Today

Welcome to Tracker, the National Health and Medical Research Council’s (NHMRC) fortnightly newsletter with the latest information on major activities and funding opportunities.

Revised policy on use of generative Artificial Intelligence in grant applications and peer review

NHMRC has revised its Policy on Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Grant Applications and Peer Review. The revised policy applies to all peer review for NHMRC MREA grant schemes from Tuesday 28 April 2026. 

Applicants may use generative AI to support application preparation but remain responsible for accuracy and integrity. Peer reviewers may use generative AI to improve the clarity and grammar of review comments, while relying on their own expertise for evaluation and scoring.

The policy outlines safeguards for confidentiality and privacy, including limiting inputs to generative AI tools to minimum necessary, treating inputs as potentially public, and checking outputs for accuracy and bias. 

Please direct all questions on the revised policy to: research.policy@nhmrc.gov.au.
 

Statement from the CEOs of ARC and NHMRC: Policy on use of Generative Artificial Intelligence in grant applications and assessment

The Australian Research Council (ARC) and the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) have released a joint statement on the updated guidance for the use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) by applicants and assessors engaged in the ARC’s National Competitive Grants Program and the NHMRC’s Medical Research Endowment Account (MREA) grant program.

Both organisations will continue to monitor developments in this rapidly evolving area and update their policies as required.

Read the statement on NHMRC’s website.
 

Community research priorities portal – call for submissions

NHMRC strives to fund health and medical research that reflects consumer and community priorities and responds to unmet or emerging health needs.

The community research priorities portal has been designed for consumers, community and health organisations to identify health issues where a knowledge gap exists and/or are underfunded. Submitted health issues are reviewed to see if a Targeted Call for Research is required to stimulate research that benefits the health of Australians. 

The current cycle closes on Tuesday 30 June 2026 at 17:00 (AEST). 

Consumers, community and professional groups are encouraged to make submissions through the portal.

Visit the Community Research Priorities Portal webpage for more information.
 

Public consultation on draft guidance for the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines

NHMRC is seeking feedback on draft guidance for ammonia, nickel and chlorate in the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines (the Guidelines).

The draft guidance includes:

  • updated draft chemical fact sheets for ammonia, nickel and chlorate, with:
    • a revised health-based guideline value for nickel
    • a new health-based guideline value for chlorate.
  • consequential updates across the Guidelines to align with the draft fact sheets
  • additional edits and corrections to Chapter 5 and Appendix 3, updates to ISO and AS/NZS Standards, and other amendments.

Submissions can be made via the NHMRC Consultation Hub.

Public consultation will close on Friday 5 June 2026 at 11:59PM (AEST).
 

2025 NHMRC-GACD Strengthening Health Systems funding outcomes announced 

The funding outcomes for the 2025 NHMRC Global Alliance for Chronic Diseases (GACD) Strengthening Health Systems grant opportunity were announced last week. The media release for this announcement is available on NHMRC’s news centre. Outcome data can be downloaded from the outcomes page.

Outcomes for this grant opportunity are no longer under media embargo. Outcomes of other grant opportunities remain under strict media embargo until announced as advised previously.

RAOs are requested to pass this information to the relevant chief investigators within their institutions.

Please email help@nhmrc.gov.au for further information.
 

International collaborative opportunity –Japanese Agency for Medical Research and Development ASPIRE funding program 

The Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED) opened the Adopting Sustainable Partnerships for an Innovative Research Ecosystem (ASPIRE) alignment call. The ASPIRE program is designed to foster the exchange of information and to encourage collaboration between Japan and partner countries.

AMED will accept research proposals in which Japan-based research teams collaborate with already funded researchers from partner countries where the research aligns with the aims of ASPIRE.

NHMRC grant recipients are encouraged to contact their RAO directly when their research partner applies for this opportunity.

Further information is available on the AMED website. 
 

Navigating the NHMRC and MRFF Open Science Policy with ARDC webinars

Australia’s research landscape is evolving with the introduction of the NHMRC and MRFF Open Science Policy. But what does this mean in practice?

You’re invited to a 3-part series hosted by the Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC) designed to help researchers understand the NHMRC and MRFF Open Science Policy and what it means for research practice in Australia. Find out more about each session and register to attend below.

