Grants & Opportunities

Collaborative and Reliable Machine Learning in Edge Computing Environment. This project aims to deliver a suite of methods and techniques to enable collaborative and reliable machine learning (ML) over 5G/6G networks. It will generate new approaches to tackle the scalability and security challenges in training ML models in Mobile Edge Computing where data processing occurs near end users. Expected outcomes include novel techniques, mechanisms, and schemes for developing and deploying 5G/6G artificial intelligence (AI) applications with performance and privacy guarantees. It will drive Australia's 5G/6G initiatives by enabling edge AI applications in various areas such as smart cities and remote learning. It will strengthen post-COVID economic resilience and enhance Australia’s leadership in global 5G/6G research.. Scheme: Early Career Industry Fellowships. Field: 4605 - Data Management and Data Science. Lead: Dr Feifei Chen

Unlocking Australia’s hydrogen industry through large-scale salt caverns. This project evaluates Australia’s ancient salt deposits to identify optimal sites for underground Hydrogen storage. Salt caverns are the most cost-effective solution for this purpose, making it essential to characterise the sedimentology and structural geology of these deposits thoroughly. The project aims to optimise salt cavern sites in areas with limited geological data by employing an interdisciplinary approach using outcrop analogues from South Australia and the Northern Territory as inputs for novel physical and geophysical modelling. This innovative strategy will minimise Hydrogen leakage, enhance safety, and support Australia’s ambitions to become a key player in the global Hydrogen market.. Scheme: Early Career Industry Fellowships. Field: 3705 - Geology. Lead: Dr Rachelle Kernen

Bridging the Blue: Ocean Connectivity for All. Ocean connectivity –the exchange of water and organisms across ocean areas– is essential for healthy marine ecosystems, yet assessing connectivity is currently limited to experts. This project aims to make ocean connectivity accessible to all. Using cutting-edge ocean models and mathematical techniques, this project will bridge the gap between experts and a wide group of users by developing a reliable, user-friendly tool. The key project outcome will be a tool that allows the integration of crucial ocean connectivity data into marine management decisions. This tool is vital for addressing major environmental challenges and will provide significant benefits to sustainably managing, protecting, and restoring Australia’s marine environment.. Scheme: Early Career Industry Fellowships. Field: 3708 - Oceanography. Lead: Dr Mirjam van der Mheen

Balancing Autonomy and Control in Interactive Social Agent Design. The project aims to develop a comprehensive framework for designing AI-driven social agents that align with social roles and values. It will create innovative control mechanisms, enabling users to manage and adjust the behaviour of interactive social robots and avatars, as well as robust feedback systems that let users communicate preferences to ensure the agents’ actions are observable and aligned with expectations. By exploring agentic programming and social learning techniques, this research will allow AI agents to adapt to user preferences in real-time. This work will make social robotics technology safer, more adaptable, and accessible for diverse applications, including aged care, education and remote collaboration.. Scheme: ARC Future Fellowships. Field: 4608 - Human-Centred Computing. Lead: A/Prof Wafa Johal

(Dis)Integrating the Past: How old states shape new wars . This project aims to model how precolonial states have shaped internal borders and the flow-on impacts for conflict using new spatial data on the evolution of boundaries in Asia and Africa from 1750-2020. Discontinuities between precolonial states, colonial regimes, and postcolonial governance have destabilised countries in Australia's region, such as Indonesia, and remain a source of tension. This project provides scientific knowledge on the mechanisms through which precolonial institutions can be peacefully incorporated into stable, democratic governments. Results will help policy makers anticipate the fault lines along which new conflicts in Australia's region might erupt and tools to prevent their onset. . Scheme: ARC Future Fellowships. Field: 4408 - Political Science. Lead: A/Prof Charles Butcher

Anticipating impacts and improving response to HPAI in Australia. The avian influenza panzootic has been catastrophic for wildlife and domestic animals, but has not yet arrived to our shores. This project is positioned shift HPAI preparedness and response from a reactionary to a proactive stance through evaluation and integration of state-of-the-art environmental surveillance approaches, revealing putative impacts of HPAI on Australian wild birds and identifying those which may play a role as virus movers is critical, and translating this data to the identification of high risk locations and periods for the poultry industry. HPAI is unlikely to be the only virus knocking on our door, and outcomes from this proposal are critical for us to prepare and respond to the next panzootic on the horizon.. Scheme: ARC Future Fellowships. Field: 3107 - Microbiology. Lead: Dr Michelle Wille

