Australia’s life sciences sector is entering 2026 with a renewed emphasis on structured expertise and member-led advocacy, following AusBiotech's refresh of its Advisory Groups to strengthen the organisation's engagement with industry and government.
The updated Advisory Groups are intended to play a central role in shaping AusBiotech’s strategic priorities at a time when policy, workforce capability, manufacturing scale and clinical translation are increasingly interconnected challenges for the sector. Covering clinical trials, manufacturing, medtech regulatory affairs, policy and workforce, the refreshed groups bring together expertise drawn from across AusBiotech’s growing and increasingly diverse membership base.
For AusBiotech, the move reflects a broader effort to ensure that advocacy is grounded in lived industry experience rather than abstract policy positions. The organisation has positioned its Advisory Groups not as symbolic committees, but as working bodies that inform how priorities are set and how sector views are translated into engagement with government and other stakeholders.
That emphasis was reinforced by AusBiotech Chief Executive Rebekah Cassidy, who highlighted the role of structured engagement in lifting the collective voice of the sector. She noted that creating mechanisms for members to contribute directly to strategy and advocacy is central to AusBiotech’s role as a representative body, and that the refreshed groups reflect both the breadth of capability and the diversity now present across the Australian life sciences community.
The refresh builds on changes made last year to AusBiotech’s State Committees, which remain unchanged. Together, the State Committees and Advisory Groups form a layered governance and engagement model that allows local perspectives to inform national priorities, while ensuring that technical expertise is embedded in decision-making.
That structure is underpinned by a significant voluntary contribution from members themselves. More than 80 AusBiotech members now participate across State Committees and Advisory Groups, providing time and expertise that help anchor the organisation’s work in real-world experience. According to AusBiotech’s leadership, this level of engagement reflects the depth of the sector's capabilities and is a critical enabler of AusBiotech’s identity as a member-led organisation.
Alongside the refreshed Advisory Groups, AusBiotech is also expanding opportunities for broader engagement through the establishment of three new Advisory Forums focused on therapeutics, medtech and intellectual property. Unlike the smaller, appointment-based Advisory Groups, these Forums are designed to be open platforms for members to receive updates, test ideas and provide feedback on emerging issues and opportunities. The Forums are expected to convene in early 2026 and will serve as an additional channel for capturing subsector-specific perspectives.