Australia¡¯s research funding agency will introduce a new stand-alone fellowship scheme for early-career researchers after criticism that its planned overhaul of competitive grants penalised those just starting out on their careers.

Concessions made by the Australian Research Council (ARC) after a consultation on changes to the National Competitive Grants Program (NCGP) also include a commitment to support early-career researchers (ECRs) across all grant classes.

In February, the ARC released a discussion paper, proposing to simplify?the NCGP by reducing 13 schemes to six.

It was intended to streamline processes and increase efficiency, but researchers and sector bodies said the changes risked locking emerging scholars out of the funding.

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Of particular concern was a shift toward ¡°embedded fellowships¡± within project grants, many of which would be capped at two years.

Critics said the new?model could also force ECRs into a catch-22 situation: unable to secure grants without academic employment, and unable to gain employment without a grant track record.

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After?nearly 350 submissions during the consultation phase, the ARC announced revised proposals on 14 July.

Among the key updates were the stand-alone ECR fellowship scheme, expanded ECR eligibility across all grant types and a new exploratory fund to support high-risk, high-reward research at any career stage.

Mid- and senior-career researchers, meanwhile, will be steered toward project-focused roles and mentorship rather than receiving salaried fellowships.

The changes are being framed as a more flexible and responsive system, capable of evolving alongside national research priorities.

ARC board chair Peter Shergold said that the reforms aim to nurture ¡°the next generation of researchers¡±, and pledged a careful, well-supported transition to the new model. A final report is due to the government in the third quarter of 2025.

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The Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations (CAPA) said the establishment of a stand-alone ECR fellowship and integration of ECR support into all grant schemes was a positive step.

But it said the duration of the ¡°initiate¡± grants ¨C the primary funding mechanism for early- and mid-career researchers ¨C was still too short, adding that?¡°we are concerned that the amended proposal still leaves the next generation of PhD candidates behind¡±.

It pointed out that these grants do not currently provide the 3.5 years of support needed to fully fund a PhD student, which could drastically reduce scholarship availability.

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¡°Both ECRs and Australian universities will be disadvantaged,¡± said CAPA president Jesse Gardner-Russell.

¡°Reducing the number of PhD scholarships risks damaging Australia¡¯s global research rankings, already under pressure.¡±

Australia¡¯s research system heavily depends on PhD candidates, who contribute more than half of the university sector¡¯s research hours.

Yet domestic PhD enrolments have dropped by 8 per cent since 2019, and the base PhD stipend ¨C currently A$33,500 (?16,300) ¨C is already significantly lower than in comparable countries like Canada and the UK.

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tash.mosheim@timeshighereducation.com