As we barrel towards the federal election, MS Australia has urged all major parties and independents to support three clear priorities to improve the lives of people living with MS and pave the way to cures.
These are:
- $300 million over ten years for the establishment of a Neurological and Neuromuscular Health Research Mission within the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) to coordinate, action and accelerate neurological and neuromuscular research to improve the prevention, detection, treatment and care of these conditions.
- $8 million over five years for the establishment of a National MS Biobank to advance research efforts focussed on the early detection and prevention of MS.
- $4 million over four years to improve access to life-changing MS Nurse care for people living with MS.
An investment of $300m into neurological research may sound like a major injection of funds, but at $30m a year across the entire neurological research spectrum, it is – in reality – a modest but important ask.
And a commitment by politicians to fund the mission won’t have an impact on the Budget, because it would be supported by the Medical Research Future Fund, currently underspent by hundreds of millions of dollars each year.
MRFF spending for medical research has been capped at $650m a year, so is decreasing in value year on year as it fails to keep up with inflation.
Meanwhile, the cost of conducting research continues to escalate and sources of secure funding became harder to find.
That’s why support from the MRFF is so important.
And yet, the amount distributed from the MRFF each year fails to match the amount that is actually available.
Each year, the Board of Guardians of the Future Fund inform the government how much money is available to spend on medical research. The latest figure is $1.231 billion for 2025-26. It called the MADA – Maximum Annual Distribution Amount.
The government argues that this is the maximum amount available, and that in some years, there may be less than $650m available, so a conservative approach is taken.
But the reality is that the Future Fund Board of Guardians has already taken a conservative approach. It is obliged by legislation to do so, including requirements to ensure “preservation of capital” and “moderation of volatility”.
So, by underspending on medical research, the government is layering one conservative approach on another. It is a nonsense, and effectively means medical research is being severely short-changed.
That means less research, less hope for new treatments, less hope for improvements in quality of life. Less hope for a future free from disease.
And in the case of MS, that means less productivity, because so many are typically diagnosed in the most productive years of life, between the ages of 20 and 40.
So, our plea to politicians is clear. Please invest in research, in MS nurses and in an MS Biobank. These are investments that will pay great dividends in health, social and economic terms. Absolute no brainers.
Please support the campaign for a neurological mission by lending your voice to the Count Us In Campaign.
