Australian Medtech Manufacturing Centre (AMMC)

About AMMC

The Australian Medtech Manufacturing Centre (AMMC) is a $20 million Victorian Government initiative that is supporting the growth of innovative medical technology (‘medtech’) manufacturing in Victoria, creating new jobs, enhancing skills and increasing investment and exports.

Building on Victoria’s world-class health technologies and medical research ecosystem, AMMC is working with the medtech sector to deliver on three strategic priorities:

  1. Growing local content in health procurement
  2. Building the competitive capability of Victorian medtech manufacturers
  3. Strengthening collaboration and connections across government, industry, the health system and businesses

The AMMC is informed by an Industry Advisory Group.

AMMC is working with health and industry leaders to help position the medtech sector to meet future healthcare needs locally and globally. AMMC can assist medtech manufacturers with information, advice and connections to support growth opportunities and address challenges.

AMMC’s grants and programs focus on growing the local medtech manufacturing sector and supporting health buyers to identify local capability.

Together with partners, AMMC is supporting local manufacturers to access health procurement opportunities and to identify opportunities and resources.

AMMC has partnered with the Industry Capability Network Victoria (ICN) to promote opportunities for local medtech businesses to supply into Victorian health procurement.

ICN is an independent organisation, supported by Australian, state and territory governments. ICN helps find suppliers and service providers that are equipped to meet the requirements of thousands of projects across Australia and New Zealand.

As part of its support for the medtech sector, AMMC has appointed a dedicated Medtech Industry Adviser, Dr Craig Neylon.

Dr Craig Neylon is available to advise and guide local companies on upcoming opportunities in Victorian Government health procurement. He actively promotes these opportunities to the medtech sector. He can also assist with compliance requirements for the Victorian Government’s Local Jobs First policy and Social Procurement Framework.

The Victorian Medtech Skills and Devices Hub (VMH) is a model of workforce training and development built to accelerate the growth of Victoria's medtech industry.

The VMH is delivered by a consortium led by the University of Melbourne, including Swinburne University of Technology, RMIT University and the Aikenhead Centre for Medical Discovery (ACMD).

The VMH will be located at the ACMD at Melbourne’s St Vincent’s Hospital, which is under construction and set for completion in 2024. In the interim activities are being delivered through partner facilities.

A key focus of the VMH is connecting industry, students and education providers to create education and training opportunities to address skills education gaps, in turn deepening the skillset of the local medtech workforce and supporting the growth of Victorian medtech innovators.

For more information visit Victorian Medtech Skills and Devices Hub.

Stronger Medtech Connections Program

The Stronger Medtech Connections Program (SMCP) aims to strengthen sector connections and collaboration, in partnership with medtech industry organisations. SMCP focuses on growing medtech manufacturing. There are currently three initiatives under the SMCP:

ANDHealth – Centre for Connected Health Innovation and Commercialisation (CHICC)

  • The Victorian Connected Health Innovation and Commercialisation Centre (CHICC) is a co-working, mentoring and workshop space designed specifically for Victorian-based digital and connected health companies.
  • Created to boost the growth of digital and digitally enabled medical technology companies in Victoria, the CHICC is a vibrant new hub for innovators, industry leaders, healthcare professionals, and investors to meet, connect, collaborate and access free services and support.
  • Powered by Australia’s leading digital and connected health innovation and commercialisation engine room, ANDHealth, the CHICC is a physical hub located in Melbourne’s CBD – where ideas can flourish, and best practices can be shared.
  • For Victorian companies working on a digital or digitally enabled medical technology, product or service or are active in the connected health arena as an innovator, advocate, investor or industry professional CHICC offers:
    • Free co-working space for those days you need to be in the city
    • Office Hours with leading industry experts
    • International Experts-In-Residence to access global expertise
    • Targeted Commercialisation Workshops targeted at specific challenges
    • Room hire for networking events, meetings and workshops

BioMelbourne Network – Wilam

  • BioMelbourne Network – Melbourne’s leading peak body for the Victorian life sciences industry – has launched Wilam (wilam.com), an online life sciences community platform to better connect health, medtech innovators, manufacturers and researchers across the state and Australia.
  • Wilam means 'home’ in the Woi-wurrung language of the Wurundjeri People of the Kulin Nation. The name has been chosen because the platform is a home for all health and medtech innovators to connect both online and offline and to engage on topics of mutual interest.
  • Wilam is an important communication channel across life sciences, medtech, health and manufacturing communities. It is the first network of its kind in Australia, available free of charge to all contributors and participants.

AusBiotech – Cell and Gene Catalyst and Manufacturing Blueprint

  • The Cell and Gene Catalyst is a joint venture between national peak industry bodies AusBiotech and Medicines Australia to advance the regenerative medicines industry in Australia.
  • AusBiotech is working with Victorian company Cell Therapies, as well as CSL Behring, Medicines Australia, Novartis, Pfizer and Therapeutic Innovation Australia in delivering this project.
  • AusBiotech has developed a ‘blueprint’ report that will identify opportunities to grow manufacturing of cell and gene therapies. It provides specific recommendations on workforce skills development; collaboration across the value chain; opportunities for long-term investment; and positioning Australian manufacturing capability in global markets. A copy of the report can be accessed through AusBiotech’s website using the link above.

