Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for EOI and Full Applications

General FAQ

How can I demonstrate the endorsement of participants and my institution?

Please make sure you follow your institution’s internal rules about submitting competitive funding applications. At the EOI stage, AJIF does not need formal endorsement of the EOI from the lead institution - please just state in your proposal that all participants have agreed to participate. If you are invited to submit a full application, we will require evidence of lead institution support for the proposal and agreements with partners in the form of emails or signed letters from the participants and your institution. Note that a signed endorsement letter from each industry partner is required at the Full Application stage (see the Guidelines).

What stage does my project need to be at to be eligible?

For the 2026-27 round, eligible projects must sit between Technology Readiness Levels 4 and 7 - spanning Development & Testing through to Commercialisation & Deployment. Early-stage Discovery & Research projects (below TRL 4) are not eligible for funding this round. You will be asked to indicate the current TRL / stage of your project in the EOI. Within the eligible TRL band, the level of progression does not affect your competitiveness - projects from development through to deployment are welcome to apply.

How many partners do I need?

The number of partners in the application will not affect the likelihood of success, but the team must include Japanese and Australian institutional members (one of which will be the lead applicant) and direct industry involvement.

What type of partners are needed if the applicant is a university?

If your university is the lead applicant, your team needs to satisfy two separate partnership requirements set out in the Guidelines:

Australia–Japan partnership. Your team must include at least one partner in the other country - if the university lead is based in Australia you need one or more partners in Japan, and vice versa. There is no limit on the number of partners, and each must be an eligible entity: a research institution, university, registered charity or not-for-profit, educational institution, government entity, or corporation.

Industry partner. At least one partner must be an industry partner - a private or public corporate entity with a substantive operating presence in Australia or Japan. Universities and research institutions do not qualify as industry partners, even where they operate commercial arms or subsidiaries, and as the university lead you are generally not the industry partner yourself. The industry partner must also have a verifiable online presence so AJIF can confirm it is a genuine operating business.

A single corporate partner in the other country can satisfy both requirements at once (for example, an Australian university partnering with a Japanese corporation).

What counts as an industry partner?

An industry partner must be a private or public corporate entity with a substantive operating presence in Australia or Japan (headquarters in one of the two countries, or a significant share of its commercial activities - research, development, manufacturing or service delivery - carried out there). Universities, research institutions, and other academic or research-focused organisations do not qualify as industry partners, even where they operate commercial arms or subsidiaries. Industry partners must also have a verifiable online presence (an active website, registered business listing or equivalent) so AJIF can confirm the entity exists and is operating.

Does an industry organisation need to play a specific role in the research, or is it enough that they contribute financially or in-kind?

Many forms of industry engagement are acceptable. Partners are not required to contribute financially, but that is often a sign of their real interest, so it is a useful indicator of potential impact. They do not have to be directly involved in the research, but there should be some indication of how they play a role (e.g. by co-creation of the research question, or providing access to materials, equipment, data or expert personnel).

Does my industry partner need to contribute financially?

Partners are not required to contribute financially, but it is a useful indicator of potential impact.

Am I eligible if I don’t have an industry partner yet?

To progress to a funded outcome you need at least one qualifying corporate industry partner that can provide a signed endorsement letter. EOIs need to show some engagement with industry. If you are currently in discussion with industry about applications of your research but they are not yet willing to be formal partners, please explain that in the application.

Is there a plain-English requirement?

Yes. In addition to any technical explanation, applications must include a plain-English description of the project, its significance and expected outcomes.

Can I expect to receive a large grant to fund my entire project?

The grant is designed to provide targeted support and need not cover the full cost of your project. Applicants must demonstrate that the funding is an important enabler for progressing their work. Given the limited grant amount, applications with additional backing - particularly from industry partners - will be rated more highly. Partial allocations of requested funding may also be offered.

What is the success rate for applications?

It depends on the size of the application pool. We expect to make two or three substantial grants annually.

What happens after I submit my EOI?

If your EOI is shortlisted for progression to a full application, you will be invited to add information to the application, including more detailed information regarding the proposed budget. There will be 3 weeks available to develop this.

What can the budget be used for?

Please see the AJIF Guidelines, “What the grant funds may be used for” and “What the grant funds may not be used for”. Note that AJIF funds may be used to develop new products or services, or to add new features or capabilities to existing commercially viable products or services, but may not be used for marketing or promotional activities or for activities that are already commercially viable.

Can I hire research assistants or provide student assistance/scholarships with the budget?

