Fact Sheet (PDF 412KB)
To support the advancement of knowledge and contribute to national innovation, the ARC College of Experts plays a key role in identifying research excellence. Its members are experts of international standing drawn from the Australian research community which includes higher education, industry and public sector research organisations.
The ARC seeks nominations from suitably qualified and experienced individuals, including senior academics and end-users across the private, public and not-for-profit sectors, with peer review and research leadership experience.
The ARC Board is responsible for appointing members to the ARC College of Experts.
ARC College of Experts nominations are called for annually. The ARC appoints the College members for a term of three years.
The College of Experts assists the ARC by:
The ARC is required to maintain a high standard of professionalism and ethical conduct in its operations. The ARC Conflict of Interest and Confidentiality Policy is designed to ensure that all members of the ARC College of Experts are aware of the confidentiality obligations associated with activities and that conflicts of interest are identified and addressed in a rigorous and transparent way. The ARC requires members of the ARC College of Experts to provide assurances to the ARC that they will abide by the ARC's confidentiality requirements and will disclose to it any conflicts of interest related to their official duties as members.
The ARC is seeking nominations from suitably qualified and experienced individuals, including senior academics and end-users across the private, public and not-for-profit sectors, with peer review and research leadership experience. Researchers with multi-disciplinary and cross-disciplinary expertise are strongly encouraged to apply. We especially welcome nominations from women, particularly those from the STEM disciplines, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Nominees should have strong institutional support to meet the commitment required of ARC College of Experts members.
The ARC is committed to improving the diversity of membership on the ARC College of Experts and encourages qualified people from a broad range of groups to nominate. This includes but is not limited to:
Gender diversity
People of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander origin
Academia, Industry and Public sector organisations
The ARC is calling for nominations for all discipline fields but has identified the discipline areas listed below as priorities for 2026. High priority discipline areas are shown in bold text in the below table.
3004 Crop and pasture production
4405 Gender studies
3009 Veterinary sciences
4406 Human geography
3101 Biochemistry and cell biology
4407 Policy and administration
3102 Bioinformatics and computational biology
4408 Political science
3103 Ecology
4410 Sociology
3104 Evolutionary biology
4501 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture, language and history
3105 Genetics
4502 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education
3107 Microbiology
4504 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and wellbeing
3108 Plant biology
4505 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, society and community
3109 Zoology
4507 Te ahurea, reo me te hitori o te Maori (Maori culture, language and history)
3204 Immunology
4508 Matauranga Maori (Maori education)
3209 Neurosciences
4510 Te hauora me te oranga o te Maori (Maori health and wellbeing)
3301 Architecture
4511 Nga tangata, te porihanga me nga hapori o te Maori (Maori peoples, society and community)
3303 Design
4513 Pacific Peoples culture, language and history
3304 Urban and regional planning
4514 Pacific Peoples education
3402 Inorganic chemistry
4516 Pacific Peoples health and wellbeing
3403 Macromolecular and materials chemistry
4518 Pacific Peoples society and community
3406 Physical chemistry
4519 Other Indigenous data, methodologies and global Indigenous studies
3407 Theoretical and computational chemistry
4599 Other indigenous studies
3507 Strategy, management and organisational behaviour
4602 Artificial intelligence
3509 Transportation, logistics and supply chains
4603 Computer vision and multimedia computation
3603 Music
4604 Cybersecurity and privacy
3703 Geochemistry
4605 Data management and data science
3704 Geoinformatics
4608 Human-centred computing
3705 Geology
4611 Machine learning
3706 Geophysics
4701 Communication and media studies
3709 Physical geography and environmental geoscience
4704 Linguistics
3801 Applied economics
4705 Literary studies
4003 Biomedical engineering
4902 Mathematical physics
4004 Chemical engineering
4903 Numerical and computational mathematics
4005 Civil engineering
4904 Pure mathematics
4006 Communications engineering
4905 Statistics
4008 Electrical engineering
5001 Applied ethics
4009 Electronics, sensors and digital hardware - new code
5002 History and philosophy of specific fields
4011 Environmental engineering
5003 Philosophy
4012 Fluid mechanics and thermal engineering
5101 Astronomical sciences
4014 Manufacturing engineering
5102 Atomic, molecular and optical physics
4016 Materials engineering
5104 Condensed matter physics
4017 Mechanical engineering
5107 Particle and high energy physics
4018 Nanotechnology
5108 Quantum physics
4019 Resources engineering and extractive metallurgy
5110 Synchrotrons and accelerators
4106 Soil sciences
5201 Applied and developmental psychology
4203 Health services and systems
5202 Biological psychology
4207 Sports science and exercise
5203 Clinical and health psychology
4402 Criminology
5204 Cognitive and computational psychology
4404 Development studies
5205 Social and personality psychology
5299 Other psychology
Activity
Date
Nominations Open
Monday 3 March 2025
Nominations Close
Thursday 17 April 2025
Nominations must be certified by the nominee’s primary employer (for a list of approved nominators or delegates, see the table below) and submitted in RMS no later than 5pm (AEST), Thursday 17 April 2025.
Nominations will not be accepted directly from nominees, except those submitting as self-employed.
Nominees who hold an honorary or adjunct appointment with a higher education institution are eligible to apply through that institution.
Primary Employer
Approved Nominators
Higher education institution
Vice-Chancellor/Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) or equivalent
Industry or business
Chief Executive Officer or equivalent
Government
Self-employed
Self-nominate
Please contact the ARC at college@arc.gov.au with any queries.
It is anticipated that outcomes will be announced in September/October 2025.
A complete list of the ARC College of Experts membership can be found below.
There are currently 373 members on the ARC College of Experts.
Selection meeting panels will be drawn from the ARC College of Experts as necessary.
(*indicates a new member in 2025)