Development Grants
Research Office Contact:
research-applications@newcastle.edu.au
This scheme is CLOSED Development Grants for funding commencing in 2026 opened on Wednesday 16 April 2025 and closed Wednesday 11 June 2025. |
The Development Grants scheme provides financial support to individual researchers and/or research teams to undertake health and medical research within Australia at the proof of principle or pre-seed stage that specifically drives towards a commercial outcome within a foreseeable timeframe.
The objectives of the scheme are to:
- Increase, facilitate and expedite the translation of health and medical research outcomes through to commercialisation, within a foreseeable timeframe.
- Support proof-of-concept research with a feasible commercialisation pathway and a high likelihood of producing protected IP.
- Provide a potential mechanism through which research outcomes can be progressed to a stage that makes them competitive to receive industry investment through other government schemes or from the private sector.
- Encourage collaboration between health research, the private sector and industry (domestic and international).
Visit the NHMRC website for more details.
Key Dates
| Applications open in Sapphire | Wednesday 16 April 2025 |
|---|---|
| University Eligibility and Compliance Check Period | Wednesday 14 - Tuesday 20 May 2025 |
| Minimum data requirements in Sapphire | 5:00pm Wednesday 14 May 2025 |
| University Deadline for Final Application | 9:00am Tuesday 27 May 2025 |
| NHMRC Applications Close | Wednesday 11 June 2025 |
| Proposed Peer Review | July - October 2024 |
Grant Period and Funding Available
Development Grants are funded for between one and three years. The provisional funding allocation for the 2024 round is $15 million. The amount of funding awarded will be based on an assessment of the requested budget.
Eligibility
At the time of acceptance and for the duration of a grant the CIA must be an Australian or New Zealand citizen, or a permanent resident of Australia and be based in Australia for at least 80% of the funding period. There is no limit to the number of Development Grants a CI can apply for or hold and Development grants do not impact eligibility to apply for any other NHMRC grants.
- An application may be excluded from further consideration if:
It has a focus on the early stage or knowledge creation stages of research (i.e., research that is fundable through the Ideas Grant scheme). - The primary objective is a clinical trial (these applications are relevant to the Clinical Trials and Cohort Studies scheme).
- It is beyond the proof-of-concept stage, and therefore more appropriate to receive support from other government agencies or the private sector.
Please note that partnerships with industry/commercial partner/s for the proposed research are not essential at the application stage. However, applicants must provide comprehensive evidence of their strategies to commercialise their product and bring it to market.
If you have questions about this scheme, please contact the Research Grants team.
The University of Newcastle acknowledges the traditional custodians of the lands within our footprint areas: Awabakal, Darkinjung, Biripai, Worimi, Wonnarua, and Eora Nations. We also pay respect to the wisdom of our Elders past and present.