Applications open for Research Fellowship Program (Australia)

Deadline: 13-Aug-2026

The Research Fellowship Program supports outstanding health and medical researchers across all career stages to strengthen Western Australia’s research workforce and improve health outcomes. The programme provides longer-term salary and project funding for Aboriginal Health Researcher Fellows, Clinician Researcher Fellows, Emerging Researcher Fellows, and FHRI Fund-Heart Foundation Fellows.

Funding is available for up to four years, with annual salary support of up to AUD 410,000 depending on the fellowship stream, plus up to AUD 40,000 per year in project costs. Applicants must meet residency, employment, eligibility, and stream-specific requirements, including physical residence in Western Australia for at least 80% of the fellowship period.

Programme Overview

The Research Fellowship Program is designed to attract, retain, and develop outstanding health and medical researchers in Western Australia.

The programme supports researchers across different career stages and professional backgrounds by providing salary and project support over a longer funding period.

It aims to build a more competitive, active, and globally recognised research workforce in Western Australia.

Main Objective

The main objective of the Research Fellowship Program is to strengthen Western Australia’s health and medical research workforce.

The programme aims to:

• Support outstanding researchers across career stages
• Provide longer-term salary and project funding
• Retain health and medical research talent in Western Australia
• Build internationally competitive research capability
• Advance research of significance to Western Australia
• Expand researcher expertise and experience
• Accelerate research leadership development
• Strengthen research track records
• Support collaborations
• Achieve meaningful health and medical research impact

Key Focus Areas

The programme focuses on workforce development, research excellence, and health impact.

Key focus areas include:

• Health and medical research
• Aboriginal health research
• Clinician-led research
• Emerging researcher development
• Cardiovascular research
• Research workforce competitiveness
• Research leadership
• Research collaboration
• Health outcomes improvement
• Research impact
• Western Australian research capacity
• National and international research recognition

Fellowship Duration

Funding is available for up to four years.

Applicants should design fellowship plans that can be implemented over the approved fellowship period and demonstrate clear research, leadership, collaboration, and impact outcomes.

Fellowship Streams

The programme includes four fellowship streams.

These streams support researchers at different career stages and in different areas of health and medical research.

Aboriginal Health Researcher Fellows

The Aboriginal Health Researcher Fellows stream supports early, mid, and senior-career researchers who identify as Aboriginal.

This stream is intended for researchers who co-design and lead research with Aboriginal communities.

The focus is on Aboriginal health research that is community-led, culturally informed, and relevant to improving health outcomes.

Funding for Aboriginal Health Researcher Fellows

Aboriginal Health Researcher Fellows can receive:

• Up to AUD 260,000 per year in salary support
• Up to AUD 40,000 per year in project costs

Clinician Researcher Fellows

The Clinician Researcher Fellows stream supports registered clinicians who want to undertake impactful research linked to health outcomes.

Eligible clinicians may include:

• Medical practitioners
• Nurses
• Midwives
• Dentists
• Allied health professionals
• Other registered clinicians

This stream supports clinicians who combine clinical practice with research that can improve patient care, service delivery, and health system outcomes.

Funding for Clinician Researcher Fellows

Clinician Researcher Fellows can receive:

• Up to AUD 410,000 per year in salary support
• Up to AUD 40,000 per year in project costs

Emerging Researcher Fellows

The Emerging Researcher Fellows stream supports early and mid-career researchers.

This stream is designed to help researchers lead collaborative and impactful research projects while building research independence, leadership capability, and stronger track records.

Funding for Emerging Researcher Fellows

Emerging Researcher Fellows can receive:

• Up to AUD 210,000 per year in salary support
• Up to AUD 40,000 per year in project costs

FHRI Fund-Heart Foundation Fellows

The FHRI Fund-Heart Foundation Fellows stream supports early and mid-career cardiovascular researchers.

This stream focuses on research related to the prevention, detection, treatment, and management of cardiovascular disease.

Eligible research areas may include:

• Cardiovascular disease
• Stroke
• Peripheral vascular disease
• Prevention
• Detection
• Treatment
• Disease management

Funding for FHRI Fund-Heart Foundation Fellows

FHRI Fund-Heart Foundation Fellows can receive:

• Up to AUD 210,000 per year in salary support
• Up to AUD 40,000 per year in project costs

Funding Summary

The programme provides salary support and project cost support for up to four years.

