NHMRC Investigator Grants

NHMRC Investigator Grants

Funds senior investigators in Australia through competitive grants combining salary, infrastructure, and leadership support.

The NHMRC Investigator Grants program, administered by Australia's National Health and Medical Research Council, provides consolidated funding to outstanding health and medical researchers at all career stages, combining salary support (where applicable) and a flexible Research Support Package (RSP) into a single grant. The 2027 round is open for applications through the Sapphire grants management system and listed on GrantConnect. Standard grant duration is five years, with extensions permissible up to seven years total if the Chief Investigator A (CIA) applies for a pro-rata extension. Funding levels span five career bands: Emerging Leadership EL1 and EL2 for early-to-mid career researchers, and Leadership L1, L2, and L3 for established and senior investigators.

Eligibility is restricted to researchers affiliated with Australian universities or eligible research organisations — industry applicants may not apply directly. Researchers at all career stages are eligible, including clinicians and allied health practitioners with research responsibilities, whether full-time or part-time. The CIA may redirect salary support into the RSP if their host institution covers salary independently. Co-funding by partner organisations whose strategic priorities align with the proposed research program is permitted. The scheme accepts applications across all areas of biomedical, clinical, public health, and health services research, with no topic restrictions beyond the NHMRC's health and medical mandate.

Applications are submitted via Sapphire, NHMRC's online grants management portal. Specific award amounts, page limits, and the scoring rubric are published in the Investigator Grants 2027 Guidelines PDF on GrantConnect; applicants must consult that document before submission. The Investigator Grants scheme is highly competitive at the L2/L3 bands; applicants at the EL tiers are assessed on research potential relative to opportunity rather than against an absolute publication volume benchmark. Contact for scheme queries is available through the NHMRC Sapphire help desk.