What are the eligibility requirements for applications?
4.1. To be eligible, Your EOI application and full application must:
include at least one Other Eligible Organisation;
b. include one or more Partner Organisations;
c. nominate a Centre Director, who is the first-named Chief Investigator (CI) on Your application;
d. include at least one other CI; and
e. include one or more Partner Investigators (PI).
4.2. You and each Other Eligible Organisation must commit a significant contribution of cash and/or in-kind and/or other material resources to the full application having regard to the total cost of the proposed Centre and the relative contribution of any Chief Investigators or Partner Investigator(s) at the organisation. We do not specify the type or level of contribution.
4.3. We reserve the right to determine the value of Partner Organisation contributions and may determine contributions to be at levels different from those in Your full application.
4.4. The application may nominate one or more PIs from each Partner Organisation. A Partner Organisation may choose not to nominate any PIs where it is not appropriate given the role of the Organisation in the proposed Centre. A PI who is representing a Partner Organisation on an application is required to have a role within that Partner Organisation.
4.5. Your EOI application must have been shortlisted by the ARC for You to be eligible to submit a full application in the second stage of the application process.
Who is eligible to apply for a grant?
4.6. We will only accept applications from the Eligible Organisations in Table 2.
4.7. The Eligible Organisation that submits the application will be the ‘Administering Organisation’ and is referred to as ‘You’. All other Eligible Organisations named on the application will be an ‘Other Eligible Organisation’.
4.8. Eligible Organisations may be involved in more than one EOI application or full application but must consider their capacity to contribute if all full applications are successful.
4.9. Table 2: Eligible Organisations:
| Organisation Name | Organisation ABN |
| Australian Catholic University | 15 050 192 660 |
| Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies | 62 020 533 641 |
| Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education | 32 039 179 166 |
| Bond University | 88 010 694 121 |
| Central Queensland University | 39 181 103 288 |
| Charles Darwin University | 54 093 513 649 |
| Charles Sturt University | 83 878 708 551 |
| Curtin University | 99 143 842 569 |
| Deakin University | 56 721 584 203 |
| Edith Cowan University | 54 361 485 361 |
| Federation University Australia | 51 818 692 256 |
| Flinders University | 65 542 596 200 |
| Griffith University | 78 106 094 461 |
| James Cook University | 46 253 211 955 |
| La Trobe University | 64 804 735 113 |
| Macquarie University | 90 952 801 237 |
| Monash University | 12 377 614 012 |
| Murdoch University | 61 616 369 313 |
| Queensland University of Technology | 83 791 724 622 |
| Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT University) | 49 781 030 034 |
| Southern Cross University | 41 995 651 524 |
| Swinburne University of Technology | 13 628 586 699 |
| The Australian National University | 52 234 063 906 |
| The University of Adelaide | 61 249 878 937 |
| The University of Melbourne | 84 002 705 224 |
| The University of New England | 75 792 454 315 |
| The University of New South Wales | 57 195 873 179 |
| The University of Newcastle | 15 736 576 735 |
| The University of Notre Dame Australia | 69 330 643 210 |
| The University of Queensland | 63 942 912 684 |
| The University of Sydney | 15 211 513 464 |
| The University of Western Australia | 37 882 817 280 |
| Torrens University Australia | 99 154 937 005 |
| University of Canberra | 81 633 873 422 |
| University of Divinity | 95 290 912 141 |
| University of South Australia | 37 191 313 308 |
| University of Southern Queensland | 40 234 732 081 |
| University of Tasmania | 30 764 374 782 |
| University of Technology Sydney | 77 257 686 961 |
| University of the Sunshine Coast | 28 441 859 157 |
| University of Wollongong | 61 060 567 686 |
| Victoria University | 83 776 954 731 |
| Western Sydney University | 53 014 069 881 |
Section 4 - Linkage Program Grant Guidelines ARC Centres of Excellence commencing in 2023 - Eligibility criteria | Zoe
Who is eligible to be a Partner Organisation?
4.10. To be eligible as a Partner Organisation, an organisation cannot be:
an organisation included on the National Redress Scheme’s website on the list of ‘Institutions that have not joined or signified their intent to join the Scheme’ (www.nationalredress.gov.au)
an Eligible Organisation;
c. a controlled entity of any Eligible Organisation; or
d. an entity (for example a joint venture) where more than 50 per cent is owned by one or more Eligible Organisations.
4.11. Each Partner Organisation must make a contribution of cash and/or in-kind and/or other material resources that is specific to the Centre, and having regard to the total cost of the project and not be part of a broader contribution to Your organisation or an Other Eligible Organisation.
be sourced from funds awarded or appropriated by the Commonwealth or an Australian State or Territory Government for the purposes of research, nor from funds previously used to leverage government research or research infrastructure funding; or
be a contribution to salaries for CIs and/or PIs on the application.
Who is eligible to be a named participant?
4.13. Named participants are those individual researchers who are nominated for the particular roles identified for the Centre.
4.14. Roles that named participants may be nominated for under the ARC Centres of Excellence scheme are:
Centre Director;
Chief Investigators (CIs); and
Partner Investigators (PIs).
