Money, where it sits.

Department of Defence

$50.0M – $50.0M

Closes 2026-06-30

The objective of the grant is to provide funding which will then be used by the United Stated Department of Defense to d...

University of Technology Sydney

? – $740K

Closes 2026-06-30

Transfer Learning for Genome Analysis and Personalised Recommendation. This project aims to improve the accuracy, adaptability, and comprehensiveness of health characteristic predictions and provide personalised recommendations for healthcare service and disease prevention. The deliverables include uncertainty learning and multi-source transfer learning methodologies for predictions based on genome analysis that distils and transfers useful knowledge from multiple sources into an Australian genome analysis model. A federated cross-domain recommender system will be developed to profile individuals and generate personalised recommendations. The outcomes are expected to create a paradigm shift in learning-based prediction and personalised recommendations to support healthcare services in complex environments. . Scheme: Linkage Projects. Field: 0801 - Artificial Intelligence and Image Processing. Lead: Prof Jie Lu

The University of New South Wales

? – $597K

Closes 2026-06-30

Governing Aboriginal self-determination in NSW: 1980-2025. This project aims to examine how Aboriginal affairs governance in NSW has operated in the era of self-determination since 1980 to today. Using an ethnographic approach to study political power through time, it can develop a new understanding of the real practice of self-determination as policy. It expects to investigate whether governance processes have enabled improvements in the lives of Aboriginal people in NSW. Today, as policymakers negotiate co-design and partnership in Aboriginal affairs, this project can create new knowledge on the potential of resetting relationships between government and Aboriginal people. This will provide a significant contribution to crucial debates on advancing Aboriginal self-determination today.. Scheme: Discovery Indigenous. Field: 4501 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Culture, Language and History. Lead: Prof Heidi Norman

NSW Government — Transport for NSW

? – $20.0M

Closes 2026-06-30

The Link will deliver upgrades to existing sections to allow for walking and bike riding, as well as filling in missing links over time to create a continuous route along the foreshore.

NSW Government — Aboriginal Affairs

? – $5.0M

Closes 2026-06-30

The NSW Closing the Gap Partnership Ad Hoc Grant Round provides funding by invitation only to support initiatives identified under the National Agreement on Closing the Gap

NSW Government

? – $1.4M

Closes 2026-06-30

This grant funds a single statewide provider to help older people in supported accommodation understand and exercise their rights through free, independent information, advice, advocacy and education.

The Australian National University

? – $970K

Closes 2026-06-30

Cryogenic Near-Field Imaging and Spectroscopy Facility at the 10-nm-Scale. Cryogenic near-field imaging and spectroscopy impacts a wide range of next-generation technologies including non-invasive medical instruments, wearable devices, communication, quantum information systems and energy storage solutions. This project aims to build a cryogenic near-field imaging and spectroscopy platform at the nanometre scale for characterising nanomaterials and micro/nano-scale devices. The facility expects to provide rich and unique characterisation capabilities for hybrid devices at low temperatures and in a high vacuum environment. Such a platform enables multidisciplinary collaborations alongside local design and construction of hybrid devices, advancing the growth of local high-technology industries.. Scheme: Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities. Field: 4018 - Nanotechnology. Lead: Prof Yuerui Lu

University of Technology Sydney

? – $1000K

Closes 2026-06-30

National Live Cell Analytics Facility for Organelles’ Interactome Discovery. The LIEF project aims to establish a state-of-the-art National Live Cell Analytics Facility for Organelles’ Interactome Discovery. It will incorporate various cutting-edge equipment, including spinning disk super-resolution confocal microscope, polarization structure illumination microscope, an extended excitation unit operating in the near-infrared spectrum, and a high-throughput screening workstation. The facility will provide unparalleled capabilities for visualizing interactions among subcellular organelles and mapping out networks between cells. Australian data science, biology, materials, and engineering researchers will collaborate to spearhead international advancements in cell biology methodologies through this advanced platform. . Scheme: Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities. Field: 4003 - Biomedical Engineering. Lead: Prof Jiajia Zhou

Women And Infants Research Foundation Limited

? – $500K

Closes 2026-06-30

Supporting Western Australian researchers to advance breakthroughs in women’s, maternal, and newborn health.

