Albanese hunts Brisbane gold with record Olympic sport funding boost

Aussie rookies to take over Paris

The federal government is set to announce a record Olympic and Paralympic sport funding package in an attempt to boost the medal haul in Brisbane, as well as Los Angeles 2028.

Elite athletes, coaches and support staff will share in $283 million over the next two years in what it says is a 50 per cent boost in high-performance funding and twice the Paralympics spend from 2021-2022.

The announcement was welcomed by the Australian Olympic Committee and commended by the Paralympic committee, which hit out at a fall in funding since Sydney 2020.

The funding, set to be announced by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese today, is designed to allow access to more domestic and international competitions and more training, well-being and preparation support.

"We're cheering on all our athletes heading to Paris. We are so proud of them and my Government is backing Aussie athletes with record funding," Albanese said.

It includes $18 million to the Direct Athlete Investment Support Grants program aimed at cost of living pressures and comes on top of the normal $103 million annual grants, bringing total high-performance investment to just shy of $490 million over two years.

Australia's athletes will be hoping they can emulate or better the nation's record medal tally from Sydney 2000 when the Olympics return Down Under 32 years later.

Australian Olympic Committee president Ian Chesterman stressed the importance of hometown success in Brisbane.

"This injection of funds at this time is fundamentally important to that outcome," he said, in a statement saying Prime Minister Anthony Albanese "clearly gets" what Olympic sports do for the country.

Logan Martin of Australia in action in front of the Olympic rings logo during the Men's BMX Freestyle before Tokyo.

"The additional money direct to the sports is very good news while the lift in dAIS funding to cover more athletes is critical to giving them the confidence that they can focus on putting in the huge amount of work that is necessary to represent Australia on the international stage."

Paralympics Australia president Alison Creagh thanked the government for the funding boost.

"Since 2000, Australia's investment in Para-sport has fallen well behind many of our rivals, allowing them to catch up," she said, in a statement.

"This funding marks a much-needed reset, positioning Australia to regain its competitive edge in time for the Paralympic Games in 2028 and our Games at home in 2032."

Minister for Sport Anika Wells said the investment brought the sport budget bill to $753 million, including $250 million to revitalise the Australian institute of sport.

"We're giving our future Olympic and Paralympic teams what they need to succeed with upgraded training facilities, the best coaching and support staff and cost-of-living assistance," she said, in a statement.

"We'll all be cheering on the Green and Gold in a few weeks when Paris 24 begins and this funding again proves the Albanese government is committed to sport – from playground to podium."