The future of Australian medical research is being held back, not by a lack of ideas, talent, or urgency, but by the failure to honour a long-held funding promise, a situation all the more perplexing given that the promised funds are already available, said Professor Brendan Crabb AC, Director and CEO of Burnet Institute.
The Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) was established to transform Australian health and medical research. It is legislated, fully-capitalised, and even grown $4 billion further than the initial intended $20 billion fund; ready to deliver the promised $1 billion a year to turn scientific breakthroughs into treatments, cures and better health outcomes for all Australians.
Yet this year, only $650 million was earmarked for release. Already an extremely competitive industry where grant success rates are often less than 15%, this unnecessary retention of funds serves to further restrict and delay health and medical research across the country.
Highly skilled researchers will walk away from the sector. And the health system, already stretched, is being denied the tools that innovation provides to reduce the burden.
The Parliamentary Budget Office has confirmed that the full $1 billion can be disbursed annually while still allowing the MRFF’s capital to grow over time, preserving the perpetual nature of the fund.
The Association of Australian Medical Research Institutes (AAMRI) has launched a national campaign, ‘Half the Funding. Half the Future’ which we fully support.
This is not about taking money from one budget line for another; there is only one permitted purpose for these funds – medical research.
This campaign isn’t about asking for more funding; it’s about delivering what was allocated and promised a decade ago. It’s funds that are already in the bank. The MRFF must not be treated as a fiscal buffer. It is a vehicle for real-world impact, one that saves lives, strengthens health systems, and delivers a proven return to the economy of $3.90 for every dollar invested.
Without this critical funding, we are at risk of not just losing research, but we could lose cures. We lose capability. We lose the future we were told this fund would deliver.
Burnet Institute stands with AAMRI and other peak bodies including the Go8, Research Australia, the Australian Academy of Science, The Australian Global Health Alliance, and the Australian Society for Medical Research in calling on the Federal Government to fully disburse the MRFF’s promised $1 billion in the 2026-27 Budget and beyond.
One day, every Australian will be touched by the work of a medical researcher – in a hospital, at a pharmacy, or a diagnosis that turns to hope. The MRFF wasn’t built to sit idle, it was created to provide hope and a better future for all Australians.