Yes. You can hire staff or give scholarships for the fixed period of the project only. If the individuals are already in positions, you must show that AJIF funds are used for additional periods of employment or support that would not have been provided otherwise.

Can money be transferred between partners?

Our grants are given to a single lead institution. It is possible for the recipient to share the grant with the overseas partner; the method will depend on the policy of the lead institution. In general, we do not expect money to be transferred to the industry partner, but the lead institution may use funds to cover some industry partner expenses, such as travel for joint research.

If my project doesn’t receive funding, will there be another opportunity to be introduced to financial partners?

No individual feedback will be provided.

If my project doesn’t receive funding, will there be another opportunity to be introduced to financial partners?

If you agree to have your project information shared at the time of submitting your EOI, and your project is highly rated compared to other applications, we may share it with relevant financial partners even if it is not selected for funding. This allows strong projects to still gain visibility and potential support from interested stakeholders. Please ensure you opt in to this during the EOI submission process.

FAQ For Shortlisted (full) Applications

Is the section “Industry or other non-university partner details and roles” asking about the named industry partner in our application, or additional potential partners?

The section is about your current partner. We would like to know something about what the company / business / organisation does (what type of company they are and what industry sector they are in) and what role they will play in the research project (for example, whether company staff will carry out research with you, or whether the company will provide facilities or equipment for your project).

Does the application require endorsement from the institution of only the lead applicant, or the respective institutions of all applicants?

We only need a formal endorsement signature from the lead institution. We also need an indication of willingness to participate from the other organisations if it was not provided at the EOI stage; email messages are sufficient. In addition, a signed endorsement letter is required from each industry partner at the Full Application stage.

When do we need the industry partner’s endorsement letter, and how early should we start?

At the EOI stage no endorsement letter is required. If your EOI progresses to the Full Application stage, you must provide a signed letter of endorsement from each industry partner within the window specified in the progression notice. We strongly encourage applicants to begin preparing these early - particularly where the industry partner is a large organisation, sits in a different jurisdiction, or requires internal sign-off. Applications that progress without a timely endorsement letter may not be able to advance to the funding decision stage.

Should we list contact details of our industry partner?

Yes. Please include the contact details for your industry partner.

Do we need our industry partner’s sign-off? We have a letter of support - will that be okay?

A letter of support is enough at the shortlisting stage, and you can obtain a formal signed letter of endorsement later if you are selected to progress.

What is the allowable start date and end date for the grant round?

The normal start date is the date on which the Agreement document is signed by the lead institution and AJIF. Projects that have other sources of funding may have already commenced before the AJIF funding becomes available. The end date will be 12 months after the Agreement start date.

When will funds be paid?

Funds will be transferred as soon as AJIF receives an invoice from the lead applicant, after the Agreement document is signed.

How do you distribute the money - directly to the lead institution, or divided between each institution? This affects our overhead calculations.

We award the full amount to the lead institution and ask them to flow the funding to their partners in the amounts agreed among the partners. We do not allow funds transfer to industry partners, but lead institutions can cover some industry partner expenses if permitted by their institution and agreed with AJIF in advance of starting the project.

Can the funds be used to pay “overhead” costs at the lead applicant institution?

The grant cannot be used for items we would normally expect a university or research institute to provide for all researchers, such as electricity, phone, or room rent. AJIF allows an overhead fee where this is part of the normal policy of the institution when accepting grants; the maximum overhead payable by AJIF is 25% (across all budget items). If the institution’s policy is to charge room rental for specific projects (for example, extra lab space needed for this project, where the university normally charges researchers for lab space), this needs to be specified in the application budget.

Can I (as a fixed-term early career researcher and one of the applicants) ask for a salary contribution?

If you are not a continuing employee of the lead institution (e.g. a fixed-term ECR on the project), your salary contribution is allowable. However, if you have a commitment from the institution to cover part of your salary, AJIF requires evidence that the funds will pay for additional time and will not be substituting for expenses the institution is already committed to pay.

How will intellectual property (IP) be handled?

AJIF does not claim any of the IP created by the funded research (or any pre-existing / background IP). IP arrangements are decided between the lead institution and your partners. Most universities have their own policy about IP, and industry partners should discuss it with the university partner so that both sides are clear about ownership at the beginning. In most cases, the university will own the IP created by its employees, but often it will come to an agreement with an industry partner about how ownership should be divided in a joint project. Background IP (any IP that the parties bring into a research project from previous work) should be recognised as belonging to that party. If a grant is successful, the Foundation and the lead institution will sign a grant Agreement making clear that the Foundation does not claim any of the IP created by the research.