Prizes for Australian scientists and innovators
The Prime Minister’s Prizes for Science – Science Prizes
Closing date: Thursday 8 February 2024 5:00pm AEDT Thu 8 Feb 2024 5:00pm AEDT
What do you get?
There are 5 Science Prizes ranging between $50,000 and $250,000.
Who is this for?
Australian scientists and innovators, whose achievements benefit Australia and the rest of the world.
Overview
The Prime Minister’s Prizes for Science are Australia’s most prestigious and highly regarded awards for outstanding achievements in:
- scientific research
- research-based innovation
- excellence in science teaching
The prizes will award up to $750,000 each year for outstanding achievements. Information on the prizes for science teaching is on our Science Teaching Prizes page.
The Science Prizes recognise the achievements and success of Australian scientists and innovators, and benefits to both Australia and the rest of the world.
We welcome nominations of diverse candidates and those from a different range of backgrounds and geographical regions.
There are 5 science prizes for science and innovation:
- Prime Minister’s Prize for Science ($250,000)
- Prime Minister’s Prize for Innovation ($250,000)
- Malcolm McIntosh Prize for Physical Scientist of the Year ($50,000)
- Frank Fenner Prize for Life Scientist of the Year ($50,000)
- Prize for New Innovators ($50,000)
Each prize recipient receives a medallion, lapel pin, prize money as described above and an award certificate.
Eligibility
To be eligible for a Science Prize, a nominee must:
- be an Australian citizen or permanent resident of Australia (nominees currently living or studying overseas are not precluded from being nominated)
- not be self-nominated
- not be nominated in more than one prize category. Where a nominee is nominated in more than one category, the department will ask the nominee to select a single nomination to pursue.
- meet the specific eligibility criteria for the nominated prize.
Prize nominees do not need to be a member of a professional association or have received any prior award to be eligible.
For more information on eligibility criteria, including for nominees, nominators, supporters and independent referees please refer to section 4 of the Prime Minister's Prizes for Science - Science Prizes grant opportunity guidelines.
Previous nominees are eligible for renomination subject to meeting relevant eligibility criteria, submitting a new nomination and the nominator and supporters providing evidence of any relevant achievements. Different individuals may nominate and support the nominee where appropriate.
Further guidance
Application creator
- The person who starts the application on the business.gov.au portal. This is often the same contact as the nominator, but may be a different person who is assisting with the submission of the application.
- The application creator completes the nomination form on behalf of the nominator.
- The application creator will have access to edit and submit the applications. As the account holder you will be the only person with permission to view the application unless you add participants.
- Page 4 – Applicant address: If the applicant is also the nominator, we recommend you input the nominator’s address.
- If the applicant is applying on behalf of the nominator, we recommend you (the applicant) put the address for the organisation that you work for.
Primary contact
- This person is the main contact for DISR and is usually the nominator or application creator.
- All correspondence will be sent to this person, including the invitation to stage 2 of the application process if successful. We may contact this person to confirm eligibility requirements.
- Primary contact details are collected on Page 11 of the nomination form.
Nominator
- The person who is nominating the nominee.
- Nominator details are collected on Page 5 of the nomination form.
Nominee
- The individual or team being nominated for a Prize.
- Nominee details are collected on Page 6 of the nomination form.
Supporter
- An individual identified by the nominator as someone who will support the nomination.
- The supporter’s role is to provide independent views on the nominee’s achievements against the assessment criteria.
- Supporters will not have access to the application form unless the application creator adds them as a participant.
- Supporter details are collected on Page 7 of the nomination form.
Independent referee
- Someone identified by the nominator or the Science Prizes Committee in addition to the supporters who will be approached for an independent reference on the achievement/s of the nominee.
- The referee’s role is to review the statements against the assessment criteria provided by the nominator and the supporter when contacted by the department.
- The nominator must contact Independent referees to gain their commitment to provide a referee report on the template provided by the Department before submitting their details at Stage 1.
- Independent referees will not have access to the application form unless the applicant adds them as a participant.
- Independent referee details are collected on Page 8 of the nomination form.
Statements from the nominator and supporters must:
- be on the template provided on this page
- use the letterhead of the organisation to which they belong
- specify their position within the organisation.
- observe word limits.
You must attach supporting documentation to the nomination form in accordance with the instructions provided in the form.
Note that attachments must be in a searchable format with Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and therefore cannot be scanned.
CV format
The CV should be 2 A4 pages or less and be in a searchable format with Optical Character Recognition (OCR). Therefore it cannot be scanned.
Attachment size and types
Each attachment cannot be larger than 2MB and can only be uploaded if they are one of the following file types: doc, docx, rtf, pdf, xls, xlsx, csv, jpg, jpeg, png, gif.
