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Funding to innovate medical research
MRFF 2022 Frontier Health and Medical Research Grant Opportunity
What do you get?
Up to $25 million per program of research.
Who is this for?
Researchers with innovative projects in the health and medical sector.
About the program
This grant opportunity offers funding to support medical research and medical innovation programs of research that deliver a ‘moonshot’ by creating a treatment for a currently serious and incurable health condition, through a series of linked projects. The program of research can propose to develop novel health technologies and/or re‑purpose existing health technologies in a novel way.
The process to get funding has 2 stages:
- expression of interest – outlining a proposed program of research with a 10-year time horizon
- full application, for a project of up to 5 years under the program of research.
Full applications may be submitted by invitation only. Applicants may propose to start research at any stage in the research pipeline from proof-of-concept, with the intention of achieving full implementation of the proposed technology in 10 years.
Funding for subsequent projects under the program of research that continue to progress the technology towards full implementation can be sought by submitting additional full applications to this grant opportunity (i.e. applicants do not need to recommence with an EOI). These applications may be submitted by invitation only.
We expect that expressions of interest will close on 31 March 2026, with the last grants awarded by 30 June 2027.
Check if you can apply
You can apply if you meet the eligibility criteria. The eligibility criteria are a set of rules that describe who we can consider for this grant. You can apply if you:
- are an eligible entity
- have an eligible project
- have eligible expenditure.
The rules are in the grant opportunity guidelines.
You can apply if you:
- have an Australian business number (ABN)
- are incorporated in Australia
and in accordance with s24 of the MRFF Act 2015, be one of the following entities:
- a medical research institute
- a university
- a corporate Commonwealth entity
- a corporation (including business and not for profits).
We can only accept applications where you can provide:
- evidence from your board (or chief executive officer or equivalent if there is no board) that the project is supported, and that you can complete the project and meet the costs of the project not covered by grant funding
- letters of support from each project partner, where applicable
- audited financial statements or annual reports.
In addition you must not duplicate any research that has been or is currently being undertaken.
You must list all members of your research team (Chief Investigators), to a maximum of 15. A Chief Investigator cannot be named on more than one active expression of interest/full application.
You can’t apply if you are:
- an individual
- a partnership
- an unincorporated association
- a trust (however, an incorporated trustee may apply on behalf of a trust)
- an organisation, or your project partner is an organisation, included on the National Redress Scheme’s list of Institutions that have not joined or signified their intent to join the Scheme
- an employer of 100 or more employees that has not complied with the Workplace Gender Equality Act (2012).
Partner with other organisations
Joint applications are encouraged, provided you have a lead organisation who is the main driver of the project and is eligible to apply.
The lead organisation must fill out the application form.
If we give your group the grant, the lead organisation:
- signs the grant agreement
- is responsible for making sure your group follows the rules in the grant agreement.
How to apply
Check if you’re ready to apply for a grant
Finding a suitable grant opportunity is just the start of the process to get funding. The application process can take time and effort. Understanding the entire process will help you be grant ready and may improve your chances of getting funding.
Use our checklist to find out what it takes to apply for a grant.
When you're ready to apply
Apply using our online portal:
- Create or log into your portal account.
- Follow the instructions to complete your expression of interest.
- You can submit an expression of interest at any time while the grant opportunity remains open (indicative close date 31 March 2026).
- If your expression of interest is eligible and competitive you will be invited to submit a full application form.
Make sure you read the guidelines and take into account the formatting and page limit requirements when attaching your supporting documentation.
We know many businesses have concerns about the impact of COVID-19 on grant applications and grant management. When applying for a grant, consider timeframes and constraints that may impact grant activities due to COVID-19.
If COVID-19 has impacted your ability to meet the obligations of your grant agreement, to discuss your circumstances and how we can assist you, you should contact:
- your customer service manager
- an agent at our Contact Centre.
You can find further COVID-19 government financial assistance and support for Australian businesses on our coronavirus information and support for business page.
Expressions of Interest
We will batch expressions of interest for assessment every six months for those submitted by 31 March and 30 September each year.
First we check that your expression of interest meets the eligibility criteria. Eligible expressions are then assessed by an independent committee of experts against the following assessment criteria:
- Assessment criterion 1: Vision and novelty (50% weighting)
- Assessment criterion 2: Team capability (50% weighting)
We will assess your expression of interest against the rating scale at Appendix C. To be invited to submit a full application, an expression of interest must receive a rating of 8 or higher against both criteria.
Full applications
We first check that your full application meets the eligibility criteria. Eligible applications are then assessed by the committee against the following assessment criteria:
- Assessment criterion 3: Project impact (40% weighting)
- Assessment criterion 4: Project methodology (30% weighting)
- Assessment criterion 5: Capacity, capability and resources to deliver the project (30% weighting)
- Assessment criterion 6: Overall Value and Risk of the Project (non-weighted)
Scoring information for all assessment criteria can be found at Appendix C and Appendix D of the grant opportunity guidelines.
The committee will also consider the outcomes of an independent scientific review and due diligence analysis of your proposal as well as your presentation to the committee as part of its assessment of your application.
Apply now
Apply for the MRFF 2022 Frontier Health and Medical Research Grant Opportunity now
Before you apply, make sure you:
- read and understand the grant opportunity guidelines
- read the sample expression of interest and full application forms
- read the grant agreement.
Sample applications
The best way to understand what information you need to provide is to start an application. We have also provided a version to download at the bottom of this page.
Technical help
See our customer portal's frequently asked questions to help with your queries. If you can't find your answer, contact us for assistance.
Previous rounds
Contact
Need help?
Let us answer your question over the phone, email or live chat.
- Phone:
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Open Hours:
Monday – Friday, 8am – 8pm across Australia
- Website:
Key documents
Expression of Interest documents
Chief Investigator template
xlsx · 0.21 MBPeer review template
XLSX · 0.01 MBFull application documents
Budget template
xlsx · 0.10 MBMRFF grant management resources
Reporting templates are available from the MRFF grants management webpage. The page also provides other resources for MRFF grant administration, including current policies and relevant forms and templates.
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View the latest reporting templates on the MRFF grant management webpage
Department of Health and Aged Care