medical research future fund 10 year investment plan

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Medical Research Future Fund

The Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) was established on 26 August 2015 by the  Medical Research Future Fund Act 2015 (MRFF Act). It provides an ongoing funding stream for medical research and medical innovation into the future with the credits to the MRFF preserved in perpetuity. The capital of the MRFF is invested, with the earnings used to make grants of financial assistance for medical research and medical innovation over the long-term.

For information on the  Australian Medical Research and Innovation Strategy 2021-2026  and the accompanying  Australian Medical Research and Innovation Priorities 2022-2024 , and disbursements from the MRFF, refer to the  Department of Health and Age Care website .

Legislation

The MRFF Act gives effect to the following:

• the Advisory Board is tasked with determining the Australian Medical Research and Innovation Strategy and related Priorities to inform Government decision making on MRFF disbursements.
• Investment Mandate:  the  responsible Ministers  are required to issue an Investment Mandate (detailed below).
• Crediting amounts to the MRFF:  the responsible Ministers can make credits to the MRFF. For information on the credits, refer to the Transfers (Credits) to Medical Research Future Fund table below.
• Maximum Annual Distribution Amount (MADA) : The Future Fund Board of Guardians (Future Fund Board) determines a MADA for the MRFF each financial year (detailed below).
• Debiting amounts from the MRFF:  the Finance Minister, on request from the Minister for Health, will authorise disbursements (debits) from the MRFF, subject to the MADA. The Treasurer is responsible for payments to States and Territories.

Investment Mandate

The  responsible Ministers issued the  Medical Research Future Fund Investment Mandate Direction 2015  to the Future Fund Board on 8 November 2015. It requires the Future Fund Board to adopt a benchmark return of the “average return of at least the Reserve Bank of Australia Cash Rate target + 1.5 per cent to 2.0 per cent per annum, net of investment fees, over a rolling 10-year term”.

In targeting this benchmark return, the Future Fund Board must determine an acceptable but not excessive level of risk for the MRFF measured in terms such as the probability of losses in a particular year. In determining the level of risk, the Future Fund Board must take into account; the principle that the nominal value of the credits to the MRFF be preserved over the long- term; and the need to moderate the volatility of the maximum annual distribution.

• Medical Research Future Fund Investment Mandate Direction 2015      
• 2015 Explanatory Statement .

Maximum Annual Distribution Amount

The Maximum Annual Distribution Amount (MADA) is an independent determination that is made each year by the Future Fund Board. The determination specifies the amount that can be drawn from the MRFF each financial year for medical research and medical innovation grants. In issuing each MADA determination, the Future Fund Board is required under the MRFF Act to take into account the principles that the value of credits to the MRFF be preserved over the long term and the volatility in MADAs from one year to the next be moderated.

MADA Determinations

Investment performance and financials.

The Future Fund Board publicly discloses the MRFF asset allocation and investment returns in its  quarterly portfolio updates .

Financial performance since inception to 31 December 2023

Notes: 1. Data may not sum due to rounding. 2. Earnings are net of investment and administration fees incurred by the Future Fund Board. 3. This amount represents debits made for policy purposes under the relevant Act.

Quarterly performance result to 31 December 2023

Notes: 1. The quoted benchmark rate of return follows the relevant investment mandate direction. 2. Annualised return since inception on 22 September 2015, when the Fund received its initial credit.

Annual performance results

Notes: 1. The quoted benchmark rate of return follows the relevant investment mandate direction. 2. The Medical Research Future Fund investment commenced from 22 September 2015. 3. Closing balances are sourced from Finance’s annual financial statements.

Transfers (Credits) to Medical Research Future Fund

The following table provides a history of financial transfers to MRFF, with links to the associated documentation.

Annual Disbursements (Debits) from the Medical Research Future Fund

Notes: 1. Totals may not add due to rounding 2. As of 31 December 2023.

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Medical Research Future Fund has $20 billion to spend. Here’s how we prioritise who gets what

Professor of Statistics, Queensland University of Technology

Professor of Health Economics, University of Oxford

Disclosure statement

Adrian Barnett receives funding from the Medical Research Future Fund and the National Health and Medical Research Council. He is a member of the NHMRC Research Committee; this article represents his own views.

Philip Clarke receives funding from the Medical Research Future Fund via grants held at the University of Melbourne.

Queensland University of Technology provides funding as a member of The Conversation AU.

