Frequently asked questions

Please note that is page is not exhaustive but highlights some frequently asked questions posed. Before nominating/applying please do ensure that you also visit the relevant award webpage to consult specific criteria/guidelines listed there or contact the awards team at awards@science.org.au /+61 201 9467.

Travelling awards, research grants, conference and lecture awards

  1. Can awarded funds pay for salary expenses?
    • The Thomas Davies Research Grant funds can cover research assistant salaries, but not primary researcher salary expenses. The Margaret Middleton Fund and Max Day Fellowship Awards are not able to cover any salary expenses, for either primary researchers or research assistants.
  2. Can I apply for more than one research award?
    • Yes – however, you can only receive one research award per calendar year. If you are ranked highly for multiple research awards, the assessment committee Chairs will decide which award is most appropriate for the project and applicant.
  3. Can I receive the same research award for a different project in subsequent years?
    • No – once you have received a research award, you are not eligible to receive the same award for 3 calendar years.
  4. Can I use the funds to attend a conference?
    • The Margaret Middleton Fund does not support conference expenses.
    • The Max Day Fellowship funds can be used to cover the cost of travel to undertake research or attend relevant conferences/workshops.
    • Thomas Davies Research Fund can support conference expenses if it can be demonstrated that it is relevant for the project, however, this is not the primary objective of the award.
  5. Can I use the funds to cover overhead expenses?
    • No – each award notes the specific exclusions for use of funding; however, no award allows funds to be used towards bench fees, managerial, visa, insurance or infrastructure costs.
  6. Can I request feedback on my application assessment?
    • No - applications are assessed based on the competitiveness of the proposal by a committee of scientists with diverse expertise. The Academy is not able to enter into discussion or correspondence regarding the reasons why an application is successful or not.
  7. Can I apply for the Max Day Environmental Science Fellowship if my PhD has not yet been through the confirmation process?
    • No. If you are a PhD student applying for a Max Day Environmental Science Fellowship you must have completed the PhD confirmation process with your institution. Please note that specific confirmation process requirements may vary between institutions. Candidates are strongly encouraged to clarify the requirements with their awarding institution prior to submitting the fellowship application.

Honorific Awards – Early-career, mid-career and career medals

  1. Can I nominate myself?
    • No – you must be nominated by someone else. Self-nominations are not accepted.
  2. Can I submit a nomination on behalf of someone else?
    • Yes – you can submit a nomination on behalf of someone else if you are not the nominator. An example would be a university grants office or personal/executive assistant completing the online nomination form on behalf of a nominator. Once the form is submitted, the nominator will be sent an email confirming that the nomination has been completed. If a nominee submits a nomination for themselves on behalf of a nominator it will not be considered a self-nomination.
  3. Residency requirements
    • Winners of all awards except the Haddon Forrester King Medal should be mainly resident in Australia and/or have a substantive position in Australia at the time of the nomination deadline. Unless explicitly stated in the awarding conditions, the research being put forward for the award should have been undertaken mainly in Australia. Some awards have more specific conditions that the relevant selection committee must apply and nominators are advised to read the conditions associated with each award very carefully.
  4. Honorific career eligibility (more specific details found in the honorific awards nominator guidelines and the honorific award post PhD eligibility guidelines)
    • Career eligibility is calculated by calendar year.
    • For example, for the 2025 honorific award round, early career exemption calculations should be calculated for the period 1 January 2014 to 1 January 2024.
    • By the same token, for the 2025 award round early career awardees are required to have their PhDs* conferred on or after 1/1/2014** and mid-career awardees between 1/1/2009 and 1/1/2016**.
    • * or equivalent first higher degree e.g. D.Phil., D.Psych., D.Sc.
    • **Please note that the Awards Committee may consider nominees with post PhD dates outside of these ranges if a career exemption request is being submitted with the nomination, further guidelines on career exemption requests can be found in the nomination guidelines.
  5. Academy fellowship requirements in award nominations
    • Fellows and non-Fellows of the Academy can provide nominations for either Fellows or non-Fellows for all awards.
  6. Women only awards
    •  The Dorothy Hill, Nancy Millis and Ruby Payne-Scott Medals are for women only.

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