The Margaret Middleton Fund for Endangered Australian Native Vertebrate Animals
Program highlights
- This fund offers annual science grants of up to $20,000 each to support field-based, high-quality ecological research.
- The objective of the grant is to provide financial support for conservation-based research of Australian ecosystems that ultimately will lead to tangible outcomes for management.
This fund offers annual science grants of up to $20,000 each to support field-based, high-quality ecological research. The objective of the grant is to provide financial support for conservation-based research of Australian ecosystems (including off-shore islands and the continental shelf) that ultimately will lead to tangible outcomes for management. The scope of the research is open to terrestrial, marine and freshwater research on endangered Australian native vertebrate animals.
The research must address ecological and conservation problems in Australian systems. Preference will be given to novel research which deals with empirical field-based data and ecological community processes with possible management implications rather than pure genetic or modelling research.
The work should lead to publication in high quality ecological or conservation/management journals.
Key dates
Below are the key dates for the application process. While we aim to keep to this schedule, some dates may change depending on circumstances.
GUIDELINES
The following guidelines and FAQs provide important information about eligibility, submission requirements, and assessment processes. Please review them carefully before submitting an application.
The grant is open to PhD students and early-career researchers (within 3 years of completing their PhD or equivalent*). Grants are offered to successful applicants in November each year for projects to be commenced the next year. Funded activities are normally expected to have been undertaken within two years from the date of award. Awardees can apply for project variations if their award proposals are impacted by extenuating circumstance.
Applicants must be in one of the two below categories.
- Be a student enrolled for a PhD at an Australian institute and hold an Australian Government Research Training Program (RTP) scholarship or university scholarship.
- Be within three years of having received a PhD (or equivalent) and hold a postdoctoral position at a recognised Australian research institute, e.g. CSIRO or a university.
This award is open to applications for candidates from all genders.
In assessing applications, the committee will take into consideration:
- whether the proposed project addresses a problem of substance with regard to contemporary challenges faced in native species conservation
- the degree to which the project will include empirical field studies or studies of fundamental ecological processes
- innovation and novelty
- feasibility
- potential to lead to a publication in a leading journal.
In addition, the committee will assess the potential of the applicant to undertake the research, taking into account stage of career and any interruptions, as demonstrated by a track record of engagement in research, publication and the support of referees.
* The Australian Academy of Science is committed to ensuring that all eligible researchers can be considered for awards and collects career interruption information to assess their opportunity to demonstrate scientific excellence. Accordingly, extensions to the post PhD (or equivalent) eligibility requirements for Early and Mid-Career awards will be provided for qualifying career disruptions.
A career disruption involves prolonged interruption to a nominee’s capacity to conduct Full Time Equivalent (FTE) high-level research, either due to part-time employment or absence (for periods of one month or greater) and/or long-term partial return to work, to accommodate carer’s responsibilities, illness or other interruption.
The career disruptions here must have occurred post the date of the letter advising that the PhD thesis was passed and resulted in significantly reduced research productivity or nil research output. Career disruption periods will be taken into account for those who would otherwise be beyond the Post PhD Career Eligibility requirements.
Conference travel is not supported.
Journal page charges up to a maximum of $2,000 may be supported.
This grant does not provide funds for bench fees, managerial, visa, insurance or infrastructure costs, or salaries.
Applications must include the following:
- A research proposal structured under the following headings; aims and background, significance of the research, methodology, management implications of the project. Maximum of 1000 words.
- Itemised budget with brief justification for each item, the names and details of research funding already received (project title, funding body, amount).
- Brief CV including qualifications, summary of professional/research experience and publications/presentations. A full publications list is not required. Maximum of three pages using size 12 font.
- PhD students must submit a letter of reference from their supervisor indicating that such a research proposal can be conducted from within the department and their opinion of the proposed research, the need for award funding and potential career impact of award if funded. Maximum of one page using size 12 font.
- Post-doctoral fellows must submit two referee reports with the application. The reports should be addressed to the Awards Committee and indicate the referee’s knowledge of the applicant’s research and their ability to carry out the project successfully. Maximum of one page using size 12 font for each report.
