StudyDesk Scholarships
About the fellowship
The ARC Future Fellowships, run by the Australian Research Council (ARC) under its Discovery Program, support mid-career researchers to take up a four-year fellowship at an Australian institution and build the next stage of their research careers. The scheme is designed for researchers with demonstrated capacity for high-quality research, leadership, mentoring and collaboration.
The live round is FT27 (grant opportunity GO8625): it opened on 23 September 2026 and applications close on 6 November 2026 at 5:00 PM Canberra time. The earlier FT26 round closed on 5 November 2025 and its outcomes were announced — do not confuse the two. Funding for the FT27 cohort is expected to commence on 1 July 2027.
Eligibility
- Mid-career researcher with demonstrated capacity for high-quality research, leadership, mentoring and collaboration.
- PhD timing: as at the closing date, your PhD must have been awarded on or between 1 March 2012 and 1 March 2022. Career interruptions can be counted to bring you within that window through the ARC’s eligibility exemption process.
- Prior nominations: a researcher nominated for a Future Fellowship on three previous occasions cannot apply again in the same eligible period.
- International researchers can be considered if an eligible Australian institution agrees to administer the application.
- The project must be hosted at an eligible Australian administering organisation (for example, a university) — the ARC does not fund direct individual applications.
Benefits
- Four-year fellowship salary paid at one of three ARC Future Fellow salary levels. The ARC does not publish the exact dollar figures in its public notification summary, so no salary number is quoted here — check the FT27 guidelines.
- Up to AUD 60,000 per year in non-salary project funding to the administering organisation — up to AUD 240,000 over the four years — for personnel, equipment, travel, field research and related costs directly tied to the Fellow’s research.
- Four funded years to establish or scale a research programme at a leading Australian institution.
Documents required
- The exact authoritative document list is not published in the official notification summary — the definitive checklist sits in the FT27 Grant Guidelines / Instructions to Applicants, so download those first.
- University research-office guidance indicates the typical application sections: the research proposal, research opportunity and performance evidence (ROPE), publication record / CV, and a National Interest Test statement.
- Institutional templates plus an application certification form and a declaration of pending and newly funded ARC grants are part of the institutional lodgement.
- Your Person Profile in the ARC’s Research Management System (RMS) must be complete before submission.
How to apply
- Secure a host institutionContact an eligible Australian administering organisation (e.g. a university) early and get agreement that it will administer your application.
- Build your RMS profileComplete your full Person Profile in the ARC’s Research Management System and draft the application using the FT27 Instructions to Applicants.
- Submit to the research officeSend your application to your host institution’s research office by its internal deadline (several universities set notice-of-intent and review deadlines in early to mid-October 2026) for compliance review and certification.
- ARC lodgementThe research office certifies and lodges the application to the ARC before the 6 November 2026, 5:00 PM Canberra time close. No direct individual applications are accepted.
FAQs
It is a salary fellowship, not a fee-covering scholarship: the ARC pays a four-year salary at one of three salary levels and adds up to AUD 60,000 per year in project funding. Exact salary figures are not published in the official notification summary, so be wary of third-party pages quoting precise bands.
No. You must be hosted by an eligible Australian administering organisation and submit through its research office via the ARC’s Research Management System (RMS).
Yes — international researchers can be considered if an eligible Australian institution agrees to administer the application; the project must be hosted in Australia.
Rejoinder period 19 March–5 April 2027, outcomes anticipated 26 October–9 November 2027, and funding commencement expected 1 July 2027.
Your PhD must have been awarded between 1 March 2012 and 1 March 2022 as at the closing date, or career interruptions must be counted through the eligibility exemption process.
Verified 21 Oct 2026 via the official ARC Future Fellowships page (arc.gov.au: FT27 grant opportunity GO8625, salary levels, up to AUD 60,000/yr project funding, 6 Nov 2026 5:00 PM Canberra close, funding commencement 1 July 2027, rejoinder 19 Mar–5 Apr 2027, outcomes Oct–Nov 2027) + University of Queensland, Flinders University and University of Melbourne research-office pages (eligibility window 1 Mar 2012–1 Mar 2022, 3-nomination rule, RMS route, internal deadlines). The FT26 round (closed 5 Nov 2025) was excluded. Exact salary dollar figures and the authoritative document checklist are not published in the official notification summary — stated as such.
