National Taxonomy Research Grants Program (Australia)

Objectives

• The objectives of the grant opportunity are:
  • To support research into taxonomy
  • To increase funding for taxonomy through enhanced co-funding opportunities

Priority Areas

• The ABRS has three Priority Areas for Research:
  • Biodiversity, Conservation and Vulnerable and Endangered Species
  • Public, Plant, Animal and Environmental Health
  • Building Taxonomic Capacity

Grant Streams

• Honours Scholarship – Honours student hosted by an appropriate institution.
• Masters Scholarship – Masters student hosted by an appropriate institution.
• PhD Scholarship Support Grant – PhD student with a Research Training Program Scholarship that commenced in 2024 hosted by an appropriate institution.
• Non-salaried Researcher Grant – A retired or unemployed person, or someone who is currently employed in a non-taxonomy capacity, for whom taxonomic research is an auxiliary, nonfunded activity.
• Research Grant – Researcher employed or hosted by an appropriate institution.
• Early Career Research Grant – Early career researcher employed or hosted by an appropriate institution.
• Postdoctoral Fellowship Grant – Researcher who has had their PhD thesis accepted and is employed or hosted by an appropriate institution.

Funding Information

• The minimum grant amount for Honours, Masters Scholarship and Non-salaried Researcher Grants is $5,000.
• The minimum grant amount for all other grant streams is $10,000. The maximum grant amounts for the four grant streams that do not require co-funding are:
  • $10,000 for Honours, Masters Scholarship and Non-salaried Researcher Grants.
  • 20,000 for PhD Scholarship Support Grants.
• The maximum grant amounts for the three grant streams that require co-funding of at least 50 per cent of the grant amount requested are:
  • $20,000 for Early Career Research Grants
  • $300,000 for Research Grants
  • $375,000 for Postdoctoral Fellowship Grants
• The project period for each research stream is:
  • Research Grant: 3 years
  • Early Career Research Grant: 1 or 2 years (i.e. the project can either be 1 or 2 years duration)
  • Postdoctoral Fellowship Grant: 3 years
  • Honours Scholarship: 1 year (or 2 years part-time)
  • Masters Scholarship: 1 year (or 2 years part-time)
  • PhD Scholarship Support Grant: 2 years
  • Non-salaried Researcher Grant: 1 year.
• You cannot commence your project before 1 July 2025 and you must complete your project by 30 June 2028.

Expected Outcomes

• The intended outcomes of the grant opportunity are:
  • To support and improve knowledge of the Australian biota through targeted taxonomic research grants aligned to the ABRS’s three Priority Areas for Research
  • To build Australia’s taxonomic capacity by supporting tertiary research training, early career researchers and facilitating knowledge transfer
  • To contribute to enhancing the ABRS information products and resources, including the Australian Faunal Directory, Flora of Australia, Australian National Species List, publications, identification keys and any other taxonomic communication tools
  • To positively contribute to the fields of taxonomy and systematics

Eligibility Criteria

• To be eligible you must:
  • Have an Australian Business Number (ABN)
  • Be an appropriate host institution submitting an application on behalf of a Principal Investigator, scholarship student, or Non-salaried Researcher Grant and be one of the following entities:
  • An entity, incorporated in Australia (this includes an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Corporation registered under the Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Act 2006 (Cth))
  • A co-operative
  • A publicly funded research organisation (PFRO)
  • An Australian local government agency or body
  • An Australian State/Territory government agency or body
  • An Australian Commonwealth government agency or body (excluding non-Corporate Commonwealth Entities)
  • An incorporated association or not for profit organisation and you do not have an active state or territory incorporated association registration or ACNC registration at the time of application, provide the Constitutional documents and/or Articles of Association that demonstrate the character of the organisation
  • A partnership, provide a copy of your partnership agreement
• In addition, the following eligibility requirements apply to specific grants:
  • Research Grant, you must:
    • Declare the Principal Investigator is an Australian citizen or permanent resident
    • Meet your share of project costs and provide evidence of your cash contributions as outlined
    • Declare that the Principal Investigator has no more than two current NTRGP grants awarded
    • Declare that the workload of the Principal Investigator for NTRGP grants is not greater than 1.0 FTE across all grants currently awarded and applied for in this round
  • Postdoctoral Fellowship Grant and Early Career Research Grant, you must:
    • Declare the Principal Investigator is an Australian citizen or permanent resident
    • You must meet your share of project costs and provide evidence of your cash contributions as outlined
    • You must declare that the Principal Investigator has no more than two current NTRGP grants awarded
    • You must declare that the workload of the Principal Investigator for NTRGP grants is not greater than 1.0 FTE across all grants currently awarded and applied for in this round.
  • Honours and Masters Scholarship:
    • You must declare the student is an Australian citizen or permanent resident
    • The proposed research must be undertaken at an appropriate Australian institution
    • Honours and Masters Scholarships are allowed to start in the following calendar year (i.e. from 01 Jan 2026) to align with the beginning of the academic year.
  • PhD Scholarship Support Grant:
    • You must declare the student is an Australian citizen or permanent resident
    • The proposed research must be undertaken at an appropriate Australian institution
    • The PhD student must have secured a Research Training Program Scholarship that commenced in 2024.
  • Non-salaried Researcher Grant, you must:
    • Declare that you are an Australian citizen or permanent resident
    • Be affiliated with an appropriate host institution who will provide a signed letter of support to confirm the arrangement
    • Declare that the Principal Investigator has no more than two current NTRGP grants awarded
    • Be a retired or unemployed Australian citizen (person) with a signed letter of support from the host institution
    • Declare that the workload of the Principal Investigator for NTRGP grants is not greater than 1.0 FTE across all grants currently awarded and applied for in this round.

Ineligibility Criteria

• You are not eligible to apply if you are:
  • An international entity (overseas institutions are not eligible, but they can become Joint Investigators through an appropriate Australian host institution or other collaborators on the application, or through co-funding contributions)
  • An unincorporated association
  • An applicant that provides a CV of more than 4 pages (per CV) for a Principal Investigator, Joint Investigator or Student Supervisor
  • A non-Corporate Commonwealth entity
  • Any applications from individuals and/or institutions that have outstanding reports or material owed from other existing or completed NTRGP grants.

For more information, visit Australian Government.