University of Oxford provides funding as a member of The Conversation UK.

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The Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) is a A$20 billion fund to support Australian health and medical research. It was set up in 2015 to deliver practical benefits from medical research and innovation to as many Australians as possible.

Unlike the other research funding agencies, such the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), most of the MRFF funding is priority-driven. It seeks to fund research in particular areas or topics rather than using open calls when researchers propose their own ideas for funding.

As the Nine newspapers outlined this week, researchers have criticised the previous Coalition government’s allocation of MRFF funds. There is widespread consensus the former health minister had too much influence in the allocation of funds, and there was limited and sometimes no competition when funding was directly allocated to one research group.

The current Health Minister, Mark Butler, has instituted a review . So how should the big decisions about how to spend the MRFF be made in the future to maximise its value and achieve its aims?

Read more: Nobel laureate Brian Schmidt's big ideas for how Australia funds and uses research

Assess gaps in evidence

Research priorities for the MRFF are set by the Australian Medical Research Advisory Board , which widely consults with the research sector.

However, most researchers and institutions will simply argue more funding is needed for their own research. If the board seeks to satisfy such lobbying, it will produce fragmented funding that aligns poorly with the health needs of Australians.

A better approach would be to systematically assemble evidence about what is known and the key evidence gaps. Here, the board would benefit from what is known as a “ value of information ” framework for decision-making.

This framework systematically attempts to quantify the most valuable information that will reduce the uncertainty for health and medical decision-making. In other words, it would pinpoint which information we need to allow us to better make health and medical decisions.

There have been attempts to use this method in Australia to help inform how we prioritise hospital-based research. However, we now need to apply such an approach more broadly.

Read more: COVID has left Australia's biomedical research sector gasping for air

Seek public input

A structured framework for engaging with the public is also missing in Australia. The public’s perspective on research prioritisation has often been overlooked, but as the ultimate consumers of research, they need to be heard.

Research is a highly complex and specialised endeavour, so we can’t expect the public to create sensible priorities alone.

One approach used overseas has been developed by the James Lind Alliance , a group in the United Kingdom that combines the public’s views with researchers to create agreed-on priorities for research.

This is done using an intensive process of question setting and discussion. Priorities are checked for feasibility and novelty, so there is no funding for research that’s impossible or already done.

The priorities from the James Lind Alliance process can be surprising. The top priority in the area of irritable bowel syndrome , for example, is to discover if it’s one condition or many, while the second priority is to work on bowel urgency (a sudden urgent need to go to the toilet).

While such everyday questions can struggle to get funding in traditional systems that often focus on novelty, funding research in these two priority areas could lead to the most benefits for people with irritable bowel syndrome.

Consider our comparative advantages

Australia is a relatively small player globally. To date, the MRFF has allocated around $2.6 billion , just over 5% of what the United States allocates through the National Institute of Health funding in a single year .

A single research grant, even if it involves a few million dollars of funding, is unlikely to lead to a medical breakthrough. Instead, the MRFF should prioritise areas where Australia has a comparative advantage.

This could involve building on past success (such as the research that led to the HPV, or human papillomavirus, vaccine to prevent cervical cancer), or where Australian researchers can play a critical role globally.

However, there is an area where Australian researchers have an absolute advantage: using research to improve our own health system.

A prime example would be finding ways to improve dental care access in Australia. For example, a randomised trial of different ways of providing insurance and dental services, similar to the RAND Health Insurance Experiment conducted in the United States in the 1970s.

This could provide the evidence needed to design a sustainable dental scheme to complement Medicare. Now that is something the MRFF should consider as a funding priority.

Read more: Expensive dental care worsens inequality. Is it time for a Medicare-style 'Denticare' scheme?

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Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF)

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The Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) is a $20 billion long-term investment supporting Australian health and medical research. The MRFF aims to transform health and medical research innovation to improve lives, build the economy and contribute to health system sustainability.

About the MRFF

The Government plans funding support according to the MRFF Strategy and Priorities . The Australian Medical Research Advisory Board (AMRAB) consults the public every two years and advises the Government about which research areas are national priorities.

Visit the MRFF website for more information including the strategy , priorities ,  10 year investment plan , and comprehensive information about awarded MRFF grants.

Subscribe to the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) newsletter for the latest updates and grants information.

Applying for MRFF funding

The MRFF currently supports a range of research initiatives to improve the health of Australians. 

