Key dates for ARC DECRA 2026

  • Release of Grant Guidelines: 8 August 2024
  • Round opening: 30 January 2025
  • UQ Information session: 4 February 2025
  • Internal Notice of Intent due: 11 February 2025
  • Eligibility Exemption Requests due to the Research Office: 18 February 2025
  • Applications due to the Research Office: 18 February 2025
  • Request Not to Assess due to the Research Office: 3 March 2025 
  • Applications due to ARC: 18 March 2025  25 March 2025
  • Anticipated Rejoinder Period: 25 June 2025 to 8 July 2025
  • Anticipated announcement: 14 November 2025 to 27 November 2025

Please note that UQ has been granted an extension due to the impact of ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred. Applications are now due to the ARC on the 25 March 2025. We ask that applicants continue to endevour to submit your applications to the Research Office as soon as possible. 

UQ Information Session

To assist applicants in preparing their applications, the Research Office will be hosting an Information Session. A recording of this session will be made available on the UQ R&I presentations and slides webpage for those who are unable to attend. The session will feature a scheme overview, key findings from past rounds, the application and submission process, and a Q&A session with ARC College of Expert members. 

Date: 10:30am Tuesday 4 February 2025
Venue: 50-N201 - Hawken Engineering Building, Learning Theatre

 

    Overview

    The ARC Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA) grant opportunity provides focused research support for early career researchers in both teaching and research, and research-only positions. Normally up to 200 three-year DECRAs, including up to $50,000 per annum in project funds, are awarded each year.

    Eligibility 

    To be eligible, the candidate must, at the grant opportunity closing date,

    • have an award of PhD date on, or after 1 March 2020, or
    • have an award of PhD date together with an allowable period of career interruptions that would be commensurate with an award of PhD date on, or after 1 March 2020.
    • The allowable career interruptions set out and the period allowed for each are described in the Discovery Fellowship Grant Guidelines (2023 edition).

    Eligibility exemption request 

    If you received your PhD prior to 1 March 2020, and have allowable career interruptions, you will need to request an Eligibility Exemption through UQ's Research Office by following the below steps:

    1. Familiarise yourself with the ARC’s Eligibility and Career Interruptions Statement
    2. Use the UQ DE26 Eligibility Exemption Calculator to calculate your eligible career interruptions. 
    3. Complete and certify the UQ DE26 Eligibility Exemption Request Form.
    4. Submit your UQ DE26 Eligibility Exemption Request Form, and evidence for each interruption via email to ARC-Discovery@research.uq.edu.au to request endorsement of your request.
    5. The Research Office will advise you of the outcome of your request. 

    If you are applying from outside UQ (external), you must have confirmed school or centre support before your eligibility exemption request can be processed by the Research Office. 

    How to apply

    Step 1. UQ Notice of Intent (NOI) 

    All researchers intending to submit an ARC Discovery Early Career Researcher Award 2026 application are required to submit a mandatory internal UQ Notice of Intent (NOI). NOIs will be collated centrally and distributed to Faculties and Institutes to maximise support to the UQ research community. If you would like to discuss your intention to apply with your local area, please contact your Faculty/Institute Research Manager

    Submit UQ Notice of Intent 

    External Applicants

    If you are not currently part of UQ and wish to apply for a 2026 DECRA through UQ, you must first seek support from a UQ school or centre where you wish to complete your DECRA project. You should have a UQ researcher who is willing to be your DECRA mentor/supervisor before completing an NOI. 

    Step 2. RMS updates and scheme reading

    • Update your full profile in the RMS ‘Person Profile’. If any team members are new to RMS and need a login/password. We strongly recommend starting this process early.
    • Familiarise yourself with key Australian Research Council (ARC) and UQ documentation. It is especially important to familiarise yourself with ARC's Grant Guidelines and Instructions to Applicants documents.

    Step 3. Completing the application

    • Log into RMS, create an application and make sure UQ is listed as the Administering Organisation.
    • Use the UQ templates available below to draft your documents to be uploaded to your application in RMS.
    • Complete the application in RMS. 
    • When ready for review, ensure all online components are complete and valid, generate a whole application PDF for your records and select 'Submit to Research Office' in RMS

    Step 4. Research Office internal review and feedback

    Step 5. Final submission

    • When your application is complete and fully compliant, the UQ Research Office will submit the application to the ARC through RMS

    Readership and researcher support

    Before applying, we recommend you:

    Key documents

    ARC

    Before applying, please review the full suite of documents, which will become available via GrantConnect (login required), the Australian Government grants information system. 

    UQ

    Mandatory Forms 

    Templates

    Application Resources

    Additional Forms

    UQ Library Support

    Rejoinder and rebuttal

    In the ARC assessment and rejoinder process, comments from external assessors may be made available to applicants, and applicants given the opportunity to submit a rejoinder.

    Detailed information on the rejoinder process (including instructions for accessing assessment reports and submitting rejoinders) is available from the ARC website. The Research Office information session and internal deadlines for assessment review requests and rejoinders are shown under our Key Dates section above. The Research Office has developed a Rejoinder Tip Sheet with FAQs to assist you in crafting your rejoinder.

    Rejoinder Information Session

    To assist researchers to prepare rejoinders, the Research Office holds rejoinder information sessions involving senior academics who have served on the ARC's College of Experts and posts the session materials when they become available.

    Details: To be announced