MELBOURNE, Australia — The Australian Olympic Committee has upgraded incentive payments for athletes in a bid to regain a top-five place on the London 2012 medal standings, but the extra cash comes at the expense of their coaches.

The AOC on Friday unveiled a 30 million Australian dollar ($19.5 million) budget for the 2012 Games, including the annual payments for all medalists from the Beijing Games to help with training costs.

The budget allows for AU$16.7 million ($10.85 million) for preparations and AU$13.4 million ($8.71 million) to send the team to London.

Coaches had been entitled to 20 percent of what their medal-winning athletes received in bonuses under the previous national scheme — up to $4,000 ($2,600) per athlete per year — but that has been scrapped.

Athletes who placed fourth in Athens also received an incentive bonus to return to training, but that has also been scrapped post-Beijing.

"We had to cut the cloth somewhere," Australian Olympic Committee president John Coates said. "Something had to go, and we took the view the coaches of those of our athletes who win medals ... most of them are either in the business of coaching or are employed by the AIS (Australian Institute of Sport), state institutes of sport or the national sports federations

"While we acknowledge the hard work, dedication and outstanding results achieved by our coaches, the athletes must get priority in these tough economic times."

Coates estimated that Australia would send 400 athletes to London, 35 fewer than Beijing but with two fewer sports on the Olympic program, and would need to win 55 medals to finish in the top five.

After finishing in the top five in the Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004 Olympics, Australia dropped to sixth at Beijing in August with 14 gold medals and 46 overall.

At its executive committee meeting in Melbourne, the AOC also voted for two-time Olympic champion rower Nick Green to replace Coates as the team's Chef de Mission for the London Games.

"I was 38 when I took my first Olympic team to Seoul in 1988 and I believe it is time to give a younger person a go," Coates said. "Nick's appointment represents a generational change in the leadership of our teams."

Coates said he wants to remain AOC president and was considering seeking a spot on the International Olympic Committee executive board next year.

The year after the Athens Olympics, gold medalists — including relay and team medalists — got an incentive bonus of AU$10,000 ($6,500) the following year from the AOC, with silver medalists getting AU$7,500 ($4,875) and bronze getting AU$5000 ($3,250). That increased to AU$20,000 ($13,000) in 2008.

For Beijing Olympics gold medalists, it goes down to AU$15,000 ($9,750) in 2009 and 2010 but increases again to AU$20,000 ($13,000) in 2011 and 2012.