The Australian Research Council (ARC) and the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) have today released updated versions of their respective policies which provide guidance for the use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) by applicants and assessors engaged in the ARC's National Competitive Grants Program and the NHMRC's Medical Research Endowment Account (MREA) grant schemes.
The policies preserve academic integrity by ensuring that human judgement and decision‑making remain at the centre of our grant selection processes, while recognising that AI tools can support practical tasks such as summarising text to improve clarity and readability. The policies also outline safeguards to protect confidentiality, privacy and trust in the funding and peer review process.
Under the policies, applicants may use AI as a support tool when preparing grant applications, with responsibility for accuracy and integrity remaining with the applicant. Peer reviewers may use AI to refine the wording of review comments, such as improving clarity and grammar, but must rely on their own expertise when evaluating and scoring applications.
The ARC and NHMRC are the largest government competitive funding agencies for fundamental research in Australia. They play an integral role in supporting the research sector to produce excellent and impactful research for Australia's economic, social, environmental and cultural benefit. The NHMRC funds biomedical and medical research in areas relevant to human health , while the ARC funds basic and applied research in other disciplines including the natural sciences, technology, engineering, social sciences and the humanities.
Both organisations will continue to monitor developments in this rapidly evolving area and update their policies as required. The policies come into effect on 28 April 2026.
