ARC Discovery Projects
The ARC's main grant for investigator-led research by individuals or teams, in every discipline except medical research. DP28 drops the EOI stage and allows each Chief Investigator one application. No later round is scheduled; the new Breakthrough scheme is expected in 2028.
Scheme details
- Funding range
- $30,000 to $500,000 a year for up to 5 years. Teaching relief up to $50,000 per Chief Investigator a year; travel up to $50,000 over the project. No salary for Chief or Partner Investigators.
- Career stage
- All career stages
- Scheme type
- Individual
- Eligibility
- Led from one of 43 Eligible Organisations, mostly Australian universities. Each Chief Investigator may be on one DP28 application, and on none if awarded a Discovery Project in DP26 or DP27. Chief Investigators need at least 0.2 FTE or an honorary appointment and must live in Australia for more than half the project. The ARC does not fund medical research.
- Format & limits
- A4 Summary: 750 characters; A5 National Interest Test: 1,500 characters; ROPE Career Narrative: 565 characters; Research Impact: 1,500; Mentoring and Leadership: 750; Research Outputs Context: 1,500; C1 Project Description: 7 pages including references; C2 Capability Statement: 3,000 characters (DP27 limits; DP28 instructions expected late October 2026)
- Deadline
- Upcoming DP28: opens 1 February 2027, closes 10 May 2027 (indicative) · single stage, no EOI
View official scheme page
https://www.arc.gov.au/funding-research/arc-funding-schemes/discovery/discovery-projects
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Last updated: 2026-09-24
Other Australia schemes
ARC National Interest Test (NIT)
Plain-English statement, required in every ARC grant application, explaining how the research could benefit Australia beyond academia. Still required for FT27, ITRP 2027 and DP28; the ARC will reconsider it as it designs the new schemes from 2027.
ARC Future Fellowships
Four-year mid-career fellowship covering salary and up to $60,000 a year in project funding. FT27 may be the last round: the ARC's 2026 policy review ends salaried mid-career fellowships from 2027, and no FT28 round is scheduled.
ARC Linkage Projects
Research partnerships between universities and industry, government or community partners, who contribute cash and in-kind support. LP26 was a single round, and the ARC's new grants model replaces Linkage Projects.