The Australian Government is set to spend up to $90 million over two years on the search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 off the WA coast.
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In the Federal Budget, which was announced on Tuesday night, the government announced that funding of $27.9 million over two years will be provided to the Department of Defence from 2013‑14 for the cost of the search for MH370 up until June 30.
Funding of $2.0 million over two years from 2013‑14 will also be provided to the Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development for the costs of establishing the Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC) which has led the search for MH370.
The JACC was established on March 30 for an initial period of six months to support liaison with key stakeholders and help ensure strong and consistent communication of the Australian response to the MH370 incident.
The government has also budgeted for further funding of up to $60.0 million in the same time frame to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau for Australia's contribution to the next phase of the search.
It said the actual cost will depend on a number of factors, including the outcome of procurement processes for specialist services, the length of the search, and the extent of contributions from other countries.
