Australia–Vietnam Science, Technology and Innovation Cooperation Initiative (AVSTICI) Grants

AVSTICI grant funding supports the Australian lead organisation’s delivery costs for the approved collaborative research project and enables activities that strengthen the partnership between the Australian and Vietnamese collaborators.

Approved grant funding will be released to the Australian lead organisation following execution of a funding agreement with the Academy. Grant funds cannot be used for activities or costs incurred before the funding agreement is executed. All expenditure must comply with the eligible and ineligible cost requirements outlined in these guidelines, and eligible expenditure must be incurred by the Australian lead organisation. All costs must contribute directly to the delivery of the project and be managed in accordance with the financial, reporting and governance obligations set out by the Academy.

Vietnamese project partners will receive funding separately under a program administered by the MOST in Vietnam. Each country manages its own funding allocations, governance and reporting requirements, and Australian organisations are responsible only for the administration and reporting of their own grant funds.

All project costs must meet the funding use requirements outlined above to be considered eligible. Expenditure must be incurred by the Australian lead organisation and contribute directly to the delivery of the approved Australian component of the collaborative research project. The following lists outline the types of expenditure that are eligible and ineligible under the program.

Eligible expenses

• Direct support costs for research activities, translation and promotion of outcomes undertaken in Australia and incurred by the Australian lead organisation. The supported activities must be approved in the project application and comply with the funding use requirements. Joint activities are eligible only to the extent that the Australian lead organisation incurs the cost and the expenditure relates to its Australian component of the project.
• Direct labour costs of the lead Australian organisation’s employees directly employed on the core elements of the project. Personnel are considered employees when a regular salary or wage is paid to them, out of which there are regular Australian tax instalment deductions.
• Up to 30% labour on costs to cover employer paid superannuation, payroll tax, workers compensation insurance, and overheads such as office rent and the provision of computers for staff directly working on the project.
• Contract expenditure covering the cost of eligible project activities that are contracted to approved Australian project partner organisations. All contractors must have a written contract prior to starting any project work. Invoices from contractors must contain a detailed description and breakdown of the work including hours and hourly rates.
• Travel expenses for employees of the Australian lead organisation, or approved Australian contracted project partner organisations travelling within Australia or to Vietnam to work directly on the project, including:
  • domestic economy class airfares within Australia
  • international economy class airfares between Australia and Vietnam for personnel working directly on the project
  • internal long-distance transport, such as domestic flights or rail, to meet international flights in Australia or Vietnam
  • accommodation costs in Australia and Vietnam, utilising long-stay, self-contained accommodation where possible
  • daily per diem at Table 1 rates of the relevant financial years ATO Tax Determination for domestic and international travel – TD 2025/4
  • Vietnamese visa costs.

Other direct project expenditure for the lead Australian organisation, as approved by the Department of Industry, Science and Resources.

Ineligible expenses

• Costs associated with research, personnel, travel or any other expense of a Vietnamese partner organisation
• Indirect costs of research not listed as eligible expenditure, such as salary for administrative staff, institutional overheads or other general operating costs
• Labour charges, contract costs or any other personnel related expenses incurred by organisations other than the Australian lead organisation
• Capital or operational facility costs, including purchase of non-program related assets, construction or renovation of facilities, and costs such as rental, utilities or similar operating expenses
• Costs involved in the purchase, upgrade or hire of software (including user licences) and ICT hardware
• Activities that would be undertaken in the normal course of business, such as website development, the purchase or development of standard business software, or debt financing and related financial charges
• Costs associated with the internal preparation of finance and audit statements
• Any activities, equipment or supplies that are already being supported through other sources
• Insurance costs, including any travel or medical insurance costs for individuals who are not personnel of the Australian lead organisation. Project partners must maintain their own insurance or similar coverage for any liability arising from their participation in the project
• Costs relating to the consumption or purchase of alcoholic beverages
• Staff recruitment and relocation costs
• Any costs incurred prior to the signing of a funding agreement

If your application is successful, we will ask you to verify project costs that you provided in your application. You will need to provide evidence such as quotes for major costs.

Not all expenditure on your project may be eligible for grant funding. The Department of Industry, Science and Resources makes the final decision on what is eligible expenditure and may approve other activities.

Applications must be submitted through the Good Grants online portal. All information requested in the application form must be provided, and the required supporting documents must be uploaded in the specified format.

Applications must be submitted by the deadline of 11.59pm AEST Monday 20 July 2026.

Supporting documentation requirements

Applicants must upload all required supporting material in the format specified in the application form. Applicants are responsible for ensuring that all documents are correct at the time of submission. Corrections or replacements will not be accepted after the application deadline. Applications with missing or incomplete supporting material may be deemed ineligible.

Required supporting documentation will include:

1. a recent CV (maximum six pages including publication list) for the project lead at the Australian lead organisation
2. a recent CV (maximum six pages including publication list) for the project lead at the primary Vietnamese partner organisation
3. a recent CV (maximum six pages including publication list) for the project lead at each partner organisation, if relevant
4. a letter of support from the Australian lead organisation
5. a letter of support from the primary Vietnamese partner organisation
6. a letter of support from each additional partner organisation
7. a brief risk management plan and any supporting documentation, describing how you propose to monitor, manage and report identified risks
8. additional documents that address your institution’s foreign interference policy and other national security requirements. 

