$85 million for 200 projects to support early career researchers

16 September 2022

$85 million for 200 projects to support early career researchers

The Australian Government is funding 200 new research projects to provide promising early career researchers with the opportunity to develop and apply their research skills in a supportive environment, in projects important to Australia.

Australian Research Council (ARC) Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Ms Judi Zielke PSM, today welcomed the decision by the Hon Jason Clare MP, Minister for Education, to award $85 million for the projects under the Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA) scheme.

Ms Zielke said researchers benefit from the opportunity provided by the funding to research and train in high quality, supportive environments.

“The DECRA scheme allows researchers in the early stages of their career to develop and apply their research skills, on projects that benefit Australians,” Ms Zielke said.

“The projects also give these researchers the opportunity to collaborate and build connections that will help them progress through a career in research.”

The research projects that will commence in 2023 by the DECRA awardees include:

• The Australian Catholic University – an interdisciplinary study of how sexual slander law was reformed and used by women of different race and colour in the 19th century, to inform policy and legal strategies to improve women’s ability to redress sexual abuse.

• The University of New England – studying the Cambrian Explosion more than 500 million years ago in unparalleled detail, including pioneering a new 3D imaging method to study important fossil records in the Flinders Ranges in South Australia. This will bolster the case for UNESCO World Heritage Serial Site status for the Flinders Ranges, showcasing our geological heritage to the world along with new technology.  

• Curtin University – a study of the emissions of past volcanic eruptions and how they controlled the severity of environmental crises, aiding future mineral exploration (volcanic eruptions shaped our mineral deposits) and informing future climate models.

• Griffith University – investigating the impact and effectiveness of Australian Aboriginal Frontier War memorials, to help progress reconciliation and address intergenerational Indigenous trauma through new war memorials informed by Indigenous art and oral history.

For more information about these funding outcomes please visit the ARC website.

Media contact: 

ARC Communications 0412 623 056 or communications@arc.gov.au