Understanding inequalities in alcohol use and drinking problems. This Fellowship aims to take an innovative approach to understand the mechanisms that drive the Alcohol Harm Paradox – whereby those with higher socio-economic status (SES) drink more alcohol but those with lower SES experience more problems from alcohol. Expected outcomes include the generation of new knowledge about how access to social and material capital such as money, knowledge, power, and social connections contribute to the Alcohol Harm Paradox in Australia. Findings should provide significant benefits to Australian society through supporting the development of new policy and practice changes to reduce alcohol-related inequality.. Scheme: ARC Future Fellowships. Field: 4410 - Sociology. Lead: Dr Amy Pennay

Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities: Our Future for Ageing in place? More than 90% of older Australians wish to age in place for as long as possible. However, our current community environments do not make it easy for older people as they are mainly planned, designed, and managed for young families. The project aims to understand how Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities (NORCs), a new option for ageing in place favored by an increasing number of older Australians, influence their independent living and well-being. This project will generate new knowledge about the origin, evolution, and dynamic behavior of NORCs in Australia, and develop government policies to support the future growth of NORCs, leading to an improved quality of life for older Australians.. Scheme: ARC Future Fellowships. Field: 3302 - Building. Lead: Prof Bo Xia

Enhancing ethical design and use of data in child tracking apps. This project aims to enhance the ethical design and use of data in child tracking apps. It will employ innovative co-design research with children, and analyse family practices, public discourses, mobile platforms, developer perspectives, and the regulatory environment of children’s mobile tracking app technologies and services. Expected outcomes include recommendations for families about the benefits and risks of child tracking apps, ethical design guidelines for educators and app developers, and policy advice for regulating child tracking technologies and protecting children’s personal data. This will bring significant benefits to Australian families via improvements in the ethical design and data privacy of child tracking apps.. Scheme: ARC Future Fellowships. Field: 4701 - Communication and Media Studies. Lead: A/Prof Bjørn Nansen

Innovations in ocean governance for sustainable and equitable blue futures. Oceans play a critical role in combating climate change and biodiversity loss, while supporting global economies and livelihoods. As the world increasingly relies on oceans for energy, food, and carbon storage, ocean governance faces new challenges. This project explores how innovative governance models can transform ocean management to be more inclusive, equitable, and sustainable. By examining trends such as Nature Positive approaches, Indigenous co-governance and deliberative methods of engagement, the research aims to identify new pathways to addressing the multiple planetary crises impacting our oceans and rising inequalities linked to environmental issues, as well as enhance public trust in ocean governance.. Scheme: ARC Future Fellowships. Field: 4803 - International and Comparative Law. Lead: A/Prof Michelle Voyer

Low-cost, ultra-low carbon and highly-reactive cementitious material. This project aims to pioneer sustainable construction by developing an innovative, ultra-low carbon cementitious material that surpasses current global alternatives in performance and cost of production. Utilizing Australia's abundant aluminosilicate mineral resources and a novel thermochemical activation process, the project expects to generate groundbreaking knowledge in sustainable cement chemistry. Anticipated outcomes include a highly reactive, low-cost composite with superior strength, and reduced embodied energy. This research should accelerate Australia's path to carbon neutrality, establish the nation as a leader in green construction, and create global economic opportunities in sustainable building materials.. Scheme: ARC Future Fellowships. Field: 4005 - Civil Engineering. Lead: Dr Rajeev Roychand

Uncovering mechanisms of species decline to prevent extinctions. This project aims to improve biodiversity conservation outcomes in Australia by developing and applying novel analytical methods to uncover where, when and why species decline. Expected outcomes include the first continent-wide analysis of long-term range shifts among Australian terrestrial vertebrates and identification of how threats and the environment interact to determine patterns of species decline. This new knowledge should reveal why different populations and different species display different threat responses. Expected major benefits are new analytical tools and knowledge for land managers to prioritise conservation actions, supporting the Australian Government’s commitment to no new extinctions.. Scheme: ARC Future Fellowships. Field: 4104 - Environmental Management. Lead: Dr Ben Scheele

Understanding the neural mechanisms underlying adaptive behaviour. Some species exhibit the ability to suitably adapt their behaviour in dynamic environments. A key gap in knowledge is how new experiences can be properly intertwined with pre-existing learning while avoiding interference and disarray. This project seeks to identify the cellular and circuit mechanisms underlying behavioural change. Using established behavioural tasks to measure memory interference, with cutting-edge neuroscience techniques for in vivo imaging and manipulation of brain circuits in behaving mice, this Fellowship aims to unravel how major neuromodulatory systems intersect to modify future behaviours. The translation of this work may lead to better ways to treat inflexible traits and to develop new adaptive artificial networks.. Scheme: ARC Future Fellowships. Field: 3109 - Zoology. Lead: Dr Miriam Matamales