The brief risk management plan should outline how identified risks will be monitored, managed and reported, and must include consideration of cybersecurity and national security risks. The lead Australian organisation should describe how they will address risks relating to foreign interference and the unwanted transfer of technology, data or knowledge, including their approach to due diligence on partner organisations. Successful applicants may be required to provide a more detailed risk management plan following the award outcome, should further specific information be required.

Applicants will also be required to respond to questions on foreign affiliations in the application form. This information will be used by the Department to conduct due diligence checks, and additional information may be requested if needed. Applications may be declined if requested information is not provided or is insufficient.

For an application to be considered eligible, all required questions in the application form must be answered in full and all relevant attachments included at the time of submission. Incomplete or ineligible applications will not be considered.

All applications will first undergo an eligibility screening conducted by the Academy. Eligibility screening is based solely on the information and supporting documentation submitted in the application form. Applications that do not meet the eligibility requirements will not proceed to assessment.

Eligible applications will then be assessed for scientific merit by a panel of Academy Fellows with relevant subject expertise. Assessment will be based on the criteria outlined below.

Criterion 1: Collaborative research in priority areas (40 points)

Assessment will consider:

1. the clarity of alignment with one of the priority areas
2. the coherence and feasibility of the proposed research design
3. the defined and complementary contributions of the Australian and Vietnamese partners
4. the extent to which the project will strengthen science and research capabilities in both countries.

Criterion 2: Bilateral linkages and long-term collaboration (40 points)

Assessment will consider:

1. the strength and credibility of the proposed bilateral collaboration
2. the potential for lasting linkages beyond the project period
3. alignment with the bilateral science, technology and innovation intent of the AVEEES
4. opportunities for broader sector engagement or benefits, including future research, industry or commercial pathways where appropriate.

Criterion 3: Skills development, mentoring and inclusion (20 points)

Assessment will consider:

1. the quality of opportunities for students, EMCRs and researchers to participate in skill-building and mentoring activities
2. the measures proposed to support diversity, inclusion and equitable access to research and training opportunities in both countries.

Award decision and outcome notification

Final award decisions will be made by the Program Delegate within the Department of Industry, Science and Resources, following a joint decision-making meeting with the Vietnamese government. Once decisions are confirmed, the Academy will notify applicants of the outcome. Successful applicants will be subject to a media embargo and must not publicly announce their award until the Department has released the outcomes.

Following the scientific merit assessment, the Department will undertake due diligence checks on all applications and national security checks on the successful applicants. These checks form part of the overall eligibility assessment. Although the due diligence responses are not scored, the information provided, or not provided, may affect an application’s eligibility and whether it can proceed.

National security risk considerations

Applicants will be asked questions to help understand the risks to national security in the projects to enable personnel to implement mitigations and conduct research as safely as possible. 

Risks to the national interest are broad and varying in their nature and impact. In science and technology research, they include foreign interference and espionage, intellectual property theft and the application of science and technology. 

Eligible activities under this grant may have national security implications. It is your responsibility to consider any such implications of the proposed project and identify, assess and appropriately manage any such risks as reflected in your risk management plan, particularly relating to export controls, intellectual property rights protection, espionage and foreign interference and unwanted transfer of technology, knowledge, data or information. 

You must inform the department if you identify any material risks relating to national security. To assist with managing security risks, you are strongly encouraged to review the department’s Guide to undertaking international collaboration and the Guidelines to Counter Foreign Interference in the Australian University Sector by the Department of Education.

Due diligence

We will conduct due diligence on your application to assess its suitability for this Grant Opportunity. Our due diligence will include an assessment of financial, legal/regulatory, governance or other related risks.

The scope of our due diligence will cover you and any Australian organisations that you may partner with to perform, facilitate or deliver the eligible activities under this Grant Opportunity (Partner Organisations). This may include Partner Organisations’ directors, officers, senior managers, key personnel and related bodies corporate (as defined in the Corporations Act 2001).

We may also consider any matters relating to you or your grant application more generally that could bring the Australian Government into disrepute under this Grant Opportunity. 

Our due diligence will include reviewing the information that you provide to us as a part of your grant application, and may also include (but may not be limited to) reviewing: 

• Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) or international company searches, including organisational extracts and searches of the banned and disqualified register, as well as bankruptcy and personal name searches
• adverse media searches
• search of matters before courts.

When we assess your application, we may consider and take into account any risk that your application could conflict with Australian Government policy. 

We may ask you to provide us with further information to assist us in assessing risks identified during this due diligence process. 

We may exclude your application from the assessment process if we determine that it presents an unacceptable level of risk.

