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Lives compromised, cut short as Australia fails to fully fund respiratory research
The Lung Health Alliance is warning that the Australian Government’s cap on research funds combined with disproportionately low levels of research funding for respiratory conditions could limit new discoveries for Australians living with respiratory conditions.
From children in hospital with asthma, to families grieving loved ones lost to lung cancer, to older Australians battling COPD, the lack of investment has a human toll that grows every day.
The Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) has more than $1 billion ready to be spent this year, yet the Government has chosen to restrict allocations to $650 million. This is a double blow for people with lung disease because respiratory research is already significantly underfunded compared to other chronic conditions.
Respiratory disease is one of the most neglected areas of medical research despite its enormous impact. Globally, one in three people live with a respiratory condition. In Australia, respiratory diseases make up 10% of the total burden of disease, yet respiratory research receives only around 2% of national research funding (1).
Lung health experts say the decision is costing lives, driving up hospital admissions, and holding back productivity gains the economy needs.
The Lung Health Alliance has called on the Federal Government to release the full Medical Research Future Fund allocation, warning that the current cap of $650 million annually is holding back life-saving research and costing Australians their health, their livelihoods and their lives.
Despite the MRFF Board of Guardians authorising up to $1.05 billion for allocation in 2025-26, the Government has chosen to restrict spending to nearly half that amount. This decision has no legislative basis, yet it is delaying the breakthroughs that Australians with lung disease desperately need.
Quotes
Collective Lung Health Alliance Statement
Australians with lung disease cannot afford to wait. There is no justification for holding authorised funding back. The MRFF was designed to back the type of research that saves lives and boosts productivity. We cannot allow bureaucracy and arbitrary limits to block the progress that Australians with lung disease so desperately need.
Kate Miranda, CEO, Asthma Australia
While asthma cannot be cured, it can be managed — and research discoveries over past decades have saved countless lives and transformed quality of life for people living with the condition. Yet in 2025, children are still dying from asthma. Continued investment in research is essential to ensure every Australian has the chance to live safely and well with asthma.
Asthma affects one in nine Australians. It is one of the most common chronic conditions in children and the leading cause of disease burden in children under 15, yet research into its causes and cures remains desperately underfunded compared to other chronic conditions.
Professor Natasha Smallwood, TSANZ President
Respiratory disease is one of Australia’s greatest health burdens, yet research investment has failed to keep pace for decades. With the Medical Research Future Fund under-utilised, we are missing a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform outcomes for patients and strengthen national productivity. It is time to ensure lung health research receives the priority it deserves.
For too long, respiratory research in Australia has been under-resourced, despite the significant impact of respiratory diseases on our community. We need to prioritise investment in this critical area to improve the health and well-being of Australians.
Professor Anne Holland, TSANZ Past President and current Board Director
Australia’s respiratory research workforce is being hamstrung by chronic underfunding and poor data visibility. Without targeted investment and better recognition of this workforce, we risk losing talent and capacity at a time when innovation is desperately needed. Unlocking MRFF funding and embedding a National Lung Health Strategy would give researchers the tools to deliver real change.
Prof. Lucy Morgan, Chairperson, Lung Foundation Australia
The level of investment by the Australian Government in COPD, lung cancer and rare lung diseases research falls very short of the burden of disease, and it is time for the Australian Government to prioritise lung disease as a research priority of national significance. Lung cancer and COPD are amongst the top 5 causes of death for all Australians (2). The conscious and unconscious bias towards smoking related illness continues to haunt investment and we must do better to address the stigma that holds back community empathy and government investment.
Rhonda Cleveland, CEO, National Asthma Council Australia
Funding respiratory health research is essential. Lung disease, including asthma, affects millions of Australians and is one of the leading causes of death and hospitalisation. This means it is a significant burden not only on the community, but also on the health system and the Australian economy. Investing more in funding respiratory research will assist researchers and clinicians to make critical breakthroughs, to enable much needed progress in early diagnosis and prevention, and innovative treatments. It will also help to close the health gap for vulnerable populations, including First Nations peoples, who experience disproportionately higher rates of lung diseases and less access to respiratory healthcare.
Dr Jo Armstrong, CEO, Cystic Fibrosis Australia
Cystic fibrosis is the most common life-limiting genetic condition affecting young Australians. One in every 25 Australians carries the gene, and every four days a baby is born with cystic fibrosis. Our community lives in hope that one day a cure will be found. That hope rests squarely on continued and meaningful investment in medical research. Without adequate funding, that future slips further from reach.
The Medical Research Future Fund was created to drive life-changing discoveries. Yet millions of dollars earmarked for medical research are laying idle instead of being put to proper use funding the projects that can optimise health. This is a missed opportunity to transform lives—not just in cystic fibrosis, but across every area of health. This decision is to the detriment of us all.
