undertake highly innovative research at the forefront of developments within areas of national importance, with a scale and a focus leading to outstanding international and national recognition;

enhance the scale and focus of research in designated National Research Priorities.  In 2003, the Government designated the following areas as National Research Priorities for Commonwealth-funded research:

• Research Priority 1: An Environmentally Sustainable Australia
• Research Priority 2: Promoting and Maintaining Good Health
• Research Priority 3: Frontier Technologies for Building and Transforming Australian Industries
• Research Priority 4: Safeguarding Australia;

promote research that will enhance Australia's future economic, social and cultural wellbeing;

link existing Australian research strengths and build new capacity for interdisciplinary, collaborative approaches to address the most challenging and significant research problems;

build Australia’s human capacity in a range of research areas by attracting, from within Australia and abroad, researchers of high international standing as well as the most promising research students;

provide high-quality postgraduate and postdoctoral training environments for the next generation of researchers in innovative and internationally competitive research;

offer Australian researchers access to world class infrastructure and equipment, and to key research technologies;

develop relationships and build new networks with major international Centres and research programs that help achieve global competitiveness and recognition for Australian research; and

establish Centres of such repute in the wider community that they will serve as points of interaction among higher education institutions, Governments, industry and the private sector generally.