Minister Butler doorstop, Sydney – 30 July 2026

Media event date: 30 July 2026 Date published: 30 July 2026 Media type: General public JOURNALIST: How important is it to have a partnership, private commerce, medical research institute come together? MARK BUTLER, MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND AGEING, MINISTER FOR DISABILITY AND THE NDIS: We know that all of the significant advances in medical research involve partnerships.

Partnerships with clinicians, and you see that across the way at Prince of Wales, discovery researchers at institutes like this, but also big companies were able to plough significant funds into clinical trials and research that is necessary to get new therapeutics, new diagnostics off the ground. This is a terrific example particularly in this area of diagnosis of the sort of collaboration we need to make serious inroads into the challenge of dementia.

JOURNALIST: Just on the blood test, how significant is it? You mentioned up there it's the holy grail, is that correct? And when will it be available to the general public and people who need Medicare access?

This collaboration will allow Australian data to be developed around an application to Medicare, or the Medical Services Advisory Committee. It is necessary to put a test like this on the MBS, that is what we want to see. We want to see more tests on the MBS, we want to see more treatments on the PBS that provide Australians living with dementia and their families with relief.

This diagnostic holds out the prospect of a quicker answer to the question about what’s happening with me. That's why I really describe this as the holy grail. For years we've had to deal with the fact that it is years and years for patients to get a good diagnosis of dementia.

Those are lost years in terms of your ability to find the support you need, get the information that you and your families really desire to understand what's going on. And also in time, be able to access the treatments. JOURNALIST: When do you expect Australians to be able to get this at their GP?

Are we talking months or years? That really will depend upon the speed with which this data can be developed. Obviously, I'd like to see it sooner rather than later, but we’ve got to have Australian data to be able to show a case for the clinical effectiveness to the exact advisory committee that really oversees the Medicare schedule.

I'd like to see it sooner rather than later, but obviously we've also got some challenges with listing of the treatments that are on the global market. That's work that companies continuing working to. JOURNALIST: In terms of research, what is the federal government doing in terms of funding to help research progress?

You mentioned up there these things take time, it can be false starts on false starts. What else is the federal government doing? There's been a really significant effort into health and medical research in dementia for many years now.

I remember making targeted calls for research 15 years ago when I first became a minister in this area. Since then there have been additions under the Medical Research Future Fund into this, and it covers not just discovery research at the bench top to understand the biology of what is driving this condition, but also health services research that that will help clinicians and hospitals and aged care settings and primary care, make sure they have got the best information to give their patients the best possible support.

JOURNALIST: Minister, your colleague Luke Gosling has been arrested in the Northern Territory. Do you have anything to say about him? I don't have any more information, probably have got less information than you do.

I've heard a report of that as I've been coming from the airport to here. I don't have anything to add because I don't have any information. This is, as I understand it now, a police matter, so it wouldn't be appropriate for me to comment anyway.

JOURNALIST: Will Labor be standing by Luke Gosling? I don’t want to add anything. I don’t have any information to my hand about what’s happened, but it is, it will appear, a police matter, so it would be inappropriate for me to comment.

JOURNALIST: Do you find the allegations concerning? I don’t have anything further to add to that one. The Hon Mark Butler MP Health data and medical research Accessibility We acknowledge the Traditional Owners and Custodians of Country throughout Australia, and their continuing connection to land, sea and community.

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