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Early Career Fellowships

 Early Career Fellowships (formerly Training (Postdoctoral) Fellowship)

Funding body

NHMRC

Status

Open

Key Dates

Internal closing date: 10 April 2013
Supervisor's report due at the NHMRC: 1 May 2013
Application due at NHMRC: 1 May 2013

Aims

The NHMRC Early Career Fellowships provide opportunities for Australian researchers to undertake research that is both of major importance in its field and of benefit to Australian health. A major objective of the scheme is to foster career development at the postdoctoral level by encouraging the beneficial experience of a different research environment. Early Career Fellowships provide for  advanced training in health and medical research either in Australia or overseas (where appropriate), to enable Fellows to work on research projects with nominated advisers.

Changes to the scheme
  1. Only the applicant’s Supervisor must submit a referee report – the independent and applicant nominated referee reports are no longer required.
  2. Applicants may request to vary the sequence of their overseas Fellowship.
  3. Wording for the Indigenous category has been clarified to ensure that it is for Indigenous researchers wishing to undertake postdoctoral research in any field and for all researchers wishing to undertake research in areas of relevance to Indigenous health. The scoring matrix has also been updated.
  4. When an applicant wishes to remain in the same research group the selection criteria and scoring matrix have been modified so that panel members can score applicants in a consistent manner.

Eligibility

To be eligible to apply for an NHMRC Early Career Fellowship the applicant must meet the following general criteria (as well as any additional criteria specific to the Fellowship type, as outlined in the Appendices):

Citizenship
Applicants must be an Australian citizen, an Australian Permanent Resident, or a New Zealand citizen (with the exception of the Australia-China Exchange Fellowship) and must be based in Australia for the duration of the award (with the exception of ECFs within the overseas categories who may be based overseas for years one and two of their Fellowship). However, this does not preclude periods of collaborative activity being undertaken overseas. Applicants must seek permission from the NHMRC to spend more than three months per year overseas.

Applicants who have not yet been granted Permanent Resident status may apply provided such status has been sought. However, a Fellowship cannot commence until permanent residency has been attained. Evidence that this status has been granted must be provided prior to commencement of the Award. Offers of a Fellowship will not be held open beyond the acceptance date in anticipation of permanent residency being granted.

Qualifications
Applicants must:

  1. hold a doctorate in either:

    a) a health related field of research, or will submit their thesis by 31 December in the year of application; or

    b) a non-health related field, or will submit their thesis by 31 December in the year of application but are proposing to undertake health related research.

  2. At 30 June in the year of application, have held their PhD for no more than two years (from the date of the letter advising that their doctoral thesis was passed – not upon receipt of degree) unless career disruptions exist (refer to NHMRC Funding Rules, Part 1, Subsection 3.7 Career Disruption): Exceptions include:
    a) Clinical Early Career Fellowships (that is, Neil Hamilton Fairley Clinical Fellowships and Full-time Australian Based Clinical Fellowships), and applicants in other categories with appropriate clinical qualifications, where a four year limit applies; and
    b) Health Professional Early Career Fellowships where there is no time limit (refer Appendix H).

Other Requirements

Applicants must:

  1. not have previously held an NHMRC Early Career Fellowship; and
  2. have fulfilled all obligations from previous NHMRC Grants or Funding Agreements (including final and progress reporting requirements).

Funding

  1. Funding is for four (4) years at TSP1 Level, currently $71,149 pa for salary plus $5,000 pa for maintenance while based in Australia. 
  2. If appropriate, clinical loadings (up to $15,000 pa for medical practitioners, up to $7,500 pa for dental practitioners) will be paid (rates are based on whether the Fellow is engaged in clinical practice; pro-rata rates apply for part-time research).

Application process
  1. Read How to apply for an NHMRC scheme and Prepare a proposal before you start
  2. Contact the Research Grants and Contracts office
  3. Read the reference material: Early Career Fellowship Funding Policy, RGMS Training Fellowship advice and instructions to applicants, Training Fellowship Funding Partners
  4. Gain access to RGMS
  5. Complete application in RGMS and submit draft proposal to Research Grants and Contracts (contact details below) by internal closing date. Draft consists of:
    - 'Assessor snapshot' generated from RGMS
    - Academic transcript PDF (uploaded to Part B: Academic Performance)
    - Proposed Research PDF (uploaded to Part B: Proposed Research)
  6. Download and submit the Supervisor Report with your application through RGMS.
  7. Complete Research Proposal Clearance Form
  8. Submit complete final application by final application due date