D5Participant Eligibility Requirements

D5.                   Participant Eligibility Requirements

D5.1               Limits on Proposals

D5.1.1            In any year, a person may be nominated on only one DECRA Proposal.

D5.1.2            A participant may only apply for up to two DECRAs over the period in which they are eligible. This includes Proposals that have been withdrawn after the closing time of submission of Proposals, and Proposals which were deemed ineligible by the ARC.

D5.2               DECRA Candidate

D5.2.1            A Proposal must nominate one DECRA Candidate.

D5.2.2            A DECRA Candidate must at the closing time of submission of Proposals:

a.             have been conferred a PhD on or after 1 March 2013; or

b.             have a PhD conferral date together with allowable periods of career interruption (as in subsection D5.2.3) that would be commensurate with being awarded a PhD on or after 1 March 2013.

D5.2.3            The types of career interruption that will be considered are in the table below in Column A, and the period allowed is listed in Column B.

• Column A - Reason for career interruption Column B - Time which can be claimed
• Disruption due to international relocation A period of time not exceeding three months per international relocation.
• Carer’s responsibilities A period of time commensurate with the interruption will be considered, as long as the total interruption would be commensurate with a PhD awarded within five years.
• Illness or disability
• Maternity or parental leave
• Unemployment
• Non-research employment not concurrent with research employment
• Being the primary carer of a dependent child (inclusive of carer’s responsibilities and any maternity or parental leave) Two years per dependent child, inclusive of any period of maternity or other parental leave, with no maximum identified.
• A primary carer of a dependent child who has had extensive caring responsibilities due to reasons such as illness or disability, may be granted a further extension (in addition to the two years) with justification.

D5.2.4            Each period of career interruption must be:

a.            significant and not overlapping;

b.            for a period of greater than one month; and

c.            certified by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research).

D5.2.5            If the DECRA Candidate holds a research higher degree which is not a PhD, it is the Administering Organisation’s responsibility to certify that the DECRA Candidate is an early career researcher and that the DECRA Candidate’s qualification meets the level 10 criteria of the . For assessing overseas qualifications please see the Online tool. A subscription fee is required to access this service.