Medtech Manufacturing Capability Program

The Medtech Manufacturing Capability Program (MMCP) has three core objectives:

  • Increasing the capability and capacity of businesses and their supply chains to manufacture medtech products in Victoria
  • Enabling more Victorian manufactured medtech products or devices to be delivered
  • Accelerating the development, clinical and regulatory approval, and production of medtech projects

The goal of MMCP is to strengthen the supply chain, drive business growth and increase employment and investment in the sector.

MMCP Grant recipients 2022

Applications for the MMCP Round 1 have closed.

Health-led Manufacturing Innovation Program

The Health-led Manufacturing Innovation Program (HMIP) is designed to drive new collaborations between clinical and non-clinical staff, researchers, medtech innovators and manufacturers.

The first four HMIP pilot projects are designed as a stepping-stone to deliver more clinically focused medtech manufacturing activity in Victoria. The projects will help ensure the medtech industry in Victoria better understands clinical needs; and they will better connect manufacturers and clinicians to validate products that are market ready.

Health led Manufacturing Innovation Program Partners

Aikenhead Centre for Medical Discovery
Project: Medtech Challenge Workshops
To strengthen collaboration and connections between clinicians and industry to improve the likelihood that new products meet the needs of the medical system.

Bendigo Health and University of Melbourne
Project: Regional Innovation Acceleration Program
To identify and support early-stage venture creation that addresses unmet medical needs.

Monash University
Project: Medtech Commercialisation Advancement Program
To bring together regulatory and reimbursement specialists, health economists and medtech manufacturers to accelerate the commercialisation of eligible projects.

Swinburne University
Project: LivingAT Health Innovation Challenge (Swinburne)
To identify and design products that can be manufactured in Victoria to assist people with diverse ability to live their lives independently and support their health outcomes with local innovations.

Applications for the pilot HMIP have closed. Please contact partners for more information.

The medtech sector in Victoria includes diagnostics, devices, and medical technology and equipment firms.

Medtech is part of the broader 'health technologies' or health tech sector which also includes manufacturing of pharmaceuticals, vitamins, supplements and topical products; biotechnology, contract research organisations and clinical trial providers; digital health; diagnostics and devices; professional and scientific services; pharmaceutical wholesaling; medical research organisations and health services.

In 2022, the health tech sector value add in Victoria was $5.5 billion. It exports products and services to global markets valued at over $2.5 billion.

The broader health tech sector in Victoria includes 4,644 firms and employs 31,400 people. Gross Value Add has grown by 18% in the last five years and 50% in the last 10 years. The sector includes CSL, Australia’s leader in biopharmaceutical exports.

Melbourne is ranked by CBRE as a top five Life Sciences Hub in the Asia Pacific1. Across Melbourne’s leading biomedical precincts are 22 globally recognised medical research institutes co-located with universities and hospitals. The state attracts more than 40% of medical research funding in Australia.

Melbourne is one of the few cities in the world to have two universities (the University of Melbourne and Monash University) in the global top 40 biomedical rankings. Monash University is ranked #2 in the world for pharmacy and pharmacology.

Victoria is a national leader for early-stage trials, with over 35% of the national dedicated phase I facility beds in Australia, including specialist units focused on immunology, neuroscience, oncology, ophthalmology and paediatric diseases.

As well as its thriving medical research and life sciences sectors Melbourne is home to 22 pharmaceutical manufacturers and 82 ASX-listed companies.

Melbourne is known for its strong connectivity across health technology businesses, precincts, researchers, startups, scaleups, contract manufacturers, industry and universities. Melbourne’s highly skilled, multicultural workforce drives the ecosystems connectivity and ability to harness multidisciplinary approaches to problem solving and innovation. This innovative capability is underpinned by over two decades of Victorian Government investment in health and medical research infrastructure.

When health supply chains were disrupted during the COVID-19 pandemic, Victorian medtech companies and supply chain partners collaborated to rapidly scale up production of critical medical products. As an advanced manufacturing leader over decades in aerospace, defence, automotive and other sectors Victoria has a responsive industrial manufacturing base with many niche capabilities and specialised workforce skills.

This ecosystem has put Victoria in the top 10% rankings of global life sciences startups. One fifth of startups in the state are related to health tech according to LaunchVic’s 2022 Victorian Startup Ecosystem Mapping report.

1 Australia Major Report - A New Era of Growth in Life Sciences - Australia Overview, August 2021 | CBRE Australia

  • ICN Gateway - For information on current health infrastructure, and goods and services procurement opportunities.
  • HealthShare Victoria (HSV) - Information for current and prospective suppliers on HSV contracts and tenders or invitations to supply.
  • Buying for Victoria (Tenders Vic) - The Buying for Victoria Supplier Portal is the Victorian Government tender system used to view and respond to tender opportunities.

Contact AMMC by email at AMMC@ecodev.vic.gov.au

Page last updated: 9 April 2024