NHMRC’s eligibility framework is designed to help ensure fair and equitable access to, and distribution of, a large proportion of grant funding from the Medical Research Endowment Account (MREA). It reduces burden for scheme participants by limiting application numbers. It also helps NHMRC achieve its goals and objectives through its grant program.
Eligibility to apply for, and hold, an Investigator or Ideas Grant
A key element of NHMRC’s eligibility framework is the cross-cutting eligibility policy for its 2 largest funding schemes – the Investigator and Ideas Grant schemes.
Eligibility to apply for, and hold, an Investigator and/or Ideas Grant is based on the number of other Investigator and/or Ideas Grants the Chief Investigator (CI) currently holds or has applied for, as well as scheme-specific capping.
CIs can apply for up to 2 grants from the Investigator and Ideas Grant schemes per funding round.
- A funding round commences when the Investigator Grant scheme opens, usually in the middle of the previous calendar year (for example, the 2026 Investigator Grant opportunity opened in mid-2025).
- The cap on submitting up to 2 applications is per funding round, not per calendar year. For example, applications submitted to the 2027 Investigator Grant opportunity, will count towards eligibility to apply to the 2027 Ideas Grant opportunity, irrespective of the fact these applications will be submitted in different calendar years.
- The outcome of the application (such as, successful, unsuccessful, ineligible or withdrawn) does not impact on it counting towards the ‘up to’ 2 applications each CI is permitted per funding round. CIs cannot apply for more grants (in the same funding round) than they would be eligible to hold (for example, if the CI holds 1 Ideas Grant, they cannot apply for 2 Ideas Grants, in the same funding round). Where a CI is offered an Investigator or Ideas Grant to the maximum that they are eligible to hold, any current Investigator or Ideas Grant applications will be made ineligible and removed from further consideration (note: Ideas Grant applications not seeking NHMRC funding are not relevant to NHMRC application or grant capping).
An Investigator Grant Chief Investigator A (CIA) cannot apply for an Ideas Grant until the final year of their Investigator Grant, using the ‘actual’ grant end date.
Scheme specific capping rules
Each scheme also has scheme-specific capping rules. CIs can submit up to:
- one (1) Investigator Grant application per funding round
- up to 2 Ideas Grant applications per funding round.
Investigator Grant CIs can hold up to 1 Investigator Grant concurrently. But they can apply for a subsequent Investigator Grant once their existing grant is in its final year, on 1 January of the year that the new Investigator Grant is scheduled to commence. If successful, the new Investigator Grant cannot commence until the existing Investigator Grant has been completed. In this way, an Investigator Grant CI is never considered to be holding 2 Investigator Grants, for the purposes of eligibility.
CIs are able to hold up to 2 Ideas grants concurrently, depending on whether they also hold an Investigator Grant.
Eligibility for existing Investigator Grant holders to apply for and/or hold an Investigator or Ideas Grant is based upon the Investigator’ Grant’s ‘actual’ end date of the held grant (in Sapphire) at time of applying for a new Investigator or Ideas Grant. This means that, where CIAs apply grant variations that extend the grant’s ‘actual’ end date in Sapphire (for example, defer grant start date, fully suspend the grant or extend the term of the grant pro-rata for career disruptions) their eligibility to reapply may be impacted.
Eligibility for existing Ideas Grant holders to apply for and/or hold an Investigator or Ideas Grant is based upon the ‘original’ end date of the held grant (contained in the Schedule to the Funding Agreement) irrespective of whether the Ideas Grant end date has been extended through a variation.
Eligibility to apply for, and hold, a Synergy Grant
- Synergy Grant applicants (CIA-J) are eligible to apply for 1 Synergy Grant per funding opportunity.
- Applicants can hold 1 Synergy Grant at any one time.
- Eligibility for existing Synergy Grant holders to apply for and/or hold another Synergy Grant is based upon the ‘original’ end date of the held grant (contained in the Schedule to the Funding Agreement) irrespective of whether the Synergy Grant end date has been extended through a variation.
All MREA schemes
Applicants must refer to all documentation available under the relevant grant opportunity on GrantConnect when considering their eligibility to apply. Documentation on GrantConnect is the authoritative source for information on each grant opportunity.
The CIA and Administering Institution are responsible for ensuring applications meet all eligibility requirements when applying, and throughout the life of the grant (if successful).
Grant offers may be withdrawn, and action may be taken, if eligibility criteria are not met any time during the life of the grant.
Eligibility rules do not apply to Associate Investigators, only applicants listed as Chief Investigators (CIA-J).
NHMRC staff will not make eligibility rulings before an application is submitted.