Australian biomedical researchers walked away disappointed from this year's federal government budget, amidst concerns that the nation's biomedical research will struggle to keep pace with the international community.

The budget, released on 11 May, forecasts that annual funds for the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC)—the primary funding agency for biomedical research—will remain steady at nearly AUS$400 million.

This falls far short of the extra AUS$1 billion over five years that medical research lobby groups argue is needed to maintain Australia's current level of research. “It has come as a great surprise—it's even more surprising given there is such large surplus left,” says Andrew Sinclair, president of the Australian Society for Medical Research. There had been earlier political support for medical and health research and a growing emphasis on care for the aged.

Many researchers fear a widening gap between funding and the escalating costs of medical research. “Our costs of grants have far outstripped inflation,” says Alan Pettigrew, chief executive officer of the NHMRC.

On 6 May, the federal government announced some urgently needed funds for the infrastructure of medical institutes, which are currently supported by state governments. Those institutes will have AUS$200 million over seven years—allocated in proportion to their competitive grant awards—available to them, as well as AUS$31.2 million for specific infrastructure projects.

The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), the nation's largest research body, will receive an additional AUS$305 million dollars over seven years for its six priority-driven programs.

But baseline funding for CSIRO and the Australian Research Council, which funds basic research, will remain relatively constant, with only modest increases over the next few years. “If we go flat-line now that means we'll start slipping back—there is no question of that,” says Sinclair.

Researchers are clinging to the hope that additional funds are waiting in the wings. The government has yet to release a much-anticipated review commissioned to assess investment into the medical and health research sector. Observers say the government might use promises of extra funding as a platform in the federal elections later this year.