For those living with cystic fibrosis, research has already extended life expectancy and improved quality of life—but we are not done. With the right investment, we can go further. We urge the government to release the full potential of the MRFF and fund the future Australians deserve.
The facts
The Burden vs. The Investment
- Respiratory disease accounts for 9% of Australia’s total health burden yet receives just 2% of medical research investment (1).
- More than 9 million Australians live with or are impacted by a lung condition, including asthma, COPD, lung cancer, cystic fibrosis, bronchiectasis and interstitial lung disease (3).
- Lung cancer remains Australia’s biggest cancer killer (4), and COPD is the second leading cause of disease burden (5), yet both remain critically underfunded compared to diseases with similar or lower health burdens.
Human Cost
The lack of investment has devastating human consequences:
- Children hospitalised with asthma flare-ups that could be prevented with new treatments (6).
- Families losing loved ones to COPD or lung cancer years earlier than they should (7).
- People with rare lung diseases left without treatment guidelines, protocols, or hope (3).
Every day that research funds sit idle is another day of lost opportunity to prevent hospital admissions, slow disease progression, and improve survival rates.
Economic Cost
Respiratory diseases are also a major drag on national productivity:
- Asthma and COPD alone cost billions annually in healthcare and lost productivity (9).
- The economic return on medical research is proven — $3.90 for every $1 invested (10).
- By withholding funds already available in the MRFF, Australia is forgoing both health improvements and economic growth.
A Call for Urgency
The Lung Health Alliance — representing patients, clinicians, researchers and peak organisations across asthma, COPD, lung cancer, cystic fibrosis and other respiratory diseases — is calling for:
- The immediate release of the MRFF’s full allocation capacity in line with the Board of Guardians’ determination.
- Prioritisation of respiratory health investment through the 2030 Respiratory Health Mission, to align research effort with the true burden of lung disease in Australia.
References
1. Lung Foundation Australia 2020 report: Australia’s Investment in Lung Disease and Lung Cancer Research.
2. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW), Causes of Death in Australia, 2023.
3. Lung Health Alliance, membership statement.
4. AIHW, Cancer data in Australia, 2023.
5. AIHW, Australian Burden of Disease Study, 2018.
6. AIHW, Asthma Hospitalisations in Australia, 2022.
7. AIHW, Causes of Death in Australia, 2023.
8. Access Economics, The Cost of Respiratory Disease in Australia, 2010; Productivity Commission, Mental and Physical Health Report, 2020.
9. Access Economics, Exceptional Returns: The Value of Investing in Health R&D in Australia, 2003.
About the Lung Health Alliance
The Lung Health Alliance is a collective of national respiratory not-for-profit organisations working together to improve the lung health of individuals and communities in Australia and to contribute to the global effort for lung health. The following organisations are members of the Alliance: Asthma Australia, Australian Respiratory Council, Cystic Fibrosis Australia, National Asthma Council Australia, Lung Foundation Australia, The Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand.
About Asthma Australia
Asthma Australia is the nation’s peak body representing more nearly 2.8 million Australians living with asthma. We’ve been here since 1962 and even though a lot has changed since then, asthma continues to claim a life each day and is the number one health condition burdening Aussie children. Asthma is an inflammatory condition of the airways, restricting airflow and can be fatal. There is no cure, but most people with asthma can experience good control.
About TSANZ
The Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand (TSANZ) is a health promotion charity whose mission is to lead, support and enable all health workers and researchers who aim to prevent, cure, and relieve disability caused by lung disease. The TSANZ is the only peak body in New Zealand that represents all health professionals working in all fields of respiratory health. The TSANZ has a membership base of over 1,800 individual members from a wide range of health and research disciplines.
About LFA
Lung Foundation Australia is the leading charity and health peak body for lung health in Australia. For more than 30 years, we have championed and funded life-changing research and delivered support services that give hope to people living with lung disease or lung cancer, so that they can live their best life.
About NAC
The National Asthma Council Australia is the leading authority for asthma knowledge, setting the standard for asthma care through our responsive and evidence-based asthma guidelines, the Australian Asthma Handbook, and practice tools, education, advice and resources for primary health care professionals.
We actively work to assess and address the impacts of asthma through advocacy and collaboration with policy makers, stakeholders and Australian and international asthma and lung health organisations.
The National Asthma Council Australia is a collaboration of the Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy, the Australian Primary Health Care Nurses Association, the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia and the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners.
About CF
Cystic Fibrosis Australia (CFA) is the peak consumer body for people living with cystic fibrosis (CF). We focus on collaborative programs and research, funding partnerships, and advocacy. Our members are known as the Federations, these are the State and Territory Offices providing support and services to people living with CF.
