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Update on the 2008/09 Federal Budget and its impact on the National Health and Medical Research Council

CEO Warwick Anderson today welcomed the support of the Rudd Government for health and medical research in Australia.

“We are delighted with the funding allocation to medical research. Funding of $617 million will be available to support high quality health and medical research throughout Australia as a result of last night’s budget,” said Professor Anderson.

A summary of the key facts on the NHMRC funding from the budget is available.

The following questions and answers summarise key facts on NHMRC funding from the budget.

What did NHMRC receive in the 2008 – 2009 budget?

  • NHMRC will have an administered appropriation of $621.719 million. This includes non research funding of $3.8 million (for National Institute of Clinical Studies).
  • The administered appropriation of $617 million for research is an increase of $123 million from the 2007-08 budget for research funding.

Why did the Medical Research Endowment Account appear to drop from $644 million in 07/08 to $617million in 08/09?

  • There has been no reduction in funding for research. The financial year 07/08 included an additional $150 million for Australian Fellowships to be administered beyond 2007-08. So in fact the Medical Research Endowment Account has increased significantly from $494 million to $617 million if this is taken into account.

How has the “efficiency dividend” affected NHMRC?

  • The efficiency dividend, ie savings that need to be achieved by government departments and agencies, has increased from 1.25% to 3.25% which represents $1.147 million for the NHMRC. There will be no redundancies as savings will be achieved through non staff areas.

What other non NHMRC research budget measures were announced in the budget for 2008 - 2009?

  • $326 million on Future Fellowships for top mid-career researchers.
  • 209 million to double the number of Australian Postgraduate Awards for PhD or Masters students.
  • $10 billion fund to refurbish hospitals and build new facilities including research facilities.
  • $11 billion Education Investment Fund for capital works, university research and teaching.

More information

Enquiries

Please contact NHMRC Communications on:

Tel. 0422 008 512
Email nhmrc.media@nhmrc.gov.au

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