Australian Research Council: Discovery Indigenous Grant

Project funding: Between $30,000 and $600,000 per year, including a minimum of $30,000 per year and any requested DAATSIA salary.
Project funding duration: Up to five consecutive years.
DAATSIA salary: May be requested or awarded at one of five salary levels, including 30% salary-related on-costs. The DAATSIA salary is counted towards the $600,000 maximum project funding per year.
DAATSIA salary duration: Up to five consecutive years on a full-time basis, or part-time for up to eight consecutive years.
Applications close: August 25th, 2026

The Discovery Indigenous scheme provides grant funding to support research projects conducted by Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander researchers. It supports excellent pure basic, strategic basic and applied research and research training across all disciplines, excluding clinical and other medical research. The program is intended to retain excellent Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander researchers in higher education institutions, expand research capacity in Australia, strengthen national and international research collaboration, and deliver economic, commercial, environmental, social and cultural benefits for Australia.

Funding can support project costs, eligible personnel, DAATSIA salary support, research students, equipment, consumables and travel that is essential to the project. Applications are assessed through a competitive peer review process against capability, project quality and innovation, benefit and feasibility criteria.

Key Requirements

Support Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander research leadership: The program supports research projects conducted by Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander researchers and aims to retain excellent Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander researchers in higher education institutions.
Expand research capacity in Australia: Projects should contribute to Australia’s research capacity through high-quality research, research training and the development of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander researchers as individuals and teams.
Deliver strong project quality and innovation: Applications are assessed on the importance of the knowledge gap or problem, novelty and innovation, clarity of research questions, project design, methodology, data and analysis.
Demonstrate collaboration and benefit: Projects should support national and international research collaboration and create economic, commercial, environmental, social or cultural benefits for Australia and international communities.
Address Indigenous research considerations where relevant: Projects involving Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander research are assessed on collaboration, engagement, relationship building, benefit sharing, Indigenous research capacity building, Indigenous leadership, Indigenous Data Sovereignty and ethical research practice
Demonstrate feasibility and value for money: Applications are assessed on cost-effectiveness, suitability of the research environment, access to facilities and confidence that the project design, team and budget can support timely completion

What is eligible for funding?

Research activities that meet the definition of research.
DAATSIA salary and 30% on-costs, where relevant.
Salary support for other personnel, such as research associates, research assistants, technicians and laboratory attendants.
Stipends for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Higher Degree by Research students.
Stipends for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Honours students, subject to the Administering Organisation’s policies.
Teaching relief for Chief Investigators up to $50,000 per CI per year per project, except where a CI has been awarded a DAATSIA.
Equipment, maintenance and consumables, including specialised computer equipment and software essential to the project.
Travel costs essential to the project, including eligible field research travel and reasonable essential costs for researchers who are carers or personally require care or assistance.

What companies are eligible for funding?

Applications must be submitted by an Eligible Organisation listed in Appendix B of the program documentation.
The Eligible Organisation that applies will be the Administering Organisation.
Eligible named participant roles include DAATSIA candidates, Chief Investigators and Partner Investigators.
Applications must include at least one Chief Investigator or DAATSIA candidate, with the first named Chief Investigator acting as Project Leader.
Chief Investigators must provide evidence that they are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander in line with the required working criteria.
Chief Investigators must be employed for at least 0.2 FTE at an Eligible Organisation or hold an honorary academic appointment at an Eligible Organisation.
Chief Investigators must reside in Australia for more than 50% of the project activity period.
Companies and businesses are not listed as eligible applicants unless they are included as an eligible organisation in Appendix B.

Is this grant competitive or entitlement based?

Competitive. Your application will be assessed among other applications by a judging panel.

How can I increase my chances of winning this grant?

By engaging an accredited government grants consultant, such as Avant Group.

Competitive grants often require significant business case development and project analysis to support the application, this may include detailed presentations supporting the project’s merit, projected sales, cost-benefit analysis and more.

As part of your engagement with Avant Group, your account manager will assess the required documents and will provide the following as needed to support your grant submission.

Grant application writeup including a detailed presentation illustrating how the grant funding will contribute to your project, how the funding will contribute to the project’s budget, a project milestone plan, delivery timeline, impact on employment if applicable and a breakdown of the management and leadership team for the project

Industry analysis presentation
Competitor Analysis Presentation
Marketing and Sales Analysis Presentation
3-5 year Cashflow Forecast
3-5 year Balance Sheet Forecast
Cost-Benefit Analysis of Grant Funding
End-to-end grant application including information collating, analysis and application writing
CAPEX (Capital Expenditure) cost-benefit analysis
Stakeholder relations and Risk Mitigation Plans
Any other relevant forecasting that will support your application

How can I get help with my application? Or know if I’m likely to win funding?

Avant Group offers a no-obligation assessment of your eligibility for funding and will assess your likelihood of a successful grant application.

This grant is open

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