Current and forecasted MRFF funding opportunities can be accessed via the MRFF grants opportunities calendar and you can sign up to GrantConnect to receive direct alerts.

Flinders University's provides support to researchers submitting MRFF applications including strategic advice on grant strategies, letters of support, assistance with compliance matters, and facilitates post-award grants management.

Contact the Research Grantss and Tenders team for more infromation on MRFF at Flinders or to register your interest in collaborating with one of our expert researchers.

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[email protected]

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• Medical Research Future Fund

The Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) is providing grants of financial assistance to support health and medical research and innovation, with the objective of improving the health and wellbeing of Australians.

We are working with the Department of Health and Aged Care to implement disbursements from the MRFF. This assistance will draw on NHMRC's application and assessment processes and the expertise available to NHMRC through the health and medical research sector and other sources.

Grant opportunities

To view upcoming or open MRFF rounds, view our funding finder .

For more information on management of MRFF grants, including MRFF Eligible Organisations, funding agreements, grant variation policy and reporting and milestones, please visit MRFF Funding .

MRFF Grant Assessment Committees

To register your interest in participating on an MRFF Grant Assessment Committee visit Expression of Interest – MRFF Grant Assessment Committee .

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Medical Research Future Fund

About the mrff.

The Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) is a once in a generation opportunity to significantly reshape the landscape of Australian medical research and innovation.

Australia has world leading health and medical research (HMR) and a world-class health system, but too often they operate in isolation from each other rather than as one system with the aim of a healthier community. The MRFF provides the opportunity to bridge the gap between the two, so that Australian medical research and innovation in partnership with health practitioners delivers the new practices, services and products needed to continue to improve the health, wellbeing and prosperity of Australians.

Funding  into  the MRFF

Established by legislation in August 2015, the Medical Research Future fund is an investment fund. Capital injections were made into the MRFF in successive financial years, with the target account balance of $20 billion being achieved in July 2020. The capital is invested and the earnings are available to fund health and medical research and innovation.

Funding from the MRFF

The first funding from the MRFF was announced in May 2017. More information on the funding announced so far is available here . This amount will grow rapidly over the next few years, from $121 million in 2017/18 to an estimated $579 million in 2020/21 and around $650 million each year thereafter.

Decisions about what to fund are made by the Minister for Health. The Minister is guided by an expert Advisory board, which is responsible for developing the MRFF’s Strategy and Funding Priorities.

Research Australia has been actively involved in the development of the MRFF from the time it was first proposed. We continue to engage with the Government and the Health Department about the MRFF and are following its progress closely to ensure that its objective of bridging the gap between research and the health system is being met.

The Advisory Board

Funding decisions are made by the Health Minister in accordance with the five-year Strategy and two yearly funding Priorities, which are determined by the MRFF Advisory Board. Consisting of the CEO of the NHMRC and up to seven other appointees, the Board as a whole is required to have expertise in:

• medical research;
• policy relating to health systems;
• management or delivery of health services;
• medical innovation;
• financing and investment;
• commercialisation;
• philanthropy; and
• consumer issues relating to health.

An outline of the MRFF Act

The MRFF is created by the Medical Research Future Fund Act 2015 .

What can be funded

Earnings on the MRFF’s capital are to be used to fund  medical innovation  and medical research , both of which are defined by section 5 of the Act.

Medical innovation  includes:

(a) the application and commercialisation of medical research for the purpose of improving the health and wellbeing of Australians; and (b) the translation of medical research into new or better ways of improving the health and wellbeing of Australians.

Who can be funded

Section 10 of the Act specifies that grants can be made to:

• States and Territories via the COAG Reform Fund;
• corporate Commonwealth entities (eg. the CSIRO);
• universities and medical research institutes; and
• corporations.

Minister for Finance

Senator the hon katy gallagher.

Media Releases → 2020

JOINT MEDIA RELEASE

Medical research future fund now worth $20 billion.

Senator the Hon. Mathias Cormann Minister for Finance Leader of the Government in the Senate Senator for Western Australia

The Hon. Greg Hunt MP Minister for Heath Federal Member for Flinders

Date: Tuesday, 21 July 2020

The Morrison Government’s landmark Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) has reached maturity at $20 billion – an unprecedented investment that will provide ongoing sustainable funding for ground breaking health and medical research. 

The MRFF is an ongoing research fund announced by our Government in the 2014-15 budget. The target was to grow the MRFF to $20 billion through annual credits which are preserved in perpetuity.

