A significant majority of Australian medical researchers applying for government-funded innovation grants experienced rejection last year. This coincided with Australia's medical investment fund holding an unspent balance of approximately $25 billion, which is $5 billion more than its designed capacity.
Among the applicants for the National Health and Medical Research Council's annual "ideas grants," roughly half of those deemed to have an outstanding application, scoring six out of seven points, were not awarded grants. This trend indicates an increase in the number of researchers applying for grants annually, while the allocated funding has remained relatively consistent.
The research council distributes approximately $250 million each year to support innovative health and medical research. Data for the 2025 cycle reveals that 91.9 percent of applications for the ideas grants were unsuccessful, with only 190 projects funded out of a total of 2347 applications.
The success rate for ideas grants has declined over recent years:
- 2025: 8.1 percent
- 2024: 10.1 percent
- 2023: 11.1 percent