Support for Research Administration Costs initiative

The Support for Research Administration Costs initiative will invest $128 million over 4 years from 2026–27. It will address inequities in the support provided for research administration costs across organisations awarded Medical Research Future Funds (MRFF) grants.

About the Support for Research Administration Costs initiative 

The Support for Research Administration Costs initiative will provide $128 million over 4 years from 2026–27. This will grow to $40 million per year from 2030–31. 

The initiative will support independent medical research institutes and other non-university medical research organisations that are not eligible for Research Support Program block grants. 

It will do this by assisting with select and defined administration costs related to MRFF-funded grants.  

Why it is important 

This initiative will help sustain medical research institutes and other non-university research organisations by providing more equitable support for research administration costs. It will also improve consistency and alignment across Commonwealth medical research funding schemes. 

Objectives 

The objectives of this initiative are to: 

  • address funding inequity in the support provided for research administration costs across organisations awarded MRFF grants 
  • better align MRFF funding with National Health and Medical Research Council support for Medical Research Endowment Account funding through the Independent Research Institutes Infrastructure Support Scheme

Meeting our objectives 

We will monitor the initiative in accordance with the principles and approach detailed in the MRFF Monitoring, evaluation and learning strategy

Who we work with 

The Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) funds the initiative. 

Our Health and Medical Research Office oversees this and other MRFF initiatives. 

Apply for funding 

View the MRFF grants calendar to see which grants are open, when applications close and when we expect to award funding. 

Register with GrantConnect to receive notifications about future funding opportunities under this initiative. 

Grants awarded 

See a list of all MRFF grant recipients

Contact 

Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) contact

Contact for more information about the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF), or to provide feedback on the MRFF website.
General enquiries:
MRFF website or newsletter feedback:
Date last updated: