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Early Career Researcher

Fostering the careers of Australia's best and brightest researchers is one of the ARC's key objectives. Supporting the most promising and talented researchers at the start of their careers is an aim of most funding programs under the National Competitive Grants Program. 

Early career researchers seeking fellowships under Discovery Projects

• Linkage International or ARC Centres of Excellence
• Australian Indigenous researchers seeking funding for postgraduate research projects or a Research Cadetship Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander

Early Career Researcher Applications under Discovery Projects

Under Discovery Projects, the ARC identifies targeted funding for early career researchers applying individually or in teams in which all investigators are early career researchers. Early Career Researcher applications are applications in which all Investigators and Fellows are early career researchers.

If you are considering submitting an Early Career Researcher application, you will need to check Clause 4.4.1 of the Funding Rules. You must also be eligible to apply as an Chief Investigator, Partner Investigator or Fellow; check Section 4 of the Funding Rules.

Early career researchers may apply for research project support and they may also be applicants for fellowships (Australian Postdoctoral Fellowships (APD) or Australian Research Fellowships/Queen Elizabeth II Fellowships (ARF/QEII)).

As a guide, Early Career Researchers (ECR) are researchers who are within five years of the start of their research careers when they submit their applications. This normally means that you have been awarded a PhD or equivalent research doctorate within five years.

If your PhD was awarded more than five years ago, but your research career has been interrupted, you may apply to the ARC for a determination of your eligibility as an ECR. Research career interruptions could include non-research employment, misadventure, illness, or family and carer responsibilities.

Early career researchers can also apply as part of teams with more experienced researchers. In this case, the application will not be treated as an Early Career Research application.