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Funding for organisations to create a pipeline of skilled STEM graduates for the Nuclear-Powered Submarine enterprise
Nuclear-Powered Submarines Technical Scholarships
Closing date: Friday 7 February 2025 5:00pm AEDT Fri 7 Feb 2025 5:00pm AEDT
What do you get?
A grant of up to $15.848 million to cover up to 100% of eligible expenditure.
Who is this for?
Incorporated entities located in Australia.
About the program
The AUKUS Nuclear-Powered Submarine Pathway was announced by the Leaders of Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States in March 2023.
The objectives of the AUKUS Nuclear-Powered Submarine Pathway are to:
- deliver Australia a conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarine (NPS) capability
- ensure Australia safely and securely operates and sustains its nuclear-powered submarines
- expand our individual and collective undersea presence in the Indo-Pacific and contribute to global security and stability in the region.
Announced as part of the 2024-25 Defence Budget initiatives the Nuclear-Powered Submarines Technical Scholarships grant opportunity will fund one eligible applicant to co-design and manage a national scholarship program which will provide 3,000 two-year stipend scholarships of $5,000 each to domestic students undertaking undergraduate degrees in priority science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) study areas at Australian Universities.
The scholarship program is intended to increase interest and awareness of opportunities in the Nuclear-Powered Submarine (NPS) enterprise workforce. It will ensure there is a continuous pipeline of suitable STEM graduates for the NPS enterprise, particularly in Western Australia, South Australia and other geographic locations that will play a vital role in delivering the Optimal Pathway.
The scholarships will align with the Australian Government’s broader investment to increase the STEM for the NPS enterprise, including through the Student Pathways Program for additional Commonwealth Supported Places, the Defence STEM Cadetship and the ASA Nuclear Graduate Program.
The grant opportunity will support three cohorts of undergraduate students from 2024-25 to 2028-29.
You must complete your project by 31 March 2029.
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)
and are one of the following entities:
- an entity, incorporated in Australia
- an incorporated trustee on behalf of a trust
- an incorporated not for profit organisation.
You can’t apply if you are:
- an organisation not listed above
- 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)
- a publicly funded research organisation (PFRO)
- an individual
- a partnership
- an unincorporated association
- a trust (however, an incorporated trustee may apply on behalf of a trust)
- a Commonwealth, state and local government agency or body (including government business enterprises other than eligible PFRAs)
- a non-corporate Commonwealth entity.
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
- is responsible for making sure your group follows the rules in the grant agreement.
You must complete your project by 31 March 2029.
Your project must:
- be undertaken in Australia
- include eligible activities
- be aimed at co-designing and managing a national scholarship program which will provide scholarships to domestic students undertaking undergraduate degrees in priority STEM study areas and support the Nuclear-Powered Submarine enterprise.
You can apply for a grant of up to $15.848 million.
Refer to section 5.1 of the grant opportunity guidelines for information about what you can use this grant funding for.
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 must submit your application through the online portal. You’ll need to set up an account when you first log into the portal. The portal allows you to apply for and manage a grant or service in a secure online environment.
First we check that you meet the eligibility criteria. Then we assess your application against the assessment criteria.
The assessment criteria are a set of rules that describe how we must assess each application.
We give each criterion a certain number of points.
Applications must score at least 50% against all criteria to be considered meritorious. Meritorious applications will then be ranked competitively according to the overall score.
- Assessment criterion 1: Alignment with policy intent (50 points)
- Assessment criterion 2: Capacity, capability and resources to deliver the project (30 points)
- Assessment criterion 3: Financial capability and governance (20 points)
The amount of detail and supporting evidence you provide should be relative to the project size, complexity and grant amount requested.
The program delegate makes the final decision.
Apply now
Apply for the Nuclear-Powered Submarines Technical Scholarships grant opportunity.
Before you apply, make sure you:
- read and understand the grant opportunity guidelines
- read and understand the sample application form
- read and understand the sample 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.
If you submit your application before the close date you can retrieve it any time to make changes. But you must submit it again before the close date.
We can’t consider the application you submit after the close date under any circumstances.
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
Download Group Project budget template
xlsx · 0.07 MB