Applications are assessed by a committee of scientists with diverse expertise and based on the assessed competitiveness of the proposal. The Academy is not able to enter into discussion or correspondence regarding the reasons why an application is successful or not.
- This grant does not provide funds for bench fees, managerial, visa, insurance, infrastructure costs, or salaries.
- Applicants can only receive funding from the same research or travelling research award once in a three calendar year period.
- Applicants may apply for more than one award but can only receive one Academy travelling or research award per calendar year.
- Supporting institutes and awardees are required to ensure that any research they undertake that is funded by the Australian Academy of Science adheres to the Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of research, severe breach of these codes may result in the withdrawal of current and refusal of future funding support. Research involving Indigenous Australians must comply with the Guidelines for Ethical Research in Australian Indigenous Studies.
By February 28 of the year of award, grant-holders must provide:
- A timetable of their research activities, including an anticipated date of completion.
- A copy of the approval of their research by their institution’s ethics committee in relation to a Code of Practice governing the care and use of animals for scientific purposes.
An annual report is required on the progress of the research project. The report should detail progress on the research goals outlined in the grant-holder’s proposal, and expected vs. actual expenditure to date.
If the Grant is held for two years, a report is also required at the end of the second year.
Applications are to be completed through an online form found by clicking on the Apply button on the top right of this web page when the round is open.
Travelling awards, research grants, workshop and lecture awards
- 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 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Scientist Award, the Margaret Middleton Fund and Max Day Fellowship Awards are not able to cover any salary expenses, for either primary researchers or research assistants.
- 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.
- 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.
- Can I use the funds to attend a conference?
- The Margaret Middleton Fund does not support conference expenses.
- The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Scientist Award and 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 institution prior to submitting the fellowship application.
Previous awardees
2025
- Dr Patrick Finnerty, University of Sydney: Reintroducing endangered eastern quolls (Dasyurus viverinnus) into predator-free safe havens: a critical stepping stone for beyond-the-fence rewilding success across mainland Australia
- Dr Emily Hoffmann, University of Western Australia: Frogs on fire: Rapid assessment of wildfire impact on an Endangered peatland endemic to inform prescribed burn practices
- Emmeline Norris, James Cook University: Utilising drone-based thermal imagery to accurately estimate abundance of the endangered spectacled
Learn more about the 2025 awardees here.
2024
- Dr Samatha Tol, James Cook University: Do green sea turtle faeces increase seagrass seed germination and seedling success through fertilisation?
- Dr Deanne (Dee) Trewartha, Flinders University: Heat, water and lizards – understanding behavioural responses to translocation in an endangered, endemic Australian grassland reptile to inform conservation practices
- Dr Anthony Waddle, Macquarie University: Hot-spot shelters to fight amphibian chytrid epidemics
Learn more about the 2024 awardees here.
The impact of this work extends beyond the scientific community. Our publications and our conference presentations have generated media interest which in turn has resulted in public outreach and education to highlight the unique ecology of the pygmy bluetongue and the importance of grassland conservation in South Australia. Importantly, the study demonstrates how targeted funding—such as the Margaret Middleton Award—can directly enhance research outcomes by enabling larger sample sizes, improving data quality, and accelerating conservation progress for threatened species.
Dr Dee Trewartha, Flinders, 2024 Middleton recipient
2023
- Dr Shaina Russell, Macquarie University: Rrambaŋi djäma (working together): New camera trap approach to detect bio-culturally important fauna on remote Indigenous land
- Ariana La Porte, Monash University: Early-life impacts of climate warming in endangered purple-crowned fairywrens: Studying mechanisms to inform conservation strategies
- Emma Carmichael, James Cook University: Small frogs with big problems: Ecology and conservation of critically endangered mountaintop nursery frogs
Learn more about the 2023 awardees here.
Previous years
Download the list of previous awardees
The Margaret Middleton Fund for endangered Australian native vertebrate animals - research funded up to and including 2022
