The Theo Murphy (Australia) Fund was established to further scientific discovery and supports activities that aim to provide tangible benefits to Australia's early- and mid-career researcher (EMCR) community.

The Participation Support grant is intended to assist Australian EMCRs who face additional barriers to attending a conference, symposium or workshop in their field of research due to caring responsibilities, accessibility needs, or mobility-related support.

Applicants can request up to a maximum $5,000 per person towards expenses for a single event, once per 12-month period. Grants will typically range from $2,000 and $3,500, except in special cases.

Eligibility

To be eligible to receive a Participation Support grant, applicants must:

• be less than 15 years post PhD, excluding career disruption or barrier*
• be a member of an Australian EMCR group, such as the Australian Academy of Science’s EMCR forum  
• be currently residing in Australia and be either an Australian citizen or hold a valid Australian visa  
• not have received a Participation Support grant in the 12 months prior to the application date
• be employed at an eligible Australian research organisation as outlined below.

Eligible research organisations:

• Australian tertiary education institutions (as per the Higher Education Support Act 2003)
• Australian cooperative research centres
• publicly funded research agencies
• Australian state and territory funded research organisations
• Australian public research companies
• Australian private research companies
• Australian not-for-profit research organisations
• other Australian incorporated entities.

*Career disruption or barrier: A career disruption or barrier is an interruption that has caused prolonged impact on a researcher’s capacity to conduct high-level research in the period since the conferral of their first PhD.  

It may be due to reduced opportunities for research which may be due one or more of the following: prolonged absences due to unemployment, childbirth, carers’ responsibilities, limited or no access to facilities and resources, disaster management and recovery, medical conditions, disability or accessibility needs, community obligations, including Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander cultural practices and protocols.  

An additional 6 months (pro rata) can be applied for each year of eligible career disruption to account for the time it takes to reestablish research after a period of extended leave.  

Eligible applications must:

• be able to outline the need for additional support to attend an event or activity
• outline the funding requested in accordance with the funding limitations outlined in the ‘Terms of award’ section
• provide supporting documentation outlining the confirmed event or activity as specified in the application form.

• Phone: (02) 6201 9433
• Email: theomurphyau@science.org.au