Flinders University

? – $659K

Closes 2026-06-30

High shear fluid flow driving carbon foundry for advanced manufacturing. This project aims to develop versatile continuous flow thin film microfluidic device technology for harnessing contact electrification generated by sub-micron high shear flows in fabricating novel and high-performance nano-carbons for which current methods are ineffective or impossible. This project expects to generate new knowledge on complex vortex fluid fields, their intricate interactions with external electric and magnetic fields and carbon nanostructure formation. Expected outcomes for this project include exquisite control on reforming nanocarbon with tuneable properties and unprecedented hetero-structures. This should provide significant benefits, such as in generating new processes and products for advanced manufacturing. . Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 4018 - Nanotechnology. Lead: Prof Colin Raston AO FAA

NSW Government — Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water

? – $4.0M

Closes 2026-06-30

The competitive bid funding option is designed to support organisations with larger fleets that are beyond the pilot phase of their transition to EVs.

Flinders University

? – $949K

Closes 2026-06-30

Sustaining intensive agriculture through droughts and floods. This project aims to develop state-of-the-art conceptual and numerical models of river-soil-groundwater interactions to address complex and persistent questions on water sustainability in the Lower Burdekin Delta, Queensland, where groundwater pumping to irrigate sugarcane has been supplemented by artificial recharge for over 50 years. This project expects to deliver new knowledge of critical aquifer processes to inform the scheme operation, the largest in the country. Expected outcomes include ground-breaking management plans for the aquifer-replenishment scheme. Anticipated benefits involve balancing the needs of agriculture and the protection of pristine environments, including groundwater discharge to the Great Barrier Reef. . Scheme: Linkage Projects. Field: 0406 - Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience. Lead: Prof Adrian Werner

The Australian National University

? – $538K

Closes 2026-06-30

Inequality, Prosperity and the Australian Welfare State. This project aims to clarify contested understandings of Australian inequality and the role of economic and social policies in addressing policy challenges going forward. The objective of the project is to generate significantly improved knowledge of inequality in Australia using innovative approaches of data splicing, decomposition, simulation and backcasting to fill research gaps and resolve contested interpretations. We aim to provide a benchmark and robust framework against which policy development after the current crisis can be evaluated. This project aims to provide significant benefits, keeping Australia at the forefront of research on inequality and public policy, strengthening links between researchers and policy makers. . Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 1605 - Policy and Administration. Lead: Prof Peter Whiteford

Adelaide University

? – $589K

Closes 2026-06-30

Integrated nonmetal-metal single-atom catalysis for selective synthesis. Single atom catalysts can achieve the maximum efficiency of active sites for a reaction. This project will develop integrated nonmetal and metal single atom-based catalysts for selective oxidation towards clean production and organic waste conversion to value-added polymers for carbon recycle. The project will result in new functional materials and green catalytic processes for chemical synthesis and waste reduction, and advance fundamental understanding of molecular structure of materials for catalyst design and process engineering for industrial applications. The outcomes will promote the development of chemical industry, waste recycle and green environment in Australia, making significant benefits to economics and society.. Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 4016 - Materials Engineering. Lead: Prof Xiaoguang Duan

The University of Melbourne

? – $601K

Closes 2026-06-30

A systems materials engineering strategy for hybrid ion capacitors. This project aims to develop a data science-driven approach to allow the use of materials systems engineering strategy to quantify the cell-level design of electrochemical energy storage devices such as hybrid ion capacitors. The intended outcomes of this project include new dynamic equivalent circuit models and a new quantitative approach to make the electrodes pairing predictable and realise their optimal design against the needs of the specific applications. It will also demonstrate a combined strategy of data science and discipline-specific experiments and theories to advance the emerging field of materials systems engineering. . Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 0912 - Materials Engineering. Lead: Prof Dan Li

NIAA

$100K – $500K

Closes 2026-06-30

Indigenous Advancement Strategy (IAS) — the National Indigenous Australians Agency's primary federal funding programme for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. Funds remote and regional community development, capability building, economic participation, jobs and social enterprise. Pty Ltd entities eligible. Multiple streams including Jobs Land and Economy, Children and Schooling, Safety and Wellbeing, and Culture and Capability. Goods on Country fits the Jobs Land and Economy stream as a First Nations social enterprise delivering essential household goods to remote Aboriginal communities.

