The National Institute of Complementary Medicine (NICM) was established to provide leadership and support for strategically directed research into complementary medicine and translation of evidence into clinical practice and relevant policy to benefit the health of all Australians.

The establishment of NICM follows the 2003 recommendation by the Expert Committee on Complementary Medicines in the Australian Health System that the government has a social responsibility to fund complementary medicine research given the high community use of complementary medicines and therapies.  

Initial seed funding for the establishment of NICM (June 2007) includes $4 million from the Australian Department of Health and Ageing and $0.6 million from the NSW Office for Science and Medical Research (OSMR). The institute is hosted by the University of Western Sydney at its Campbelltown campus.

The NICM initiative complements the announcement in late 2006 of $5 million of National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Special Initiative Research Grants for complementary medicine and the inclusion of complementary medicine in the 2007-2009 NHMRC triennial strategic plan. The special initiative funding drew a strong response with 141 applications from 37 institutions, demonstrating the high level of interest in complementary medicine research.

Government support for the founding of NICM and other complementary medicine research initiatives is consistent with international trends. The US government currently allocates approximately $120 (USD) million per annum for complementary medicine research activities through the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (one of the US National Institutes of Health (NIH)) and $300M per year is committed for CAM research across all NIH centres.  In 2006 and the Chinese government announced a significant five year international collaborative research program that will seed research investment and collaborations to promote international recognition and acceptance of traditional Chinese medicine.  Traditional medicine is strongly integrated into public hospital serves and tertiary sector research in China, Korea, Taiwan and Japan.

Content Updated January 2009