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Welcome to the Australian Research Council website

The ARC is a statutory authority under the Industry, Innovation, Science, Research and Tertiary Education (IISRTE) portfolio within the Australian Government. Its mission is to deliver policy and programs that advance Australian research and innovation globally and benefit the community.

In seeking to achieve its mission, the ARC provides advice to the Government on research matters, manages the National Competitive Grants Program (NCGP), and administers the Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) initiative.

Through the NCGP - a significant component of Australia's investment in research and development - the ARC supports the highest-quality fundamental and applied research and research training through national competition across all disciplines, with the exception of clinical medicine and dentistry.

The ERA initiative assesses research quality within Australia's higher education institutions and gives government, industry, business and the wider community assurance of the excellence of research conducted.  It also provides a national stocktake, by research discipline areas, of research strength against international benchmarks.

Special Research Initiative for an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Researchers’ Network for funding commencing in 2012

The Special Research Initiative for an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Researchers’ Network for funding commencing in 2012 is now open for expressions of interest.

For more information, visit the Special Research Initiatives page.

Discovery Program: Discovery Projects for funding commencing in 2013

Discovery Projects for funding commencing in 2013 is now open for proposals.

For more information, visit the Discovery Projects page.

Discovery Program: Discovery Early Career Researcher Award for funding commencing in 2013

The ARC has released the Discovery Early Career Researcher Award Funding Rules for funding commencing in 2013. Supporting documentation and a draft funding agreement will be available shortly. 

For more information, visit the Discovery Early Career Researcher Award page.

Industrial Transformation Research Program

The new Australian Research Council Industrial Transformation Research Program has been announced.

The Program will support strong partnerships between researchers and industry to help create new and improved products, processes and services, and generate new high-wage, high-skill jobs for Australians.

For more information, visit the Industrial Transformation Research Program web page.