The University of Sydney

? – $955K

Closes 2026-06-30

AUSLearn: AUtomated Sample Learning for Object Recognition. This project aims to enable computers to learn how to effectively use training samples for object recognition. Training sample is the only source used by computers to learn recognising objects. This project creates a new research direction that will enable the first full exploration of the power of samples. The aims will be enabled by leveraging the recent advances in reinforcement learning, fast training algorithms, and by developing novel deep learning algorithms. The new algorithms will benefit a wide range of applications, e.g. to effectively use car crash training samples for accurately identifying potential road crashes in transport and to effectively use rare medical imaging training data for robustly diagnosing diseases in health.. Scheme: ARC Future Fellowships. Field: 0801 - Artificial Intelligence and Image Processing. Lead: Prof Wanli Ouyang

Queensland University of Technology

? – $967K

Closes 2026-06-30

Making Australia resilient to airborne infection transmission. The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated that basic questions regarding how to minimise the risk of airborne infection transmission for any respiratory viruses remain unanswered, despite their frequency and huge social and economic costs. Therefore, this project aims to expand scientific knowledge and develop practical tools to improve the resilience of Australian indoor environments against airborne transmission of respiratory viruses. The outcomes of the project conducted by a multidisciplinary international team of collaborators will include: (i) quantitative knowledge on virus-laden aerosols from human expiration; and (ii) exposure and infection risk models and their application to typical indoor building and transport scenarios.. Scheme: Linkage Projects. Field: 1117 - Public Health and Health Services. Lead: Prof Lidia Morawska

The University of Queensland

? – $584K

Closes 2026-06-30

Sustainable Hydrogen Production from Used Water. The project aims to address the pressing challenge of water scarcity in hydrogen production by developing an innovative approach of using used water as the feed for water electrolysis. The project will result in an in-depth understanding of the impacts of water impurities in used water on the performance and durability of water electrolysers, and develop guidelines for the design of highly durable water electrolysers and the operation and upgrade of existing wastewater treatment plants. The project will advance the practical applications of water electrolysis for scalable and sustainable hydrogen production and help Australia secure a leading position in the global emerging hydrogen economy.. Scheme: Linkage Projects. Field: 0912 - Materials Engineering. Lead: Prof Xiwang Zhang

Monash University

? – $681K

Closes 2026-06-30

Artificial Intelligence, Robots, and Agriculture: Social and ethical issues. This project aims to investigate the social and ethical issues raised by the use of artificial intelligence and robotics in agriculture. By combining social science research methods and philosophical analysis, the project aims to generate new knowledge in bioethics and applied ethics. Expected outcomes of this project include an account of the social and ethical issues farmers, rural communities, and consumers anticipate arising from these technologies, improved understanding of these issues, and an account of how these groups would like to see these issues addressed. This should help Australia benefit from the responsible use of artificial intelligence and robotics in agriculture.. Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 2201 - Applied Ethics. Lead: Prof Robert Sparrow

The University of Sydney

? – $514K

Closes 2026-06-30

Directionality-Aware Cohesive Subgraph Search over Directed Graphs. Searching cohesive subgraphs around a set of user-specified seed vertices in big graphs has many applications including cybersecurity, crime detection, social marketing and public health. This project aims to investigate directionality-aware search of cohesive subgraphs over directed graphs by designing effective models and developing efficient and scalable algorithms. This project expects to address key challenges and lay scientific foundations for searching big directed graphs. The expected outcomes include novel models, computing paradigms, algorithms, indexing techniques, and distributed solutions. The success of the project will not only provide technological breakthroughs but also benefit the development of key industries in Australia. Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 0806 - Information Systems. Lead: A/Prof Lijun Chang

