PhD Scholarship - Wiser Healthcare: Better Care for Patients, Practitioners, the Public and the Planet

Job No.: 701007

Location: 509 St Kilda Road, Melbourne

Employment Type: Full-time

Duration: 3-year fixed-term appointment

Remuneration: The successful applicant will receive a Research Living Allowance, at current value of $41,400 AUD per annum 2027 full-time rate (tax-free stipend), indexed plus allowances as per RTP stipend scholarship conditions at: www.monash.edu/graduate-research/future-students/scholarships/scholarship-policy-and-procedures. 

The Opportunity

An exciting opportunity is available for a highly motivated PhD candidate to join Wiser Healthcare at Monash University as part of a new NHMRC-funded Centre of Research Excellence (CRE) focused on strengthening health system sustainability and resilience.

Wiser Healthcare is an internationally recognised Australian research collaboration working to improve the value, sustainability and equity of health care (wiserhealthcare.org.au). The new CRE brings together leading researchers from five Australian universities, together with consumers, clinicians, health service organisations and policymakers, to develop and evaluate solutions to two major challenges facing health systems globally: overuse of health care that provides little or no patient benefit, and underuse of effective care. The CRE aims to improve health while making wiser use of finite healthcare resources and reducing harms to patients, practitioners, the public and the planet.

The successful candidate will be supervised by Professors Denise O’Connor and Rachelle Buchbinder and will join the Wiser Healthcare team at Monash University within the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine. The research questions to be addressed in the PhD will be developed with the successful candidate, taking into account their interests, skills and experience, as well as alignment with the CRE priorities. Potential areas of research include healthcare overuse and underuse, (de-)implementation science, health system sustainability, environmentally sustainable health care, and the development and evaluation of interventions to improve healthcare delivery.

The scholarship offers an opportunity to work alongside internationally recognised researchers within a large national multidisciplinary collaboration and to undertake research with strong potential for sustained translation into health policy and practice. The CRE has established partnerships with consumers, clinicians, health services, professional organisations and government agencies and places a strong emphasis on co-production and real-world impact.

The candidate will also participate in the CRE's dedicated research capacity-building program. PhD students will be integrated into relevant CRE methods groups and multidisciplinary research teams, with opportunities for mentoring, professional development, collaboration, research dissemination and involvement in the wider Wiser Healthcare network.

Candidate Requirements

Applicants will be considered provided that they fulfil the criteria for PhD admission at Monash University and demonstrate excellent research capability. Details of the relevant requirements are available at www.monash.edu/graduate-research/study/apply.

We are seeking applicants with:

• Australian citizenship, New Zealand citizenship or Australian permanent residency. This scholarship is not open to international applicants.
• an Honours or Master's degree with a substantial research component, or equivalent research experience, in a relevant clinical or methodological discipline such as medicine, allied health, nursing, public health, health services research, implementation science, data science/biostatistics, health economics, epidemiology or another relevant field;
• a strong academic record and demonstrated aptitude for research;
• an interest in improving the value, sustainability, equity and/or quality of health care;
• excellent written and verbal communication skills;
• the ability to work both independently and collaboratively within a multidisciplinary research team; and
• strong organisational, analytical and interpersonal skills.

Experience in quantitative or qualitative research methods, health services research, evidence synthesis, implementation science, health economics or related areas would be advantageous but is not essential.

Details of eligibility requirements, including English-language proficiency skills, to undertake a PhD are available at How to Apply - Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences.  Applicants should ensure they familiarise themselves with these requirements before deciding whether they should apply.

The successful applicant will be expected to enrol by January-February 2027.

Submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) which shall comprise:

• A cover letter that includes a brief statement of the applicant's suitability
• A curriculum vitae, including a list of published works
• A full statement of academic record, supported by scanned copies of relevant certified documentation
• Contact details of two academic referees
• Evidence of English-language proficiency (if you have)

Enquiries and Submissions to:

Mrs Grace O’Donohue, Research Manager – Wiser Health Care Group, grace.odonohue@monash.edu

Applications Close: Monday 7 December 2026, 11:55pm AEDT