Heritage and Displacement: Intersections of Exile, Culture and Conflict. This project aims to investigate the intersections between heritage and displacement, and the differing ways these are understood by displaced people, governments and global agencies. This project expects to generate new knowledge via an innovative interdisciplinary approach that includes developing a novel conceptual framework, creating an original database and conducting interviews. Expected outcomes include unprecedented empirical insights into how displaced people from the Middle East perceive their heritage, and the extent to which this aligns with the policies of relevant actors. This should provide significant benefits, shaping further intellectual inquiry and the responses of key international agencies to heritage and displacement.. Scheme: ARC Future Fellowships. Field: 4302 - Heritage, Archive and Museum Studies. Lead: Prof Benjamin Isakhan

Understanding how forced separation disrupts wellbeing. This Fellowship aims to elucidate the biological, psychological and social determinants of the adverse effects of forced family separation on physical and emotional wellbeing. Through utilizing a novel multi-method experimental and longitudinal design that aligns lab-based studies with the ecological study of refugee separation, new knowledge gained will be disseminated to stakeholders via participatory workshops to guide translation pathways. Expected outcomes will advance a science of separation that harnesses psychological insights to address key social issues. This should benefit Australian society by better supporting people to navigate the harmful effects of forced separation through evidence-based best practice and policy.. Scheme: ARC Future Fellowships. Field: 5205 - Social and Personality Psychology. Lead: Prof Belinda Liddell

Holographic WiFi for Digital Mining. Digital mining is an urgent global priority for enhancing productivity, safety, and operational efficiency. However, the lack of scalable, cost-effective ICT infrastructure remains a significant barrier to fully realising the potential of digital mining. The project will deliver HoloFi, a revolutionary WiFi system, that transforms conventional WiFi networks into multifunctional ICT infrastructure. It enables a single WiFi network to simultaneously provide inherent communication, situational awareness sensing, and distributed AI processing at scale, delivering a cost-effective ICT infrastructure. As industries move toward digital transformation, HoloFi will be indispensable, delivering significant economic and social benefits for Australia.. Scheme: Industry Laureate Fellowships. Field: 4006 - Communications Engineering. Lead: Prof Yonghui Li

Climate resilience: protecting our drinking water from uncontrolled threats. This project aims to safeguard drinking-water distribution systems (water mains and plumbing) from climate-driven events, including changing water sources that affect water quality for decades – issues not addressed by current regulation. By applying innovative tools to unravel underlying mechanisms, the team will pinpoint molecular triggers that cause contaminants (toxic metals, carcinogens, pathogens) to be sloughed off from biofilm-coated pipe surfaces during water quality fluctuations. Key outcomes include industry co-designed strategies and a best-practice predictive tool with biofilm sloughing controls, guiding the development of regulations for the world’s first climate-resilient, catchment-to-tap drinking-water quality system.. Scheme: Industry Laureate Fellowships. Field: 3107 - Microbiology. Lead: Prof Nicholas Ashbolt

Biomass-Derived Materials for High Performance Lithium Ion Batteries. Agricultural biomass is an abundant, low-cost, renewable resource. This Fellowship project aims to develop sustainable, high performance anode materials from agricultural biomass for lithium ion battery applications. It will generate new knowledge in developing multi-product biorefinery processes and technologies for the synthesis of biomass-derived lithium ion battery anodes, enhance cross-disciplinary research collaborations, and strengthen engagement with industry partners. These outcomes will support the establishment of a secure, low-carbon-footprint battery supply chain in Australia and foster the growth of new low-carbon industries that manufacture sustainable chemicals and materials from agricultural biomass in regional Australia. . Scheme: Mid-Career Industry Fellowships. Field: 4004 - Chemical Engineering. Lead: Prof Zhanying Zhang

Upcycling Waste Plastics to Value-Added Fire-Safe Cladding Materials. This project aims to enable the upcycling of used agricultural irrigation plastics into cheaper, fire-safe building cladding. The goal will be achieved by developing fire-retardant formulations for recycled plastics, engineering fire-safe plastic foam with good thermal insulation as the core material of cladding, and manufacturing and assessing proof of concept cladding products. Expected outcomes include a better understanding of how to upcycle waste plastics to new polymers, and how to develop fire-safe building cladding products designed to meet Australian building codes. Benefits include making Australian agriculture more sustainable and Australian buildings safer, contributing to the nation’s circular economy and recycling industry. . Scheme: Mid-Career Industry Fellowships. Field: 4016 - Materials Engineering. Lead: Prof Pingan Song