The Government’s final credit of $3.2 billion will enable the MRFF to reach the historic $20 billion investment target just five years after the fund was established in 2015. 

The capital of the MRFF is invested, with the earnings used to pay for important health and medical research projects, supporting Australia’s best and brightest health and medical researchers over the long term. 

This investment is critical, particularly in light of the devastating impacts that the COVID-19 pandemic is having on so many Australians.

The MRFF is transforming health and medical research in this country. It will improve lives. It will save lives. At the same time, it will help build the economy, make Australia a global research destination, and make our health system more sustainable.

In the 2019–20 Budget, the Morrison Government announced a $5 billion, 10-year investment plan for the MRFF. 

This plan continues our support for lifesaving research to develop new drugs, treatments, devices and cures. It gives researchers and industry certainty and direction, and reaffirms Australia’s reputation as a world leader in medical research.

Further information about the MRFF is available from the Department of Health website https://www.health.gov.au/initiatives-and-programs/medical-research-future-fund/about-the-mrff

Minister Cormann - Karen Wu - 0428 350 139 MInister Hunt - James Perrin - 0447 534 427

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Medicare’s Financial Health Continues to Improve, but Trust Fund Still Needs Shoring Up

Trustees project solvency until 2036, five years later than last year’s estimate.

Kimberly Lankford,

The Medicare trust fund that helps pay for inpatient hospital stays is in better shape than last year, a trend that started in 2022 , according to officials who oversee Medicare’s finances.

The Part A Hospital Insurance fund will be able to pay all its bills until 2036, five years later than reported last year and eight years later than the 2022 estimate, the trustees said in their 2024 annual report , released May 6. In 2036, the trust fund still would be able to cover 89 percent of Medicare costs with incoming tax revenue.

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“While there was good news today in the trustees reports, older Americans need certainty that Medicare and Social Security will be protected,” AARP CEO Jo Ann Jenkins says. Social Security’s trust funds are expected to run short of money by 2035, a year later than this past year’s estimate.

Reasons for the better Medicare outlook

The Medicare report attributes the improvement to several factors:

• Higher payroll tax income because the number of covered workers and average wages are projected to be higher.
• Spending for inpatient hospital and home health agency services that were lower than previously expected.
• A change in how Medicare Advantage rates were set starting in 2024.

“Social Security is the largest source of retirement income for most retirees , and Medicare is the primary and only source of health care for most people age 65 and older,” Jenkins says. “Older Americans make up the nation’s largest voting bloc and will hold leaders in Washington accountable if they fail to protect these programs.”

The trustees say that the Supplementary Medical Insurance (SMI) trust fund, which includes Part B doctors’ services and outpatient care and Part D prescription drugs, will have enough money indefinitely because premiums and federal contributions are automatically adjusted each year to cover costs.

The trustees project that the monthly premium for Medicare Part B will increase to $185 in 2025, up from $174.70 in 2024 and $164.90 in 2023. The 2025 Part B premium will be finalized in the fall.

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However, they acknowledge that the premium increases through the years have put added strain on beneficiaries.

“Although the financing is assured, the rapidly rising SMI costs have been placing steadily increasing demands on beneficiaries and general taxpayers,” the report says.

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94 million Medicare enrollees expected in 2060

In 2023, Medicare covered 66.7 million people, including 59.1 million people 65 and older and 7.6 million disabled people. By January 2024, the latest information available, 67 million were enrolled in Medicare, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

The number of Medicare beneficiaries has doubled in the past 35 years and is expected to go up 39 percent in the next 35 years and to almost 94 million in 2060, the trustees report says.

Even though the trust fund is projected to last longer than previously expected, the trustees still are calling on Congress to help improve its finances over the long term.

“Current-law projections indicate that Medicare still faces a substantial financial shortfall that will need to be addressed with further legislation,” the report says. “Such legislation should be enacted sooner rather than later to minimize the impact on beneficiaries, providers and taxpayers.”

Kimberly Lankford is a contributing writer who covers Medicare and personal finance. She wrote about insurance, Medicare, retirement and taxes for more than 20 years at  Kiplinger’s Personal Finance  and has written for  The Washington Post  and  Boston Globe . She received the personal finance Best in Business award from the Society of American Business Editors and Writers and the New York State Society of CPAs’ excellence in financial journalism award for her guide to Medicare.

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