About Melissa Waine
Melissa Waine is a Sydney-based health and medical communication consultant with 20 years of experience. She specialises in grant strategy and writing, medical writing and health communication for Australian government agencies, research institutes, universities and healthcare not-for-profits. Her clients include the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care, the Heart Foundation, CSIRO, Bioplatforms Australia and the Australian Centre for Disease Control.
What I do
I provide both scientific training and strategic communication expertise. I hold a Bachelor of Science and a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of New South Wales and McGill University, and First Class Honours from the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, where I completed a neurobiology research program. That foundation means I can engage with complex clinical and scientific content at depth — and then translate it for the audiences who need to act on it.
Over 20 years, I've worked across the full breadth of health and medical communication: developing and writing national government reports, supporting NHMRC and MRFF grant applications, developing patient and consumer resources for major health not-for-profits, creating content for biotechs and healthtechs, and providing academic editorial support for peer-reviewed publications and clinicians. My work has been published in national media, including the Sydney Morning Herald, and in peer-reviewed scientific journals.
I am based in Sydney, Australia, and am an active member of the Australasian Medical Writers Association. I work with clients globally – in Asia, the United States and Europe.
My approach
I’m a communication consultant, not just a writer – a distinction that matters. Most of my clients don’t come to me because they need more content; they come because they need communication that actually lands. That requires understanding the audience, the evidence, the funder or the reader, and the moment.
What connects all of it is a commitment to clarity, evidence and accessibility to deliver communication that serves its audience. I work with a small number of clients at any one time, which means every project gets my full attention — this fractional or project-based way of working gives clients senior-level communication expertise without the cost or commitment of a full-time hire.
I ask the questions others don't think to ask, I push back when something isn't working and I stay focused on what the communication needs to achieve rather than what's easiest to write.
Clients come back because the work is good, the process is clear, and deadlines are met.
Clients and collaborators
I've partnered with some of Australia's most respected organisations across government, academia, healthcare and industry, including the Australian Centre for Disease Control, Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care, Heart Foundation, Garvan Institute of Medical Research, CSIRO, Bioplatforms Australia, Children's Medical Research Institute, Crohn's and Colitis Australia, Melanoma Institute Australia, Movember, UNSW, the University of Sydney and the University of Queensland.
Get in touch
If you're working on a project that needs clear, credible, evidence-based communication — whether that's a grant application, a government report, a content strategy or patient-facing resources — I'd be glad to hear about it.
