The need for a body such as the Australian Centre for Health Research has long been discussed in industry circles. There has been a general recognition that the many groups that contribute to the current public discussion about health services and policies in Australia all represent a particular aspect of the industry - be it private hospitals, components of the public system, the medical consumer or various parts of the private health industry.

To that end, the Australian Centre for Health Research was launched on 16 November 2005.

Since its launch, the Centre has appointed a Board as well as a Research Projects Committee, established funding, commissioned three research projects and compiled a compelling list of potential future projects.