Know your partner

You should ensure that you know who you are collaborating with by undertaking appropriate due diligence, proportionate to the risk and subject to available information, on all partners and personnel participating in the project. This should take into account any potential security, ethical, legal and reputational risks, and, where necessary, you should be prepared to demonstrate how you will manage and mitigate any identified risks.

Export controls 

Australia’s export control regime limits the overseas transfer of goods and technologies listed on the Defence and Strategic Goods List (DSGL). The regime may apply to the export of products, and to any situation involving the overseas transfer, sharing, publication or brokering of controlled goods, technology, software or related knowledge.

It is your responsibility to consider whether the export control regime applies to your activity. If you are unsure whether your activity may require an export license, you should review the self-assessment guide for ‘controlled items’ and/or contact Defence Export Controls (DEC).

Foreign Affiliations

Eligible activities under this grant may involve partners or personnel with foreign affiliations. You must inform us of any relationships between project participants and foreign parties that could influence or benefit from the proposed activity. Such relationships may include foreign ownership or sponsorship, connections to foreign governments, militaries, political parties, or other organisations, and membership of foreign talent programs. You must also inform us of the establishment of any such relationships throughout the life of the grant.

This grant will not fund any procurement, commercial, business development or supply chain activity by a lead, partner or subcontractor from:

• any countries listed on the Autonomous Sanctions Regulations (this includes any goods or services originating from a sanctioned source);
• listed terrorist organisations for the purposes of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth) (details are available here.);
• any entity listed on the ‘World Bank’s Listing of Ineligible Firms and Individuals’ posted on the World Bank Listing of Ineligible Firms and Individuals webpage;
• any entity, individual or organisations owned, controlled by, acting on behalf of, or at the direction of individuals, entities or organisations listed above; or
• any entity, individual or organisation that provides support, resources or assets (directly or indirectly) to any of the individuals, entities and organisations listed above.

Foreign Government Affiliations

Eligible activities under this grant may involve partners or personnel with connections to foreign governments. You must inform us if you, your project partners or any project personnel are receiving funding or benefits from, or otherwise affiliated with, a foreign government, including:

• a foreign state or local government
• a foreign military, intelligence organisation or police force
• an organisation owned or sponsored by a foreign government (such as a state-owned corporation or state-sponsored university)
• a foreign government talent program.

You must give proper detail to enable us to evaluate your relationship with the foreign government, and we may request further details from you. You must also inform us of the establishment of any such relationships throughout the life of the grant.

Intellectual property rights

Applicants must provide details of Intellectual Property (IP) arrangements in their applications. This includes both the use of IP in the project and the proposed ownership rights to IP generated by the project as well as strategies for protecting Australia’s interests.  You and your project partners must negotiate arrangements and procedures for using and handling all IP created through the project, in a manner that is fair to all partners and beneficial to Australia. This may include the allocation of IP rights, or of income from IP, between you and your partners. The agreements should be in accordance with laws and regulations in Australia and provide for:

• adequate and effective protection and equitable distribution of any benefits from IP rights created in or resulting directly from cooperative activities (foreground IP rights)
• ownership of foreground IP rights to be allocated on the basis of respective contribution and equitable interests
• terms and conditions for the commercialisation and other forms of dissemination of the foreground IP rights
• adequate and effective protection of IP rights provided by the organisations, enterprises and institutions prior to or in the course of such cooperative activities, for example, the licensing or utilisation of such IP rights on equitable terms (background IP rights).

Australian participants should approach IP negotiations in line with the principles outlined on business.gov.au and the National Principles of Intellectual Property Management for Publicly Funded Research.

Disclosure of Commonwealth, state or territory financial penalties

You are responsible for ensuring that your application is complete and accurate. Giving false or misleading information to the Department is a serious offence under the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth). We will investigate any false or misleading information and may exclude your application from further consideration.

You must disclose whether you, any Partner Organisations, Relevant Parties or other persons of authority have been subject to any pecuniary penalty (not including penalty decisions under appeal or penalties paid), whether civil, criminal or administrative, imposed by a Commonwealth, State, or Territory Court or a Commonwealth, State, or Territory Entity. If this is the case, you must provide all relevant details to the Department regarding the matter(s) for consideration.

You must also inform us of any such penalty imposed against you, any Partner Organisations, Relevant Parties, or relevant persons of authority throughout the life of the grant.

Disclosure of International Financial Penalties

You must disclose whether any of you, any Partner Organisations, Relevant Parties or other persons of authority, have been subject to any pecuniary penalty (not including penalty decisions under appeal or penalties paid), whether civil, criminal or administrative, imposed by a foreign government or international regulation entity (e.g. WTO). If this is the case, you must provide advice to the Department regarding the matter for consideration.

You must also inform us of any such penalty imposed against you, any Partner Organisations, Relevant Parties, or relevant persons of authority throughout the life of the grant.

Successful applicants will be required to submit progress reports at the end of the first and second years of the project, where applicable, and a final report within six months of project completion. Reporting obligations will include updates on project activities, expenditure and outcomes including whether, and in what ways, the project has contributed to post‑COVID‑19 recovery objectives. Detailed reporting requirements will be outlined in the grant funding agreement.