AusBiotech says the 2026-27 Federal Budget sends strong signals that the Government has listened to its advocacy, but the peak life sciences body is urging careful scrutiny of the tax changes to understand their true impact.
The organisation welcomed moves to commence implementation of Ambitious Australia, including the establishment of the National Resilience and Science Council, and praised increased funding through the Medical Research Future Fund and continued support for the National One Stop Shop for clinical trials.
The organisation said Ambitious Australia could unlock greater economic and societal impact from investment in homegrown innovation and that accessing the Medical Research Future Fund\u2019s full potential will help strengthen Australia\u2019s health and medical research ecosystem and support continued innovation and translation.
\u201cAmbitious Australia has the potential to strengthen Australia\u2019s RD&I system and unlock greater economic resilience and societal impact from national investment in innovation, including health and medical life sciences. Fully leveraging the Medical Research Future Fund is also critical to supporting the sector\u2019s growth and impact,\u201d said AusBiotech CEO, Rebekah Cassidy.
At the same time, AusBiotech cautioned that changes to the Research and Development Tax Incentive (R&DTI) and Capital Gains Tax require detailed testing to avoid unintended harms.
While noting that measures to adjust the R&DTI cap and tax settings for start-ups \u201cshow promise to assist with encouraging industry investment,\u201d AusBiotech said, \u201cconsidered analysis is required of the total tax package to ensure it encourages and not unintentionally thwarts genuine Research and Development (R&D).\u201d It added that \u201cchanges to CGT could disincentive investment in true innovation, and we welcome the Government\u2019s commitment to consultation with the sector on this.\u201d
AusBiotech also raised concerns about program cuts for commercialisation support, saying, \u201cWe were disappointed with the changes to the Australian Economic Accelerator (AEA) and Industry Growth Program (IGP), with the AEA being discontinued and the IGP receiving further funding cuts. Both programs play an important role in supporting startups and SMEs with commercialising research, including in the medical science and research sector.\u201d
The organisation said it will convene members for further discussion after reviewing the budget details. \u201cWe will be convening a meeting with our members on Friday after we have reviewed the detail of the Budget, and will have more to say on this point.\u201d
Ms Cassidy emphasised the sector\u2019s scale and importance. \u201cLife sciences is a significant industry which makes an invaluable contribution to the economy and can\u2019t be ignored \u2013 it supports 350,000 jobs and has doubled in size since 2017.\u201d She added that the industry is \u201ccrucial to the health and wellbeing of all Australians, with groundbreaking research and technology leading to new medical devices and diagnostics, vaccines and medicines. Put simply, life sciences save lives.\u201d
“No Budget is perfect, while some elements of this Budget take steps towards good, more analysis is required to ensure the outcomes help rather than hinder the growth of Australia\u2019s life sciences industry,\u201d she said.
\u201cIt is also crucial to the health and well-being of all Australians, with groundbreaking research and technology leading to new medical devices and diagnostics, vaccines and medicines. Put simply, life sciences save lives.”
\u201cWe look forward to continuing to partner with the Government to pursue important industry reforms which prioritise economic growth and positive health outcomes, and ensure Australia remains globally competitive in life sciences,” she added.
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