Monash University

? – $511K

Closes 2026-06-30

High-performance ammonia electrosynthesis devices. The project aims to develop a robust process for electrosynthesis of ammonia using devices manufactured by Melbourne company Jupiter Ionics P/L and innovative electrolyte components. Towards this aim, tailored ion-shuttling compounds need to be designed and investigated to enable continuous generation of ammonia in scaled-up flow devices. This is expected to generate new knowledge in practical electrochemistry, catalysis and sustainable synthesis. Key project outcome is a technology for production of ammonia from renewables that is pollution-free and highly scalable in contrast to the current process. Resulting benefit to Australian agriculture businesses is a method for distributed fertiliser generation without the use of fossil fuels.. Scheme: Early Career Industry Fellowships. Field: 3406 - Physical Chemistry. Lead: Dr Hoang-Long Du

The University of Western Australia

? – $564K

Closes 2026-06-30

Engineering Fungal Nonribosomal Peptide Synthetases for Novel Alkaloids. This project aims to use protein-domain shuffling aided by structural biology to decode and engineer a class of modular megaenzymes, called nonribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPSs), in fungi. These are responsible for the biosynthesis of peptide-derived bioactive molecules, such as the antibiotic penicillin and the immunosuppressant cyclosporin. Expected outcomes of this project include a fungal NRPS engineering platform for generating new molecules with desirable biological activities that can be readily scaled up for sustainable bioproduction. This will provide significant benefits to Australia through the development of cutting-edge biotechnologies as well as the discovery of new pharmaceuticals, veterinary products and agrichemicals.. Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 3101 - Biochemistry and Cell Biology. Lead: A/Prof Yit Heng Chooi

The Australian National University

? – $519K

Closes 2026-06-30

Locally structured polar-photofunctional materials for energy conversion. This project aims to develop a novel method to engineer local chemical structures for achieving the polarity in narrow bandgap oxides via advanced thin-film growth and ion beam irradiation techniques. The developed new polar-photofunctional materials will significantly improve opto-electro-mechanical coupling and energy conversion, facilitating uses in renewable energy harvesting and smart optomechanical devices. The project expects to advance material science through a new concept and innovative methodology, achieve properties forbidden/limited by conventional strategies and expand candidate pools for new generation multifunctional materials, significantly advancing Australia’s capacity in advanced manufacturing and industry.. Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 4018 - Nanotechnology. Lead: Dr Teng Lu

NSW Government — Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development

? – $25.0M

Closes 2026-06-30

The Regional Development Trust Government Priority & Partnerships investment pathway provides for investment of Trust funds in projects identified by the NSW Government consistent with the Trust's key focus areas.

Queensland University of Technology

? – $506K

Closes 2026-06-30

Sequence-Defined Polymers with Optical Information Readout. The project aim is to introduce the first optically readable sequence-defined polymers based on fluorophore excimers, whose information content can be read as simply as conventional barcodes. These macromolecular barcodes, embedded in solid polymer matrices, will overcome the current limitations of reading information from synthetic macromolecules. An interdisciplinary effort will fuse chemistry, law, and criminology to develop the technology in ways that are expected to address illicit plastic waste trafficking – ending the anonymity of polymer waste by creating a regulatory and criminological paradigm for tracing plastic waste to hold actors in the value chain responsible.. Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 3403 - Macromolecular and Materials Chemistry. Lead: Prof Christopher Barner-Kowollik

The University of Queensland

? – $513K

Closes 2026-06-30

Click chemistry to reveal how neurons and glia shape perineuronal nets . The extracellular matrix (ECM) and its perineuronal nets (which are net-like structures with holes wrapped around neurons) are largely underexplored, despite representing a remarkable 20% of the brain’s total volume and having been suggested to be involved in many brain functions. Interestingly, digestion of the ECM improves learning and memory, but deficits return once the ECM has reformed. However, how this ECM remodelling is organised at a cell-type level is not understood. Here we aim to close this knowledge gap, using cutting-edge technology including bioconjugation and ultrasound-mediated cargo delivery. Together, this project aims to contribute to a deeper understanding of this major brain compartment in neuronal function. . Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 3101 - Biochemistry and Cell Biology. Lead: Prof Jürgen Götz