Naming conventions
The name of the attachment must be saved as follows:
Stage 1:
- CV: lastname_firstname_cv
Stage 2:
- Supporter statement: lastname_firstname_support1; lastname_firstname_support2
- List of published articles/books: lastname_firstname_list
- Certified evidence of the nominee’s Australian citizenship/permanent residency: lastname_firstname_cpr
- Certified copy of the nominee’s testamur (if applicable): lastname_firstname_testamur
- Declaration: lastname_firstname_declaration
The assessment criteria is different in Stage 1 and Stage 2 for the:
- Prime Minister's Prize for Innovation.
The assessment criteria is the same in Stage 1 and Stage 2 for the:
- Prime Minister's Prize for Science
- Malcolm McIntosh Prize for Physical Scientist of the Year
- Frank Fenner Prize for Life Scientist of the Year
- Prize for New Innovators.
Applying
How do you nominate someone?
A prize nomination must be proposed by someone (a nominator) with knowledge of the nominee’s achievements and endorsed by two supporters. Nominators for the Science Prizes must provide two independent referees. The nominator must contact independent referees to gain their commitment to provide a referee report on the template provided by the Department before submitting their details. One independent referee must be based overseas for all Prizes except the Prize for New Innovators.
Prior to submitting a nomination you should read and understand the Prize Minister’s Prizes for Science – Science Prizes guidelines.
You should also ensure the nominee is willing to be nominated, will provide the evidence necessary to support the nomination, and understands the obligations that come with the prize.
The nomination process involves 2 stages.
Stage 1: The nominator provides a summary of the nominee’s achievement against the assessment criteria for the prize.
To prepare a stage 1 nomination:
- Make sure your nominee is willing to be nominated.
- Ask them for a copy of their CV (2 page maximum referencing any patents and 4 key articles or publications that relate most directly to the work referenced in the application). There is a CV template under key documents.
- Provide a 3,000 character achievement summary addressing the assessment criteria within the online form.
- Identify two supporters.
- Identify two independent referees. (The nominator must contact independent referees to gain their commitment to provide a referee report on the template provided by the Department before submitting their details.) One independent referee must be based overseas for all prizes except the Prize for New Innovators.
Complete the online form and submit it between 10:00pm AEDT, 21 November 2023 and 5:00pm AEDT, 8 February 2024.
Stage 2: If a nominee has been shortlisted we invite the nominator and two supporters to prepare a more detailed submission addressing the relevant assessment criteria.
We refer the nominator and supporters’ Stage 2 statements to the independent referees (two provided by the nominator and one identified by the committee) with relevant expertise to seek their professional opinions on the claims made in the nomination.
Apply for The Prime Minister’s Prizes for Science – Science Prizes
Before you apply, make sure you:
- understand the nomination process
- read the grant opportunity guidelines
- are ready to complete the online nomination form
To apply for a prize, you must apply as an individual.
Enter the responses below (in bold) to apply as an individual:
- Do you have an ABN? No
- Why do you not have an ABN? An ABN is not required for a Prize
- What is the invitation code? Leave blank
Select the program you are applying for out of these options:
- Prime Minister’s Prize for Science – Individual
- Prime Minister’s Prize for Science – Team
- PM Prizes – Prime Minister’s Prize for Innovation – Individual
- Prime Minister’s Prize for Innovation – Team
- PM Prizes – Malcolm McIntosh Prize for Physical Scientist of the Year
- PM Prizes – Frank Fenner Prize for Life Scientist of the Year
- PM Prizes – Prize for New Innovators
To be competitive you must score highly against all of the assessment criteria.
For more information on the assessment criteria for each prize, please refer to section 5 of the grant opportunity guidelines.
We will assess nominations against the eligibility criteria and if the nomination is eligible, it will be forwarded to an independent committee for assessment against the assessment criteria, compared to other eligible nominations and a shortlist will be prepared.
If the nomination is shortlisted, the nominator will be invited to participate in Stage 2.
In Stage 2 we will seek supporter statements via the nominator. These statements are sent to the independent referees identified in your nomination and by the committee, seeking expert opinions. Supporter and referee statements are assessed by the committee to determine a prize recipient of the shortlisted nominations. For more information refer to section 7 of the guidelines.
The Minister will make the final decision on the prize recipients.
If the nominee is successful, prize recipients will be notified in writing, and invited to receive their awards at the Prime Minister’s Prizes for Science awards dinner. The recipients are publicly announced at the awards dinner.
Payment of the prize money will be made by direct credit into a nominated bank account.
Need help?
Let us answer your question via phone, email or live chat. And if we can't help, we'll put you in touch with someone who can.
- Phone:
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Open Hours:
Monday – Friday, 8am – 8pm across Australia
- Website:
Inspiring Australia – Science Engagement Program
The Prime Minister's Prizes for Science is part of the Inspiring Australia – Science Engagement Program. This aims to:
- increase Australian community engagement with the sciences, through activities and events
- increase positive public sentiment and awareness of the contribution and achievements of Australian scientists and innovators
- improve communication between Australian scientists, the general public, businesses and government
- enhance focus on building skills and capability in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and digital literacy, in Australian schools and communities
- increase engagement and participation in groups under-represented in STEM.
Key documents
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