2.1 ROLE AND FUNCTIONS

The ARC was established under the Australian Research Council Act 2001 (ARC Act). The ARC Act provides detail in relation to:

  • the functions of the ARC
  • the establishment of designated committees by the responsible Minister
  • the CEO and ARC staff
  • reporting requirements
  • the funding of research, including the funding cap, funding assistance, funding rules and the ARC research endowment fund.

The ARC Act is updated annually through an amendment bill, which allows continued funding under the National Competitive Grants Program (NCGP). The ARC Act was last amended in June 2018.

The ARC administers the NCGP, assesses the quality, engagement and impact of research, and advises the Australian Government on research matters.

Funding the highest quality research

The NCGP supports the highest quality research and research training across all disciplines. The NCGP comprises two funding programs—Discovery and Linkage—each incorporating a range of complementary schemes that support basic and applied research, and research training, collaboration and infrastructure.

Funding is awarded on the basis of a competitive peer review process.

Assessing the quality, engagement and impact of research

The ARC administers two evaluation frameworks to assess the quality, engagement and impact of research.

Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) provides a comprehensive evaluation of the quality of research produced by Australian universities against national and international benchmarks. In 2018 the ARC conducted its fourth ERA evaluation, following the 2010, 2012 and 2015 evaluations.

The ARC is also responsible for administering the Engagement and Impact (EI) assessment of university research. EI assesses the engagement of researchers with research end-users and shows how universities are translating their research into economic, social, environmental, cultural and other impacts. The ARC conducted the inaugural EI assessment in 2018.

Providing advice on research matters

The ARC provides advice to the responsible Minister on matters related to the portfolio, including research and research training, research partnerships and the quality, engagement and impact of research in Australia.

In 2018–19 the ARC:

  • managed a total estimated budget of $796.7 million, of which approximately $766.4 million was provided to support research through the NCGP
  • had an average staffing level of 124 employees.

The ARC's key stakeholders are the Australian Government, Australian universities, research partner organisations, industry, government, not-for-profit entities, business, publicly funded research agencies, research peak bodies, the global research sector and Australian taxpayers.

The ARC maintains close relationships with a range of Australian Government agencies to support the national research and innovation system. It collaborates with the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) on matters relating to the joint administration of the Australian Research Integrity Committee, the implementation of the Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research and the administration of competitive grant schemes. While the ARC funds research across all disciplines (with the exception of clinical medicine), the NHMRC provides funding for all areas of research relevant to human health and medicine.

The ARC works collaboratively with its portfolio agency, the Department of Education, as well as the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science. Areas of common interest include international engagement, and mechanisms of government support for building Australia's research capacity, for example, through funding infrastructure, research training and collaboration.