The University of Queensland

? – $780K

Closes 2026-06-30

Regulation of lung immune-epithelial networks sensing environmental change. This study aims to uncover how lung epithelial cells engage with immune cells and determine their cellular and molecular wiring to ensure homeostatic maintenance and essential repair processes of lung tissues. Maintenance of lung epithelial-immune networks is essential to maintain normal lung tissue structure and function, and to induce immune responses to protect against microbial challenges or inhaled potentially toxic substances. Understanding this molecular program of epithelial-immune cell-mediated sensing/repair will be essential to understand how tissue-repair processes can be driven in the lung, an organ critical for respiration and thus life.. Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 3204 - Immunology. Lead: Prof Gabrielle Belz

The University of Sydney

? – $588K

Closes 2026-06-30

Elucidating the molecular basis of plant potyvirus resistance . Plant viruses are responsible for a large proportion of crop losses, and genetic resistance is currently the most effective means to control viral spread. This project investigates, on a molecular and structural level, host factors that plant viruses hijack during infection, and in particular, the mutations in these factors that confer resistance. We further aim to elucidate the mechanisms by which plant viruses overcome resistance mediated by these host factors. A detailed understanding of the molecular interactions between plant viruses and their host will enable new, robust and more effective forms of resistance to be engineered. This work therefore has economic and environmental implications for agricultural productivity in Australia. . Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 0601 - Biochemistry and Cell Biology. Lead: Dr Mary Christie

University of South Australia

? – $526K

Closes 2026-06-30

Development of rapid-response thermal batteries for the global market. In collaboration with Isothermix, this project aims to develop and commercialize cost-effective, rapid-response thermal batteries to meet the air conditioning peak demand of buildings. This project expects to generate new knowledge about the phase change materials which can be used to store thermal energy across a range of temperatures and the highly thermal conductive materials which can be used as a heat exchanger. Expected outcomes include the development of rapid response thermal batteries which can cool buildings across a range of temperatures and site conditions. This should provide significant benefits by reducing primary heating and cooling plant capacity and thereby our reliance on fossil fuels.. Scheme: Early Career Industry Fellowships. Field: 4016 - Materials Engineering. Lead: Dr SEUNG HO LEE

La Trobe University

? – $505K

Closes 2026-06-30

The prevalence and impact of digital alcohol exposure. This project aims to use artificial intelligence to quantify the amount of alcohol people are exposed to in digital media (e.g., social media, streaming videos) in their daily lives and the effect alcohol exposure has on alcohol use. Expected outcomes for this project include a quantification of the amount of alcohol exposure in digital media and the impact it has on drinking and a development of a protocol to test exposure. Significant benefits are expected for policy makers aiming to reduce exposure and the public wanting to avoid exposure to limit the harm of alcohol. . Scheme: Discovery Early Career Researcher Award. Field: 5201 - Applied and Developmental Psychology. Lead: Dr Benjamin Riordan

The University of Melbourne

? – $1.1M

Closes 2026-06-30

Domestic and Family violence and border-related harm. This project aims to explore how Australia's migration system intersects with the experience of domestic and family violence for temporary visa holders. By drawing on the accounts of former temporary visa holders via interviews in Australia, Thailand, Vietnam and India, and examining the migration system and processes evident in formal accounts including coronial findings and sentencing judgements, the project expects to generate new knowledge about connections between migration systems and domestic and family violence. This should provide significant benefits by laying the ground for reform and recommendations to support policy makers and stakeholders more broadly to create better conditions for women’s safety.. Scheme: ARC Future Fellowships. Field: 1602 - Criminology. Lead: Prof Marie Segrave

The University of Queensland

? – $724K

Closes 2026-06-30

Is there a climatic tipping point for Antarctic Bottom Water formation? Antarctic Bottom Water plays an important role in global ocean circulation and climate and yet its formation is also highly sensitive to climate change. This project will analyse new seafloor, core and water samples from the understudied Cape Darnley, East Antarctica, collected on a voyage in early 2022. This new data will be used in combination with an improved high resolution regional ocean model, to understand modern and past Antarctic Bottom Water formation under different climate states (warmer and colder than present), to determine if there are climate tipping points for the shut down of Antarctic Bottom Water formation. The anticipated benefits include a better understanding of future climate change on this important water mass.. Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 0405 - Oceanography. Lead: Prof Helen Bostock

