Higher Education

VET Teacher Training Provider Panel (Refresh) - DOE08471/25

The Industrial Transformation Stream (ITS) is open for applications supporting a range of industrial decarbonisation solutions, including but not limited, to electrification, energy efficiency, low emissions processing and fuel switching. Enabling technologies such as energy storage, demand management and critical infrastructure supporting onsite decarbonisation may also be considered. Funding is guided by the Program Focus Areas. About the program The objectives of the ITS Program are to: Support industrial facilities in regional Australia to reduce emissions in line with Australia’s 2030 emissions reduction goals and transition to net zero by 2050. Improve technology readiness and commercial readiness of renewable energy technologies, energy efficiency technologies and electrification technologies that will result in a significant reduction in scope 1 and/or scope 2 emissions or improve the energy efficiency of an industrial process or processes. Encourage technology demonstration, collaboration and knowledge sharing across industry and/or regions. Support upskilling of existing industrial workforce in new decarbonisation activities. ITS is now open to applications for Round 3 on an open, ongoing basis.  Funding will be available until funding is exhausted. Focus areas - Round 3 Opened in September 2025, ARENA has allocated the remaining $180 million of ITS funding towards Round 3. This is an open, ongoing round where ARENA will remain open to new applications until ITS grant funding is exhausted. Round 3’s Focus Areas are: innovation in industrial decarbonisation; and advancing commercial deployment. The Program can support projects ranging from feasibility studies and front-end engineering and design (FEED) to trials, demonstrations and deployment. Two-stage projects combining a study and subsequent deployment will also be considered.

Program guidelines for the Tertiary Access Payment (TAP).

The Australian Laureate Fellowships grant opportunity encourages applications from the highest-quality researchers by providing eligible Australian Laureate Fellows with project funding in addition to a salary and salary-related (on-cost) support.  We may name two successful Australian Laureate Fellows as the Kathleen Fitzpatrick Australian Laureate Fellow and the Georgina Sweet Australian Laureate Fellow. The Kathleen Fitzpatrick Australian Laureate Fellowship may be available to a highly ranked female participant from the humanities, arts and social science disciplines. The Georgina Sweet Australian Laureate Fellowship may be available to a highly ranked female participant from the science and technology disciplines. Recipients will be provided with additional funding to undertake an ambassadorial role to promote women in research. The Australian Laureate Fellowships objectives are to: attract and retain outstanding researchers and research leaders of international reputation, with exceptional ability to lead, collaborate, mentor and supervise, and enhance their capacity to create an enduring legacy; build focus and scale in research by forging new links among researchers, the international research community and/or industry and other research end-users; support a program of innovative and ground-breaking research that addresses a significant problem or gap in knowledge; create a cohesive research program and implementation plan that represents value for money; provide an excellent research training environment and exemplary opportunity to nurture early or mid-career researchers; produce new or advanced knowledge resulting from the outcomes of the research with economic, commercial, environmental, social and/or cultural benefits for Australia, and to enhance research in Australian Government priority areas.

The Discovery Projects scheme provides grant funding to support research projects that may be undertaken by individual researchers or research teams. The Discovery Projects scheme objectives are to: support excellent pure basic, strategic basic and applied research, and research training, across all disciplines excluding clinical and other medical research, that addresses a significant problem or gap in knowledge and represents value for money; expand research capacity in Australia by supporting excellent researchers and teams; foster national and international research collaboration; create new knowledge with economic, commercial, environmental, social and/or cultural benefits for Australia; and enhance the scale and focus of research in Australian Government priority areas.

The Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities (LIEF) scheme provides funding for research infrastructure, equipment and facilities to Eligible Organisations. It enables researchers to participate in cooperative initiatives so that expensive research infrastructure, equipment and facilities can be shared between higher education organisations and also with industry. The scheme also fosters collaboration through its support of the cooperative use of international or national research facilities. LIEF grant applications are accepted once a year. The minimum level of funding provided by the ARC is $150,000 per year. The LIEF scheme objectives are to: support excellent pure basic, strategic basic and applied research and research training, across all disciplines excluding clinical and other medical research, through the acquisition (purchase, upgrade, construction, transportation, installation, and/or maintenance) of research equipment and infrastructure and access to national and international research facilities; encourage Eligible Organisations to develop collaborative arrangements with other Eligible Organisations and/or Partner Organisations for the acquisition and use of research equipment and infrastructure or access to national and international facilities; enhance the scale and focus of research in areas of existing and/or emerging research strength; and expand the availability of research infrastructure for the broader research community.