Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese announced a $489 million AUD ($330 million USD) funding package for the nation’s Olympic athletes over the next two years.

Elite Australian athletes will receive a record $283 million AUD dedicated to direct support, training, and travel-related expenses — a 50% increase from their 2021-22 total. Paralympic sports are in line for an additional $54.9 million, doubling the previous investment. There will also be an extra $17.6 million set aside for direct athlete funding.

This year’s direct athlete support system saw $16.6 million funneled through 850 Australian athletes in Olympic sports from 2023-24, with the maximum individual salary set at $37,500. About 460 athletes will represent Australia in Paris at the Summer Olympics that begin later this month, where the Aussies will aim to improve upon its 6th-place finish in the Tokyo Olympic medal table on the backs of a stacked swimming contingent.

Last year, Australian Olympic Committee chief executive Matt Carroll claimed that the country’s Olympic and Paralympic sports were staring at a $2 billion deficit in the eight years until the Brisbane 2032 Olympics.

“The investment will be a major boost for Aussie spirits ahead of Paris next month, and will strengthen Australia’s hopes for gold at LA in 2028, Brisbane in 2032, Winter and Commonwealth Games events,” the Albanese government said in a press release on July 1. “The funding will create more opportunities and better development pathways for high performance athletes to thrive while inspiring the next generation of Australians to be more active.”

By comparison, USA Swimming invested about $3.5 million in direct athlete support last year. The United States is notoriously the only nation that does not offer direct government funding of its Olympic athletes.