Monash University

? – $613K

Closes 2026-06-30

Improving outcomes for young people transitioning from out-of-home care. The central aim of this project is to generate the new knowledge needed to support the development, implementation, and diffusion of evidence-based innovations for young people as they transition from out-of-home care to adulthood. The project is significant because young people living in out-of-home care are more likely to enter juvenile justice, become a teenage parent, be socially excluded, have mental and physical health problems and addictions. Outcomes include a world first longitudinal data evidence base, exemplars of best practice, and guidance to advance the application of transition pathways and plans to inform future innovations in Victoria and across Australia for improving transition from care with, by, and for young people. . Scheme: Linkage Projects. Field: 1117 - Public Health and Health Services. Lead: Prof Helen Skouteris

The University of Melbourne

? – $535K

Closes 2026-06-30

Small Scalable Natural Language Models using Explicit Memory. Deep neural networks have had spectacular success in natural language processing, seeing wide-spread deployment as part of automatic assistant devices in homes and cars, and across many valuable industries including finance, medicine and law. Fueling this success is the use of ever larger models, with exponentially increasing training resources, accompanying hardware and energy demands. This project aims to develop more compact models, based on the incorporation of an explicit searchable memory, which will dramatically reduce model size, hardware requirements and energy usage. This will make modern natural language processing more accessible, while also providing greater flexibility, allowing for more adaptable and portable technologies.. Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 4602 - Artificial Intelligence. Lead: Prof Tom Drummond

The Australian National University

? – $533K

Closes 2026-06-30

Governance for Gender Inclusion: Levelling the Field in Australian Sport. This project aims to understand why, despite gains in women's sport participation, gender inclusion efforts in Australian sport have not yet led to gender parity in leadership roles or broad accessibility for marginalised groups. It seeks to generate new knowledge about the regulatory mechanisms and social conditions that facilitate change through the development of a new interdisciplinary conceptual framework. Expected outcomes include enhanced analytic guidelines and robust recommendations for governance strategies, which can be applied to study other domains. This should provide significant theoretical and policy benefits by supporting equity in professional settings and health promotion through wider inclusion.. Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 1504 - Commercial Services. Lead: Prof Kathryn Henne

The University of Queensland

? – $631K

Closes 2026-06-30

Advancing the Science of Giant Planet Atmospheric Entry. This project aims to improve models used to design the heat shields which protect probes entering the atmospheres of the giant planets - four gaseous planets out beyond Mars. Further giant planet exploration is a key planetary science goal of the coming decade. However, the environment which an entry probe would experience features many unknowns and large uncertainties, making a mission a risky undertaking. Using unique experimental capabilities and state-of-the-art modelling, the expected project outcome is experimentally validated giant planet entry flow and surface chemistry models. This will allow more efficient heat shields to be designed while also increasing the chance of mission success, furthering our understanding of the universe.. Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 0901 - Aerospace Engineering. Lead: Prof Richard Morgan

The Australian National University

? – $511K

Closes 2026-06-30

Deciphering strategies polar phytoplankton employ to lessen iron limitation. The Southern Ocean is of global importance. It comprises one-third of the global ocean by area and disproportionately absorbs two-thirds of anthropogenic ocean heat and half of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions even though phytoplankton in this region are chronically iron-limited. This project aims to understand why copper uptake by phytoplankton lessens the effects of iron limitation and how copper substitutes for iron. This knowledge is critical for evaluating the impacts and feedbacks between iron and copper in regulating Southern Ocean productivity and ultimately its ability to drawdown atmospheric CO2. The results from this project will facilitate the development of improved ecosystem models and conservation tools.. Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 0405 - Oceanography. Lead: Prof Michael Ellwood

Queensland University of Technology

? – $529K

Closes 2026-06-30

Mitigating the risks of cyberattacks on cyber-physical power systems. Cyber threats are a pertinent issue facing power systems as part of national critical infrastructure. This project will develop a systematic theory to capture the dynamic risk propagation of cyberattacks on cyber-physical power systems. Focusing on the physical domain of cyber-physical power systems, the theory includes offline risk modelling with consideration of attack intentions for risk propagation of cyberattacks, an online risk assessment method to quantify the risk propagation of cyberattacks, and resilient control strategies to mitigate cyberattack risks. The outcomes will not only advance knowledge in cyber-physical security but also facilitate an accelerated adoption of the increasing renewable energy sources into the power grid.. Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 0906 - Electrical and Electronic Engineering. Lead: Prof Yu-Chu Tian