4.15. All named participants in an application must:
satisfy the eligibility criteria for the role they are to perform;
b. take responsibility for the authorship and intellectual content of the application, appropriately citing sources and acknowledging significant contributions, including from third parties; and
c. have met their obligations regarding previously funded projects, including submission of satisfactory final reports to the ARC at the date of application submission.
4.16. An application will not be considered where We have made a decision to exclude grant applications involving a particular named participant for a period of time, whether or not they otherwise meet the eligibility requirements.
4.17. A project cannot commence until all named participants meet the eligibility criteria in these grant guidelines.
Centre Directors
4.18. A person nominated as a Centre Director must consider project limits applicable to other ARC schemes for the purpose of eligibility.
4.19. A person nominated as a Centre Director is considered to be a CI for the purpose of eligibility.
4.20. The Centre Director must:
commit a minimum of 70 per cent (0.7 FTE) to the activities of the proposed Centre;
be employed by the Administering Organisation for at least 70 per cent of Full Time Equivalent (0.7 FTE) as at the grant commencement date and, if the application is successful, for the project activity period; and
c. have a demonstrated capacity to manage the research program and operations of the Centre.
Chief Investigators
4.21. CIs are expected to:
take significant intellectual responsibility for the conception and conduct of the Centre and for any strategic decisions required in its pursuit and the communication of results;
b. ensure effective supervision, support and mentoring at all times of research personnel, including Higher Degree by Research (HDR) candidates and postdoctoral researchers for whom they are responsible; and
c. make a commitment to carrying out the research program and operations of the Centre and not assume the role of a supplier of resources for work that will largely be undertaken by others.
4.22. CIs who are not the Centre Director must meet at least one of the following criteria as at the grant commencement date and, if the application is successful, for the project activity period:
be an employee for at least 20 per cent of Full Time Equivalent (0.2 FTE) at an Eligible Organisation; or
be a holder of an honorary academic appointment at an Eligible Organisation. An honorary academic appointment for eligibility purposes means a position that gives full academic status to the researcher, as certified by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) (or equivalent) in the application. The researcher must have access to research support comparable to employees e.g., an emeritus appointment. The researcher is not eligible to be a Chief Investigator using their honorary academic appointment if they are employed by an organisation other than an Eligible Organisation for more than 0.2 FTE.
4.23. CIs must commit a minimum of 20 per cent (0.2 FTE) to the activities of the Centre.
4.24. CIs must reside in Australia for more than 50 per cent of the project activity period. Any significant absences including fieldwork or study leave directly related to the research program must have approval from You and must not total more than half the project activity period. In extraordinary circumstances, changes must be approved via a Variation.
4.25. CIs must not undertake an HDR during the project activity period.
Partner Investigators
4.26. PIs are expected to:
take significant intellectual responsibility for the planning and conduct of the Centre and for any strategic decisions required in its pursuit and the communication of results;
have the relevant skills and experience to contribute to the Centre;
c. make a commitment to carrying out the research program and operations of the Centre and not assume the role of a supplier of resources for work that will largely be undertaken by others; and/or
d. provide effective supervision, support and mentoring of research personnel, as required.
4.27. PIs must not meet the eligibility criteria for CIs as at the grant commencement date and, if the application is successful, for the project activity period.
4.28. Researchers who do not meet all of the eligibility criteria for being a CI may be PIs. For example, a participant may be a PI if they would otherwise be a CI but will not reside in Australia for more than 50 per cent of the project activity period.
What are the limits on the number of applications and projects per named participant?
4.29. Individuals nominated in either an EOI application or full application may be named on other ARC grant opportunity applications or active projects. All grant applications submitted through other ARC grant opportunities and all ARC grants held may be retained until the outcome of the ARC Centres of Excellence application is known.
4.30. All named participants on a successful application must meet the project limit requirements before the Centre can start. Project limits can be met by relinquishing existing project(s), or relinquishing role(s) on existing projects, or withdrawing application(s) that would exceed the project limits. We reserve the right to determine which grants are to be relinquished.
4.31. The Centre Director and CIs named on a successful full application may retain current ARC grants for active projects provided that:
the full application clearly demonstrates and explains, to Our satisfaction, the overlap between the existing non-Centre grant activities and the proposed Centre research activities; and
b. funding for the existing non-Centre grant activities is not requested in the budget for the proposed Centre.
4.32. An individual may be nominated as a Centre Director on one EOI application or full application. A person named as Centre Director may be nominated as a CI on no more than one additional EOI application or full application in the same ARC Centres of Excellence grant opportunity. The CI role must be relinquished should both full applications be successful.
4.33. An individual may be nominated as a CI on a maximum of two EOI applications or full applications unless an individual is nominated as a Centre Director in which section 4.32 [above] applies.
4.34. It is Your responsibility to determine if applying for, or holding, a project under these guidelines will affect an individual researcher’s eligibility for the other ARC grant opportunities as other ARC grant opportunities may have different project limits. We reserve the right to change project and application limits in future grant opportunities.