McKenzie Postdoctoral Fellowships

Benefits & funding

• Salary set at Academic Level A6 on the University of Melbourne salary band, plus on-costs and superannuation, under the applicable University enterprise agreement. The scheme pages do not publish the dollar rate.
• A single allocation of up to A$25,000 for research project costs across the full term of the fellowship, funded by the host faculty.
• Three years of research-focused time at 1.0 FTE; fractional appointments are negotiable, normally at no less than 0.8 FTE, with lower fractions considered case by case.
• Access to the workshops, seminars and early-career supports of the University’s Researcher Development Unit, plus mentoring from the Academic Contact or a mentor nominated by the faculty.
• The project allocation covers research staff, facility access and technical services, essential fieldwork, equipment and consumables, specialised software, essential project travel, workshops, and publication costs including open-access fees up to A$5,000 in fully open-access venues.
• Not covered: relocation expenses, visa costs, tuition or HECS/HELP liabilities, standard desktops and laptops, society memberships, and article processing charges in subscription or hybrid journals.

Eligibility

• Hold a PhD, or have met all the requirements to graduate, in a discipline relevant to the fellowship proposal — from a university in any country, including Australia and the University of Melbourne.
• For the 2027 round, PhD requirements must have been completed no earlier than 1 April 2023, giving a post-PhD window of about three years. The award date is the date of the official notification letter confirming all PhD requirements were met, not the date of thesis submission.
• Australian and non-Australian citizens are both eligible; this scheme sets no residency requirement.
• An Academic Contact at the University of Melbourne must endorse the application on a signed Academic Contact Form, submitted by the Expression of Interest deadline.
• Current University of Melbourne academic staff may apply if their appointment is casual, fixed-term, or continuing research contingent. Fellows must be directly employed by a University department; honorary appointments do not qualify. Eligible affiliated institutes include the Florey, Peter MacCallum, WEHI, Orygen, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute and CERA.
• Anyone who has previously held a McKenzie, Melbourne, Puzey or Mary Lugton fellowship is not eligible, and each applicant may submit only one fellowship application per round.
• Applicants who fall outside the criteria may lodge an Eligibility Exemption Request where career interruptions left effectively three years or less of post-PhD research opportunity — counted as time at 0.4 FTE or more on research — or where other exceptional circumstances apply.
• Fellows must commence by 30 June 2027, may not hold a concurrent University position or conflicting outside work, and may not take part in teaching, though limited graduate research supervision is allowed.

Application process

1. 1
   Read the Early Career Researcher Fellowships (ECRF) Guidelines and the FAQs linked from the scheme page.
2. 2
   Identify an Academic Contact at the University of Melbourne — the Find an Expert directory helps — and have them complete and sign the Academic Contact Form.
3. 3
   Check the extra submission requirements of the faculty or school you would join; several ask applicants to register their intent to apply before the deadline.
4. 4
   Submit the Expression of Interest through the SmartyGrants portal: a project summary of at most two pages on the supplied template, an indicative budget, a track record of at most two pages, the signed Academic Contact Form, and an Eligibility Exemption Request if one is needed.
5. 5
   Faculty panels assess and rank eligible EOIs; only shortlisted applicants are invited to the second stage.
6. 6
   Invited applicants submit a Full Application in SmartyGrants with a project description of at most seven pages, a detailed budget and an updated track record, and arrange for two referees to email confidential testimonials to the ECR Fellowships office by the deadline.
7. 7
   A multi-disciplinary central selection committee assesses the full applications and recommends the final ranking to the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) for approval.

Program timeline

1. Round opens for 2027 commencement; guidelines and SmartyGrants portal released

   Apr 1, 2026

2. ECR Fellowships webinar

   Apr 16, 2026

3. Expression of Interest deadline, 3:00 pm, including eligibility exemption requests

   May 7, 2026

4. Eligible EOIs forwarded to faculties

   Jun 8, 2026

5. Faculties return their shortlists

   Jul 3, 2026

6. EOI outcomes notified; shortlisted applicants invited to a Full Application

   Jul 22, 2026

7. Full applications due, 3:00 pm; referee testimonials due

   Aug 19, 2026

8. 2026-10

   Outcomes announced at the end of October

9. Offer letters and contracts issued

   2026-10 to 2026-12

10. Earliest commencement date for fellows

    Jan 1, 2027

11. Latest commencement date for fellows

    Jun 30, 2027