RMIT University

? – $510K

Closes 2026-06-30

Quantum sensing of magnetism in two dimensions. This project aims to use innovative quantum sensing technologies to investigate the novel emerging field of two-dimensional magnetism; imaging both static and dynamic forms of 2D magnetism. This project expects to generate new knowledge about magnetic van der Waals materials and their potential application to ultra-thin electronic and spintronic devices. Expected outcomes of this project are a deeper understanding of the formation and modulation of magnetic order in 2D, new fabrication methods for deliberate domain wall formation, production of near-zero energy gap spin-waves, and new encapsulation methods for ultra-stable 2D materials. This should provide significant benefits towards fundamental physics and future device engineering. . Scheme: Discovery Early Career Researcher Award. Field: 5104 - Condensed Matter Physics. Lead: Dr David Broadway

The University of Adelaide

? – $1.2M

Closes 2026-06-30

Fine Tuning: A Reconciliation of Indigenous and Western Musical Traditions. Focusing on central Australian song lines, the project strengthens our knowledge, understanding and application of the intricate tuning systems that underpin traditional Indigenous musical practices. Employing a unique methodology that combines Indigenous and contemporary Western musical performance practices with cutting-edge digital technologies, the project will show how the highly nuanced and sophisticated tunings at the heart of Indigenous music-making can be preserved when transposed to contemporary Western art music contexts. In so doing, the case is made for a more genuine, equitable dialogue between Indigenous and non-Indigenous music-makers, to the mutual benefit of musicians, audiences, and society at large. . Scheme: Discovery Indigenous. Field: 4501 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Culture, Language and History. Lead: Dr Dylan Crismani

Monash University

? – $685K

Closes 2026-06-30

Combating Antimicrobial Resistance with Bismuth, Gallium and Indium. This research project focuses on the design, development, and application of new bismuth, gallium and indium compounds as antimicrobial agents. These metals act as iron mimics in vivo and can exert antimicrobial activity while displaying low systemic toxicity in humans. The project aims to exploit this, and the inability of microbes to easily develop resistance towards metals, to combat bacteria for which modern drugs are rapidly becoming ineffective, as highlighted in the WHO and US Centre for Disease Control list of critical and priority pathogens. The intended outcome is that efficacy will be driven through advances in synthetic and structural chemistry, discovering the mode of action, and creating anti-infective coatings and hydrogels.. Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 0302 - Inorganic Chemistry. Lead: Prof Philip Andrews

The University of Western Australia

? – $1.5M

Closes 2026-06-30

An operando characterisation platform for clean energy transition in WA. This project aims to investigate the transitional properties of energy materials in clean energy generation, storage, conversion, and utilisation under real synthesis and catalysis conditions by establishing an in situ and operando analysis platform. The project expects to generate new knowledge in materials chemistry and reaction kinetics with varying temperature, gases, light, and/or electrolytes. Expected outcomes include innovative catalyst design strategies and insights into clean energy transition and decarbonisation, as well as enhanced interdisciplinary collaborations. This research will provide significant benefits, such as the development of new knowledge and technology, contributing to Australia's transition towards clean energy.. Scheme: Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities. Field: 4016 - Materials Engineering. Lead: Prof Hongqi Sun

The University of Melbourne

? – $601K

Closes 2026-06-30

Innovative Strategies for Crafting Precision Kinase Inhibitors. Protein kinases are key regulators of cellular signaling, playing a pivotal role in diverse biological processes. However, most protein kinase inhibitors target a common binding site, leading to undesired effects on other kinases. This project aims to create highly selective protein kinase inhibitors by using structural biology to pinpoint unique interactions in the peptide-binding site. Using medicinal chemistry, we will enhance kinase selectivity of existing potent but non-selective inhibitors, and will validate their cellular pharmacology. Our innovative approach will be broadly applicable to diverse protein kinases of interest to academia and industry, and in the future will support the development of new drugs by Australian companies.. Scheme: Linkage Projects. Field: 3404 - Medicinal and Biomolecular Chemistry. Lead: Prof Spencer Williams

