Healthy - Medical Research

The Healthy Australia pillar supports organisations that strive to provide innovative solutions to improve the health of all Australians.  The Medical Research stream aims to advance understanding and improve treatment of major diseases by supporting major initiatives by leading Australian research institutes, universities and teaching hospitals in innovative biomedical research. 

In the Medical Research stream the Foundation will consider applications:

• To support the provision of equipment and capital infrastructure to support outstanding research groups.

The Foundation also supports the Cynthia Banham Burns Fellowship to enable clinical research by an early-career researcher under the guidance of renowned burns specialist, Dr Fiona Wood at Royal Perth Hospital.

• Applicants must speak with a Program Manager prior to submitting an application.
• Medical Research applications are considered by the Board of Governors once a year.
• The Foundation only makes grants over $100,000 in this program area. 
• The Foundation prioritises applications with evidence of collaboration. Please ensure that you have alternative providers of funding and that your application clearly considers any possible grant from the Foundation in this context.  We are unlikely to fund 100% of a project cost.
• Applications must be accompanied by a letter from the requesting organisation's Chief Executive Officer or equivalent person (e.g. Director of Institute, University Vice-Chancellor or Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research) attesting to the value of each application to the organisation.
• In the case of multiple applications in one or more categories, advice must also be provided as to the priority ranking of all such applications.
• A maximum of two applications may be submitted by an organisation in a given grant round.
• Please also refer to our Funding Principles for further guidance.

Under the terms of the deed of The Ian Potter Foundation and Australian taxation laws, The Ian Potter Foundation can only make grants to organisations with BOTH Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) Item 1 and Tax Concession Charity (TCC) status.

Please make sure you read the funding objectives and specific exclusions for the Medical Research program area before you apply for a grant.

Specific Exclusions

• Projects suitable for submission to the Australian Research Council (ARC) and/or the National Health and Medical Research Council (NH&MRC)
• Salaries for researchers or research assistants and for equipment which should be the subject of submissions to the ARC or NH&MRC
• Purposes which are core to the operations of the organisation and should more appropriately be funded from institutional operating funds
• Research projects for which there would be a reasonable prospect of attracting commercial funding
• Research funding, scholarships or projects which would be awarded by the grantseeker to third parties.

General Exclusions

Projects that fall into any of the following categories will not be considered for funding:

• Retrospective funding – projects which are already underway or which will commence prior to the date indicated in our online application information are not eligible for consideration
• Recurrent expenditure for which there is no future provision
• Capital or endowment funds established to fund a chair or to provide a corpus for institutions
• Auspicing* is not permitted – the organisation applying must be the one that will run the program or project
• Applications for public charitable purposes outside the Commonwealth of Australia**
• Applications for projects that have previously been declined by the Foundation cannot be resubmitted
• Applications will not be accepted from organisations that have not successfully acquitted previous grants from the Foundation

*Auspicing
Auspicing refers to the practice of an ineligible organisation (one that does not have DGR and TCC status) applying to the Foundation via an eligible organisation. Auspicing arrangements are excluded under the Foundation's guidelines. The organisation applying to the Foundation must be the organisation that will run the project or program for which a grant is being sought.

** Geographical constraints on grants
The Foundation is limited to providing money, property or benefits for public charitable purposes in the Commonwealth of Australia. However, the Foundation is able to provide a grant for activities outside the Commonwealth if the grant is made for a public charitable purpose in the Commonwealth. For example, a grant might be made to an Australian university to enable it to fund an overseas study tour by an Australian researcher engaged by the university.

Ready to begin?

Grant requests in the Medical Research area are via a one-stage application process. You can preview the application questions and supporting documents you will be required to submit.

Please note there are specific instructions you need to follow if you are a University.

The online application can only be accessed when a funding round is open.

Application Process

Step 1: Read ALL the information on this program area page to ensure you meet the eligibility criteria and program area objectives before you begin.

Step 2: Applicants are required to speak with a Program Manager prior to submitting an application.

Step 3: Select 'Apply for a Grant' tab below. This tab will only appear when applications are open.

Step 4: You will then need to login by entering your username and password or create an account by clicking New Applicant?.

Step 5: Complete the Eligibility Quiz. If you meet eligibility requirements, you will proceed to the Application form.

After you save and close you can re-access your Application via the My Account link using your username and password. 

Step 6: Complete your online application form. As applicable, a letter from the CEO or equivalent person and a ranking letter must be provided separately to the online application. Please email them as instructed in the online application form. Ensure your application is submitted by 5:00 pm AEDST on the closing date.

We require all supporting documents as well as the online application by the 5.00 pm AEDST deadline on the closing date. 

What happens next?

All grant applications are considered at the Foundation’s board meetings, which are held three times a year in May, September and December.

You will be advised by phone or email of the outcome of your application.