Fellowship Stream	Salary Support	Project Costs
Aboriginal Health Researcher Fellows	Up to AUD 260,000 per year	Up to AUD 40,000 per year
Clinician Researcher Fellows	Up to AUD 410,000 per year	Up to AUD 40,000 per year
Emerging Researcher Fellows	Up to AUD 210,000 per year	Up to AUD 40,000 per year
FHRI Fund-Heart Foundation Fellows	Up to AUD 210,000 per year	Up to AUD 40,000 per year

Who is Eligible?

Eligibility applies to both the Responsible Entity and the individual applicant.

Applicants must also meet the specific requirements of the fellowship stream they are applying under.

Responsible Entity Requirements

The Responsible Entity must:

• Hold an active Australian Business Number
• Maintain a physical and operational presence in Western Australia
• Meet the organisational requirements for the relevant fellowship stream
• Be able to host and support the applicant for the duration of the activity
• Ensure compliance with grant reporting and administration requirements

Applicant Requirements

Applicants must:

• Be Australian citizens, New Zealand citizens, permanent residents of Australia, or hold an appropriate work visa for the full duration of the activity
• Physically reside in Western Australia for at least 80% of the fellowship period
• Hold a position or title at the Responsible Entity for the duration of the activity
• Have no overdue reports for grants administered by the Office of Medical Research and Innovation
• Meet all stream-specific eligibility requirements

Aboriginal Health Researcher Fellow Requirements

Applicants under this stream must:

• Identify as Aboriginal
• Be early, mid, or senior-career researchers
• Co-design research with Aboriginal communities
• Lead research with Aboriginal communities
• Demonstrate alignment with Aboriginal health priorities and community engagement principles

Clinician Researcher Fellow Requirements

Applicants under this stream must:

• Be registered with the relevant professional registration board or association
• Be employed in a clinical role of at least 0.3 FTE
• Ensure the clinical role is related to the proposed research
• Have a research supervisor if undertaking a PhD
• Propose research that can improve health outcomes

Emerging Researcher Fellow Requirements

Applicants under this stream must:

• Be early-career or mid-career researchers
• Lead collaborative and impactful research
• Demonstrate potential for research leadership
• Show how the fellowship will strengthen their track record and career development

FHRI Fund-Heart Foundation Fellow Requirements

Applicants under this stream must:

• Be early-career or mid-career researchers
• Conduct cardiovascular research
• Focus on prevention, detection, treatment, or management of cardiovascular disease
• Include research related to stroke or peripheral vascular disease where relevant
• Dedicate at least 0.6 FTE to the fellowship

What the Programme Supports

The programme supports longer-term research workforce development through salary and project funding.

Supported activities may include:

• Health and medical research projects
• Research leadership development
• Community-led Aboriginal health research
• Clinician-led research
• Cardiovascular research
• Research collaborations
• Knowledge translation
• Research impact activities
• Track record development
• Career progression activities
• Project implementation costs linked to the fellowship

Why It Matters

Western Australia needs a strong and competitive health and medical research workforce to address local health priorities and contribute to national and international research excellence.

Longer-term fellowship support helps researchers build sustained research programmes, develop leadership capacity, and create meaningful health impact.

The Research Fellowship Program matters because it supports researchers who can improve health outcomes, strengthen collaborations, and build a globally recognised research environment in Western Australia.

Expected Outcomes

The programme is expected to contribute to:

• Stronger health and medical research capacity in Western Australia
• Improved researcher retention
• Greater competitiveness at national and international levels
• More impactful health research
• Stronger Aboriginal health research leadership
• More clinician-led research translation
• Growth of early and mid-career research leaders
• Stronger cardiovascular research capacity
• Increased collaborations
• Better research outcomes for Western Australian communities

How to Apply or Prepare a Strong Application

Applicants should prepare a clear fellowship application that demonstrates eligibility, research quality, career development value, and expected impact.

Step 1: Choose the Correct Fellowship Stream

Applicants should first identify the fellowship stream that best matches their career stage, professional role, and research focus.

The available streams are:

• Aboriginal Health Researcher Fellows
• Clinician Researcher Fellows
• Emerging Researcher Fellows
• FHRI Fund-Heart Foundation Fellows

Step 2: Confirm Responsible Entity Eligibility

Applicants should confirm that the Responsible Entity has an active Australian Business Number and a physical and operational presence in Western Australia.

The Responsible Entity must also meet the stream-specific organisational requirements.

Step 3: Confirm Applicant Eligibility

Applicants should check citizenship, residency, employment, reporting, and visa requirements.

