History and Affiliations

The Defence Health Foundation was established in June 2010 as a charitable trust to fund medical research into issues affecting current and former members of the Australian Defence Forces and their families. The Foundation is funded solely by Defence Health Ltd, which is a not-for-profit restricted health insurer for the Defence community.

Our Purpose

We have one clear purpose - to provide funding for medical research that meets the objective of being of benefit to the Defence community. The Defence community includes both serving and ex-serving personnel of the ADF, as well as their immediate families.

The type of medical research funded includes the study of the causes, treatment and prevention of human diseases. The term diseases includes physical or mental ailments, disorders, defects, wounds and morbid conditions, whether of sudden onset or gradual development and whether of genetic or other origin.

The Foundation makes grants periodically to medical researchers that are engaged in research that serves this purpose.

In 2011, we funded eight grants with a total value of $572,957.

In 2012, we awarded grants to six research projects valued at $544,425.