Indigenous Australians have a life expectancy 20 years lower than non-Indigenous Australians and suffer considerably poorer health.
Grants of up to 500-thousand-dollars a year are being offered to researchers to help develop ways in which preventative health education can be promoted.
The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) has been working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities to develop the initiative.
It believes significant improvement in health can only be achieved through co-ordinated partnerships across jurisdictions and portfolio boundaries.
Chairwoman of the NHMRC, Kim Boyer, says the research will take into account factors such as culture, identity and community.
"We're looking at research that will both improve health outcomes, but that will span beyond what's been called traditional disease focuses. The consultations told us that there were a range of other issues that actually impact on Aboriginal health outcomes. So we're anticipating that research in this area will go beyond a sort of disease focus into a broader health outcome focus."
