Commonwealth Games Melbourne 2006

The federal government agreed to the demands of the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) in last night's budget and allocated $14 million over four years to directly support Australian athletes preparing for the Olympics.

A further $11 million will be spent over the next four years to build an institute of sport base for Australian athletes in northern Italy, probably in the town of Varese, at the foothills of the Alps.

A total of $13 million was earmarked to ensure Australian athletes compete in international competition and $14.3 million was provided to national sporting organisations to identify and retain world class coaching staff.

ASC chief executive Mark Peters said Australian athletes, most of whom have little or no income, could now focus on training and performance without being overly burdened by financial concerns.

"This sort of commitment from the Australian government is a shot in the arm for athletes training for the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne and the Beijing Olympics in 2008," he said.

"Our performances in Sydney and Athens were record-breaking, and with this sort of support and commitment behind them, there's no reason our athletes shouldn't be able to replicate these efforts."

Mr Peters said the European training centre would give Australian athletes in Europe access to home-grown expertise in sports science and sports medicine – one of Australia's proven key competitive advantages.

The purpose built 50 bed facility will also provide accommodation, training facilities, transport and athlete support services.

"In the lead up to 2000 the world came to us to compete but since then the challenges of geography and cost have made pursuing this sort of competition difficult for many sports," he said.