Part 1 – Introduction
Tuesday 28 April 2026 14:30 – 15:30PM (AEST) 
This session provides a clear and practical introduction to the policy, outlining what researchers need to know and how it applies across the research lifecycle. 

Part 2 – Clinical Trials (with Australian Clinical Trials Alliance (ACTA))
Thursday 7 May 2026 12:00 – 13:00PM (AEST) 
Exploring the specific impacts of open science requirements on clinical trials, including transparency obligations, data sharing considerations, and the role of governance in enabling ethical and effective secondary use of data. 

Part 3 – PIDs and RAiDs 
Wednesday 13 May 2026 12:30 – 13:30PM (AEST)
Focusing on how persistent identifiers (PIDs), including tools like RAiDs (Research Activity Identifiers), can help researchers better manage, connect and showcase their work in line with expectations from NHMRC and MRFF.

For any enquiries about the webinars please email contact@ardc.edu.au.
For enquiries about the policy please contact openscience@nhmrc.gov.au.
  

NHMRC website: we want your feedback!

We’re reviewing how people find and use NHMRC Guidelines and related content on our website and would value your feedback. 

Survey:
Please take a short survey (15–30 minutes) to help us improve the accessibility and usability of our Guidelines content.
The survey is open now and will close on Wednesday 13 May 2026.
Access the survey on NHMRC’s Consultation hub.

User testing:
We are also asking for participants in 2 user testing exercises – an online interview, and a whiteboard exercise.

For more information, and to get involved, please email webrequest@nhmrc.gov.au.

Thanks very much for considering helping.
 

Key NHMRC grant program dates

NHMRC grant opportunities are funded through the Medical Research Endowment Account (MREA).

The following grant opportunity has minimum data due soon:

  • Targeted Call for Research (TCR): Serving and Ex-Serving Australian Defence Force Members Mental Health and Wellbeing 2026

    • Minimum data is due on Wednesday 29 April 2026 at 17:00 AEST
    • Applications close on Wednesday 13 May 2026 at 17:00 AEST.

    Applications must complete the required fields with the correct information. Use of placeholder text in applications will be ineligible. For more information on minimum data requirements, refer to Appendix C in the TCR: Serving and Ex-Serving Australian Defence Force Members Mental Health and Wellbeing 2026 Guidelines available on GrantConnect.

    Failure to meet the minimum data requirements by the deadline will result in the application not proceeding. New applications cannot be started after the minimum data deadline.

    A reminder that for this grant opportunity, an application may be submitted to one of the three Streams only. Applicants must specify the Stream to which they are applying in their application. Please refer to Section 3 in the TCR: Serving and Ex-Serving Australian Defence Force Members Mental Health and Wellbeing 2026 Guidelines for more information.

    For further information please contact help@nhmrc.gov.au.

The following grant opportunities are closing soon:

  • 2026 Ideas Grants scheme

    • Applications close on Wednesday 6 May 2026 at 17:00 AEST. 

    All applicants (CIs and AIs) listed on an application must hold an active Sapphire account. Please note that NHMRC may be unable to process requests for new registrations submitted fewer than three business days prior to the application close date.  

    For 2026 Ideas Grant applications, any CIs who have been offered an Investigator Grant in the 2026 funding round must be removed before the Ideas Grant closing date of Wednesday 6 May 2026. While changes to CIs after minimum data are generally discouraged, NHMRC acknowledges that such changes are necessary to ensure applications remain eligible. 

    Further details are available on GrantConnect and NHMRC’s website. 
      

Medical Research Future Fund – grant opportunities key dates

The following MRFF grant opportunity has opened for applications: 

Details on how to apply for MRFF grant opportunities and all MRFF close dates are available on GrantConnect. Applicants are reminded that only applicants who completed minimum data by the due date can submit an application. It is also the applicant’s responsibility to ensure they meet all eligibility requirements, including limits on the number of times a person can be named as a Chief Investigator on applications submitted to a grant opportunity.

Applicants should ensure:

MRFF grant assessment committee self nomination
Register your interest to become a member of a MRFF grant assessment committee.
 

Key dates

Please see the funding schemes and calendar page.
 

Tracker

See previous editions of Tracker.

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If you have any questions about the newsletter, email communications@nhmrc.gov.au. 

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