AAMRI joins calls to unlock the Medical Research Future Fund and prevent lifesaving research from stalling
6 November 2025
The Association of Australian Medical Research Institutes (AAMRI) has joined Dr Monique Ryan MP and research leaders in Canberra today, calling for the Federal Government to release the full $1 billion from the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) and ensure those funds cover the true cost of research.
AAMRI’s national campaign – Half the Funding. Half the Future. – highlights the growing crisis facing independent medical research institutes across Australia. Despite the MRFF’s legislated purpose to deliver $1 billion annually, only around $650 million is currently being released.
“We’re now seeing programs paused, staff lost, and life-saving discoveries delayed,” said Dr Saraid Billiards, AAMRI CEO. “If we don’t act urgently, we risk losing the next generation of researchers and the innovations that keep Australians healthy.”
Dr Billiards said the call to release the full MRFF was about ensuring sustainability, not creating new spending.
“The funds exist — the Parliamentary Budget Office has confirmed the MRFF can safely release $1 billion a year without harming its capital base. What we need now is the political will to use the Fund for the purpose it was created.”
AAMRI is also urging government to ensure MRFF grants cover the full costs of research, including essential infrastructure, technical staff, cybersecurity, biobanks, compliance, and patient engagement.
“We can’t build a world-class research system on underfunded foundations,” Dr Billiards said. “These indirect costs aren’t extras — they’re what make research possible.”
The Half the Funding. Half the Future. campaign has been running nationally across digital, print, and airport displays in Canberra, supported by member institutes and patient advocates. The campaign aims to ensure that in the 2026–27 Budget, the MRFF finally delivers on its promise and restores full disbursements to Australian medical research.
“Medical research is hope — and hope needs investment,” Dr Billiards said. “We stand with Dr Monique Ryan MP and our partners across the sector in calling for urgent action to release the full MRFF and secure the future of Australian medical research.”
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Media contact: Aimee Sanderson, 03 9345 2921, aimee.sanderson@aamri.org.au