They must be able to reside physically in Western Australia for at least 80% of the fellowship period.

Step 4: Prepare the Research Proposal

The proposal should clearly explain:

• The research problem
• The relevance to Western Australia
• The research aims
• The methodology
• The expected outcomes
• The collaboration plan
• The leadership development plan
• The impact pathway
• The project timeline

Step 5: Demonstrate Stream-Specific Alignment

Applicants should clearly explain how their proposal fits the fellowship stream.

For example:

• Aboriginal Health Researcher Fellows should show Aboriginal community co-design and leadership.
• Clinician Researcher Fellows should show links between clinical work and research impact.
• Emerging Researcher Fellows should show leadership potential and research growth.
• FHRI Fund-Heart Foundation Fellows should show strong cardiovascular research relevance.

Step 6: Prepare a Career Development Plan

The application should explain how the fellowship will build the applicant’s research career.

This may include:

• Leadership development
• Mentorship
• Research independence
• Collaboration building
• Publication goals
• Grant competitiveness
• Knowledge translation
• Policy or practice impact

Step 7: Prepare a Realistic Budget

Applicants should request salary and project funding within the limits of the relevant stream.

The budget should clearly explain how funds will be used and how costs support the research and fellowship objectives.

Step 8: Show Research Impact

Applicants should describe how the research will create meaningful outcomes.

Impact may include:

• Improved health outcomes
• Better clinical practice
• Stronger community benefits
• Policy relevance
• Health system improvements
• New knowledge
• Future research capacity

Step 9: Address Reporting and Compliance

Applicants should ensure there are no overdue reports for grants administered by the Office of Medical Research and Innovation.

They should also show capacity to meet reporting, governance, and project delivery requirements.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Applicants should avoid the following mistakes:

• Choosing the wrong fellowship stream
• Applying without confirming Responsible Entity eligibility
• Not meeting the Western Australia residency requirement
• Failing to show research significance for Western Australia
• Submitting a weak career development plan
• Providing unclear collaboration or impact pathways
• Ignoring stream-specific eligibility requirements
• Not demonstrating Aboriginal community co-design where required
• Applying as a clinician without the required registration or clinical FTE
• Failing to meet the 0.6 FTE requirement for FHRI Fund-Heart Foundation Fellows
• Having overdue reports for relevant grants
• Submitting a budget that is not aligned with fellowship rules

Tips for a Strong Application

A strong application should:

• Clearly align with the selected fellowship stream
• Demonstrate strong research quality
• Show relevance to Western Australia
• Include a clear leadership development plan
• Present a strong impact pathway
• Demonstrate collaboration and mentorship
• Provide a realistic budget
• Show how the fellowship will strengthen the applicant’s track record
• Confirm residency, employment, and eligibility requirements
• Explain how the research will contribute to health outcomes
• Demonstrate responsible project governance

FAQ

1. What is the Research Fellowship Program?

The Research Fellowship Program supports outstanding health and medical researchers across career stages by providing longer-term salary and project support in Western Australia.

2. How long is funding available?

Funding is available for up to four years.

3. What fellowship streams are available?

The programme includes Aboriginal Health Researcher Fellows, Clinician Researcher Fellows, Emerging Researcher Fellows, and FHRI Fund-Heart Foundation Fellows.

4. How much funding is available?

Funding depends on the stream. Salary support ranges from up to AUD 210,000 to AUD 410,000 per year, with up to AUD 40,000 per year available for project costs.

5. Who can apply?

Applicants must meet citizenship, residency, employment, reporting, and stream-specific requirements. They must also hold a position or title at an eligible Responsible Entity for the duration of the activity.

6. What is the Western Australia residency requirement?

Applicants must physically reside in Western Australia for at least 80% of the fellowship period.

7. What are the requirements for Clinician Researcher Fellows?

Clinician Researcher Fellows must be registered with the relevant professional registration board or association, be employed in a clinical role of at least 0.3 FTE related to the proposed research, and have a research supervisor if undertaking a PhD.

Conclusion

The Research Fellowship Program provides major longer-term support for health and medical researchers working in Western Australia.

With up to four years of salary and project funding, the programme helps build research leadership, strengthen workforce competitiveness, support Aboriginal health research, enable clinician-led research, advance cardiovascular research, and grow early and mid-career research talent.

Applicants should prepare strong proposals that demonstrate eligibility, research excellence, Western Australian relevance, leadership development, collaboration, and meaningful health impact.

For more information, visit Government of Western Australia.