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Funding medical researchers to analyse and share existing data infrastructure in new ways
MRFF 2025 Research Data Infrastructure Grant Opportunity
Opening date: Thursday 14 August 2025 10:00am AEST Thu 14 Aug 2025 10:00am AEST
Closing date: Thursday 11 December 2025 5:00pm AEDT Thu 11 Dec 2025 5:00pm AEDT
What do you get?
Grants of up to $2.5 million to cover up to 100% of eligible project costs.
Who is this for?
Eligible organisations seeking to develop better data health intelligence to improve health care delivery.
About the program
This grant opportunity is part of the Medical Research Future Fund and the Research Data Infrastructure Initiative. It looks to fund the creation or extension of national research data infrastructure to support world-class health and medical research in Australia.
The objective of this grant opportunity is to provide grants of financial assistance to support Australian medical research and medical innovation projects that use novel methods to harness multiple existing data infrastructure types in developing and implementing new approaches for addressing an unmet medical need.
Research proposals should incorporate:
- new linkage and/or use of data from multiple (at least two) existing research data infrastructure sources of different types (e.g. administrative and biobank data, registry and biobank data, wearables and use artificial intelligence); and/or
- novel methodologies and approaches that leverage and enhance existing linked research data infrastructure of at least two different types (e.g. administrative and biobank data, registry and biobank data, wearables and use artificial intelligence); and
- a clear outline of how the proposed project will produce knowledge and outcomes that address an area of unmet medical need.
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, are one of the following entities:
- a medical research institute
- a university
- a corporate Commonwwealth entity
- a corporation (including businesses and not for profits).
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)
- a non-corporate Commonwealth entity
- any organisation not listed in the eligible entity list
- 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
You can partner with one or more other organisations that also meet the eligibility criteria. But you must decide who the lead organisation is.
The lead organisation must fill out the application form.
If we give your group the grant, the lead organisation:
- signs the grant agreement
- received grant payments
- is responsible for making sure your group follows the rules in the grant agreement, including all reporting requirements.
You must complete your project within 4 years of the project start date.
We can only accept applications that provide:
- evidence from your board, CEO, or equivalent that the project is supported and that you can complete the project and meet the costs of the project not covered by grant funding
- a list of up to 15 (maximum) Chief Investigators using the mandatory template
- a detailed project plan (max 12 pages excluding appendices)
- a detailed and itemised project budget
- a statement of how your project will contribute to the Measures of Success for the MRFF (max 1 page)
- a detailed risk management plan (max 2 pages)
- details of intellectual property arrangements (if applicable)
- letters of support from each project partner (if applicable)
- a trust deed (if applicable).
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
When the online form is available you'll need to apply using our online portal:
- Create or log into your portal account
- Follow the instructions to complete your application
- Submit your application before the close date.
Make sure you include enough detail and supporting evidence in your application to help us decide whether to award you the grant.
Don’t submit the application until it’s complete. You can’t correct a mistake.
First we check that you meet the eligibility criteria. Eligible applications are then assessed against the assessment criteria by an independent committee of experts.
The amount of detail and supporting evidence you provide should be relative to the project size, complexity and grant amount requested. You should define, quantify and provide evidence to support your answers. The sample application form displays character limits.
The program delegate will make the final decision taking into consideration the recommendations from the independent committee of experts.
We will only award funding to applications that score satisfactorily against all criteria:
- Assessment criterion 1: Project impact (40% weighting)
- Assessment criterion 2: Project methodology (30% weighting)
- Assessment criterion 3: Capacity, capability and resources to deliver the project (30% weighting)
- Assessment criterion 4: 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.
Contact
Need help?
Let us answer your question over the phone, email or live chat.
- Phone:
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Open Hours:
Monday to Friday, 8am to 8pm across Australia
- Website:
Key documents
Chief Investigator template
xlsx · 0.93 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, Disability and Ageing