑐ℎ. 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑥𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑐𝑎𝑝𝑎𝑏𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑒 𝑡𝑒𝑐ℎ𝑛𝑜𝑙𝑜𝑔𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑛𝑜𝑤 𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑜𝑟 𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑝𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑎𝑛𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑙-𝑏𝑎𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑚𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑑𝑜𝑙𝑜𝑔𝑖𝑒𝑠." 🙌
💡 Key highlights:
- 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗡𝗼𝗻-𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗹 𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗲𝘀: The strategy proposes a new national platform to coordinate NAMs, provide training and advise industry and government.
- 𝗦𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀-𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁: NAMs are now listed alongside major priorities like biobanks in the proposed Infrastructure Roadmap.
- 𝗔 '𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵' 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵: The strategy connects human health with animal welfare and environmental sustainability—noting that traditional animal testing is under increasing scrutiny for its environmental footprint.
💰 What’s next?
This recognition is a huge win, but a strategy is only as good as its funding. With the recent Federal Budget injecting an additional $508.5M into the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF), AFSA will continue to advocate fiercely to ensure dedicated funding is allocated to NAMs innovation.
Read more about it here 👉 https://animalfreescienceadvocacy.org.au/nams-national-priority/
You can also read AFSA's submission to the National strategy - �https://animalfreescienceadvocacy.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/AFSA-submission-survey-National-Stategy-phase-2.pdf
Thank you to everyone who supported our Fund the Future campaign and contacted their MPs. You helped put NAMs firmly on the national agenda.
Let's build a research system that is more innovative, ethical and sustainable. ✨