The University of Sydney

? – $507K

Closes 2026-06-30

Dynamics of Suppressed Mixing Regimes in Australian Rivers. This study aims to further the fundamental science of turbulent mixing in the context of flow in Australian rivers. The focus is on prolonged low flow conditions which when coupled with warm surface temperatures cause the water column to become thermally stratified which then suppresses turbulent mixing. The extreme scale of the river systems has made investigating the true dynamics of the strongly stratified mixing regimes particularly challenging. By taking world first in-situ measurements of turbulent mixing and undertaking high resolution numerical simulations this study will provide definitive data which will allow correct characterization of the mixing regimes and how they are associated with river flow conditions.. Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 0915 - Interdisciplinary Engineering. Lead: Prof Steven Armfield

The University of Queensland

? – $510K

Closes 2026-06-30

Understanding drivers and deterrents of Australia's illicit tobacco market. As Australia implements policies that reduce the availability and affordability of tobacco, demand for illicit tobacco is likely to grow. This research aims to generate new knowledge about the drivers and deterrents of demand for illicit tobacco through three inter-related projects. Expected outcomes include a comprehensive understanding of factors influencing Australians’ demand for illicit tobacco, and expert-informed policy recommendations to reduce demand for and deter use of illicit tobacco. With no substantive Australian research on this topic for more than 15 years, this research will be essential to reduce the impacts of the illicit tobacco market, including substantial losses in tax revenue and the funding of organised crime.. Scheme: Discovery Early Career Researcher Award. Field: 4407 - Policy and Administration. Lead: Dr Cheneal Puljevic

The University of New South Wales

? – $1.1M

Closes 2026-06-30

Constitutional Design & Democratic Resilience . Democracy is under stress worldwide. Both new and longstanding are seeing waves of democratic erosion. In many cases, this erosion is also taking new and more subtle forms, which are harder to detect than outright coups or suspensions of democracy – that is, they involve a form of “abusive constitutional change” that uses existing legal democratic norms and processes to subvert democracy from within. This Project will investigate the nature and scope of this problem of abusive constitutional change, as well as potential solutions through constitutional design. It will offer new theoretical insights for the field of comparative constitutional studies, and practical insights for policymakers in Australia and globally.. Scheme: ARC Future Fellowships. Field: 1801 - Law. Lead: Prof Rosalind Dixon

Curtin University

? – $539K

Closes 2026-06-30

Regeneration of High Value-Added Materials from Spent Lithium-Ion Batteries. This project aims to develop scalable processing techniques for the regeneration of cathode materials and the production of high-purity alumina and graphene from spent lithium-ion batteries. The techniques reduce the cost and time of the processing of degraded cathode materials and increase the value of the spent battery materials (e.g., metallic aluminum and graphite) by converting them into high value-added specialty chemicals. The outcomes and further technology adoptions will extend the capacity of the Partner Organisation for producing specialty battery materials. The outcomes could help Australia’s battery industry switch to a more diversified pathway, which benefits the economic development of Australia in a long term.. Scheme: Linkage Projects. Field: 4004 - Chemical Engineering. Lead: Prof Dr Zongping Shao

University of Tasmania

? – $555K

Closes 2026-06-30

Using the last glacial cycle to understand carbon-climate feedbacks . This project aims to investigate how the ocean’s carbon cycle will respond to anthropogenic climate change by examining its response to past climate variability. The project expects to generate new records of the dust feedback cycle and the microbial decomposition feedback cycle in the poorly studied Indian sector of the Southern Ocean. Expected outcomes include new datasets to test climate models, and a new method to detect temperature-driven changes in microbial decomposition. This should lead to significant benefits including more accurate estimates of how much carbon humanity can safely emit, and the science to inform whether Australia should adopt ocean fertilisation as a strategy to combat climate change. . Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 0406 - Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience. Lead: Prof Zanna Chase

Cooper Rice-Brading Foundation Ltd

? – $1.0M

Closes 2026-06-30

Funds the development of precision therapies for childhood sarcomas through a collaborative, crowdsourced research model.