The National Allergy Centre of Excellence–Addressing Australia's Allergy Burden

ABSTRACT

Australia has one of the highest rates of food allergy, anaphylaxis hospital admissions and anaphylaxis fatalities worldwide. These trends and sustained advocacy prompted a 2019 Parliamentary Inquiry into Allergies and Anaphylaxis. Among 250 submissions, the Centre for Food Allergy Research called for a national research‐coordinating centre and comprehensive allergy research funding. In response to the inquiry, the Australian Government funded the National Allergy Centre of Excellence (NACE) in 2022, and its partner organisation, the National Allergy Council (NAC), to improve health, save lives and reduce the national burden of allergic disease. Here we describe the establishment and early impacts of the NACE. The NACE was established to build critical national research infrastructure and collaboration to transform consumer‐centred allergy care. Four interconnected Pillars underpin the plan of action: (1) Transforming Allergy Care, codesigning national trials and embedded clinical research to address knowledge and practice gaps; (2) BioRepository and Discovery, developing Australia's first national Allergy BioRepository (ALBI) to support data‐driven discovery; (3) Evidence and Translation, providing living evidence surveillance and synthesis to accelerate translation into policy and practice; and (4) Training and Innovation, building workforce capacity through postgraduate scholarships and fellowships. In just 3 years, the NACE has become a global exemplar, secured further funding and demonstrated excellence in high‐impact research, rapid translation into policy and practice, and improved outcomes for people living with allergic disease. The NACE has united over 500 drug, food, insect and respiratory allergy experts. Over 1500 individuals with allergies are enrolled in five research programs initiated in clinical care, including more than 500 families in a national, standardised peanut oral immunotherapy program (ADAPT) and NACE‐led evaluation study. The ALBI design and build are well‐advanced, and over 5000 academic articles have been assessed through Australia's first drug and food allergy living evidence collections, underpinning clinical guidelines, public health programs and resources. The NACE has been recognised as an European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology Advanced Research Centre and a World Allergy Organisation Center of Excellence. In December 2025, the NACE‐NAC partnership secured further Federal Government funding to continue driving national impact.