Strategies for engaging vulnerable young men in health and social services. Australian boys and young men are regarded as risk takers and reluctant to seek help; traits perceived to jeopardise their engagement with supportive health and social services. In addition, the professionals within these services are often poorly equipped to engage boys and young men when they do seek help. This Fellowship, collaborating with Movember, government, non-government, peak bodies and Aboriginal community-controlled organisations, will co-design novel evidence-based, equitable, age-appropriate, gender-transformative, and culturally-responsive strategies, tools and frameworks that enable vulnerable and marginalised adolescent boys and young men to access, and engage with, health and social services in Australia more effectively. . Scheme: Mid-Career Industry Fellowships. Field: 4206 - Public Health. Lead: Prof James Smith

Biodiversity Sensitive Urban Design. This project aims to address the dual urban challenges of liveability and biodiversity loss by utilising a novel design paradigm: Biodiversity Sensitive Urban Design (BSUD). The project expects to transform the urban design and development industries through action research on live projects, generating innovative design and delivery. Expected outcomes of this project include demonstration sites where nature and people thrive, novel methods for modelling success, evidence for benefits and mainstreaming of BSUD in urban development. This should provide significant benefits, including enhancing the biodiversity and liveability of cities and establishing Australia as an international leader when demand for sustainable urban solutions is urgent.. Scheme: Industry Laureate Fellowships. Field: 4104 - Environmental Management. Lead: Prof Sarah Bekessy

ARC Training Centre for Microphysiological System Technology (MiPSET). Urged by recent global policy shifts, this Centre aims to position Australia as a leading authority on microphysiological system (MPS) technology for medical product development. Critically, the Centre expects to build the capacity needed to meet emerging needs of industries across different stages of technology production. Expected outcomes include the design, deployment and translation of new microphysiological systems, and aligned interdisciplinary, cross-sectoral training and upskilling. Contributing to national priorities of medical science and manufacturing, significant benefits of this core initiative include an epicentre for innovation, collaboration and accelerated progress in the multi-billion-dollar non-animal model industry.. Scheme: Industrial Transformation Training Centres. Field: 4012 - Fluid Mechanics and Thermal Engineering. Lead: Prof Yi-Chin Toh

ARC Training Centre in Sustainable and Green Economy Manufacturing. This project aims to train the next generation of scientists to be experts in advanced sustainable and green catalysis technology. This project expects to deliver highly skilled industry-ready, entrepreneurial workers that can bring advanced catalysis chemistry to the sustainable manufacturing, bioactives, and energy sectors. Expected outcomes include providing partners, and the broader manufacturing industry, with new products and novel catalytic processes that are intrinsically safe and benign, with strong export potential, and the ability to respond to market pressures. Significant benefits include increased competitiveness for Australia's manufacturing industry and securing internal supply chains that reduce impact on the environment.. Scheme: Industrial Transformation Training Centres. Field: 3405 - Organic Chemistry. Lead: Prof Philip Chan

ARC Research Hub for Next Generation Mining Methods. A leap forward in mining practices is essential for the sector to achieve net-zero targets, participate in certified green product markets, and sustainably meet projected 20-40-fold increases in critical minerals demand. This Hub’s coordinated agenda for sector transformation aims to deliver next-generation mining methods (zero-waste, zero-emission, zero-human-entry) for extracting critical minerals and strategic materials. Advanced machinery guided by integrated digital systems will minimise emissions and environmental disturbance and dramatically reduce the volume of mine waste for challenging deposits. National benefits include value-adding exports, competitive advantage in the global low-carbon economy, and improved sector resilience.. Scheme: Industrial Transformation Research Hubs. Field: 4019 - Resources Engineering and Extractive Metallurgy. Lead: Prof Serkan Saydam

ARC Research Hub for Critical Energy Separation Materials. The ARC crest hub will change our relationship with the materials of the green energy future. A leading group of Australian researchers and local companies have been carefully assembled to develop technology that can separate an energy carrier out of a complex mixture. This technology will both lower the cost and improve the sustainability of how we create, transport and use energy. The CREST Hub will also rethink what it means to have developed a new sustainable technology by engaging properly with the community so that a ‘true’ green solution can be developed collaboratively. We will deliver recycling of lithium ion batteries, means to cleanly transport hydrogen globally and circular materials economy.. Scheme: Industrial Transformation Research Hubs. Field: 4016 - Materials Engineering. Lead: Prof Matthew Hill