Frequently asked questions

Navigate to the Sign in page and select the Create an account link. This will take you to the Create an account page. Provide your email address which you will use to log in each time. This must be unique to you. Select 'Send verification code'. Retrieve your verification code from your email and copy it to the input box. Select 'Verify code'. Continue as indicated. 

You must first create a portal account. See FAQ 1. 

When you log in for the first time you will be taken to the Instructions page. 

If you have previously submitted an application on the portal, when you log in you will be taken to the My applications page. Your previous submissions will be recorded here. Select New application in the navigation ribbon at the top of the page. 

Email address verification code:

• Check your junk or spam email folder for an email from Microsoft.
• Check that the email is not getting blocked by your organisation's firewall. Ask your IT administrator if an email from Microsoft on behalf of business.gov.au "msonlineserviceteam@microsoftonline.com" is being blocked.

Phone number verification code: 

• Check your phone has signal and can receive messages.
• Check to make sure unknown senders can send you messages. If you block unknown numbers, you won't receive the codes.

If you still experience problems contact us on 13 28 46. 

Passwords must contain:

• a minimum of 8 and a maximum of 16 characters
• 3 out of 4 of the following character types:
• lowercase letters,
• uppercase letters,
• digits (0-9),
• one or more of the following symbols: @ # $ % ^ & * - _ + = [ ] { } | \ : ' , ? / ` ~ " ( ) ;

For the best experience when completing your application we recommend you use following browsers:

• On Windows: The latest versions of Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge
• On Mac: The latest versions of Safari and Google Chrome

Yes. The Commonwealth’s use and disclosure of your personal information (provided in this application or otherwise) is set out in the Grant Opportunity Guidelines. 

Further information regarding the Department of Industry, Science and Resources' obligations in accordance with the Privacy Act can be found in our privacy policy.

If you have not saved your entries in 30 minutes you will be logged out and any data you have not saved will be lost. You will be prompted to save 28 minutes after your last save. Typing or moving your mouse does not reset the time out.

You may cancel your portal account at any time. Contact us on 13 28 46 for assistance.

You will have to start an application to preview the entire application form. See FAQs 1 and 2. You will have to provide your organisation details and get past the first eligibility page. 

Once past this page you can view the whole application form. To navigate through the form you can select the page numbers on the left hand menu. You can save the draft form and come back to it or delete the application and start again. 

To see what questions we ask in the application form you can find a sample form on the program page on business.gov.au. 

If you are having trouble validating your ABN in the application form, check that:

• Your ABN is entered correctly (11 digits in length and entered in the portal with no spaces between the digits)
• Your ABN is valid. Use the ABN Lookup on the Australian Business Register (ABR) website to search and check your ABN.
• If your ABN is not valid, follow the advice provided on the ABR website to fix the issue.

If you still experience problems call us on 13 28 46.

The ANZSIC Division/ANZSIC Class fields in the application form populate with information from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). If your organisation’s ANZSIC code is not listed in the application form, select the closest fit for your organisation.

No. Data entered is not automatically saved. You need to click on the Save button at the bottom of each page to save your responses. 

Yes. You can save your progress by clicking the Save button. You can exit and re-enter the application form up until you submit it. 

When you log in you will be taken to the My applications page.

You will see a list of any applications you have started or submitted. Select the application you wish to return to.  

You can only edit an application still in draft.  

You can access your application on the My applications page. See FAQ 14.

Once you are in your application, you will see a navigation menu on the left hand side of the page, where you can select the page you want to edit. 

Remember to save each page before you navigate to a different section of your application. 

You cannot edit the applicant details on the program selection page. If these details change you must start a new application.

You cannot edit your ABN once you have saved the program selection page.  The ABN is a unique identifier linked to your entity. Changing the ABN is the equivalent of changing the applicant entity. 

If you have not submitted your application, you may need to start a new application. Call us on 13 28 46 to discuss your options.  

If you have already submitted your application, you will need to call us on 13 28 46 as you are unable to change a submitted application. 

You cannot print or download a copy of an application still in draft.

To print a submitted application, navigate to the Application summary page and select View submitted application. This allows you to view and print each page.

When you complete all mandatory fields and acknowledge you have read and agree to the declaration on the last page, a Submit application button will appear.

If you receive an error when trying to submit or the submit button is not available, check the status of the grant opportunity or program. It may be closed or suspended.

An application cannot be submitted with errors. You will need to go back through the pages that require further information to resolve the errors that are highlighted in red before you can submit your application.

Pages without errors are indicated on the navigation menu with a tick. 

When you log in, you will be taken to the My applications page, which includes a list of all of your applications and their application IDs. This application ID is your ongoing reference number.

Your application ID is also displayed on the top of each page of your application and eReport.

No. Once your application has been submitted, you cannot edit or delete the application through the portal. 

Contact us on 13 28 46 if there is a problem with your submitted application. 

For most programs, the application form may be completed by anyone authorised by your organisation to do so. This may be a consultant. 

However if your grant opportunity guidelines state we are using an approval letter grant agreement, the application must be submitted by someone authorised to enter into an agreement with the Commonwealth, on behalf of your organisation. 

Whoever submits the application form must read the Applicant declaration and agree to the declaration and confirm all statements to be true. 

Only some participant roles allow you to invite another participant. If you are an applicant creator, primary contact, authorised signatory, facilitator or adviser you can invite other participants. A participant must accept the invitation on the portal before they are added. 

If you are in the middle of an application you should first save your application. Select the Application summary link from the top menu. It will have the application ID next to it.

On the Application summary page, select the Participants tab under the summary. This will show any current participants and allow you to invite a new participant.

You will need to select the appropriate Participant role for the new participant. The role determines what they can see and do within the application. See FAQ 27.

After you press Send invitation, an email will be sent to them. They will need to register to use the portal if they are not already registered. They must use the email address you provided to access the application. 

If you need someone else to access your application, you (or the primary contact) will have to invite them as a participant. See FAQ 23 for details on how to add a new participant. 

You should not allow anyone to access the application using your login or password. 

Only some participant roles allow you to invite another participant. If you are an applicant creator, primary contact, authorised signatory, facilitator or adviser you can invite other participants. If you do not have one of these roles you should contact the primary contact to invite another participant. 

Participants are only added to the application once they have accepted their invitation. Refer to FAQ 23 for the process. 

You can control what a new participant can see and do in an application by the role that you assign to them. See FAQ 27. 

Role types determine what a participant can see and do within any particular application. Role types may differ from one program to the next, however there are some standard role types. The same participant can have multiple roles which would give them the combined permissions of those roles. 

• Application creator is the person who created the application. They have full access to the application, including the ability to submit and delete the application, and can add other participants.
• Primary contact is the person who is primarily responsible for the application and ongoing project. We will direct all correspondence to this person. They can add other participants.
• Authorised signatory is a representative of the grantee organisation who can enter into agreement with the Commonwealth.  There are no permission restrictions on this role.

Ask your program officer to modify the permissions of a participant. If you do not know your program officer contact us on 13 28 46 for help. 

Ask your program officer to modify the permissions of a participant. If you do not know your program officer contact us on 13 28 46 for help. 

For most grant opportunities, accepting the agreement on the portal is equivalent to signing a grant agreement. You will not be asked to sign a hard copy of the grant agreement.

If your grant opportunity is part of the Medical Research Future Fund you will be required to sign a hard copy of the grant agreement. 

You must have sufficient portal permission to accept an agreement. You must have the role of an authorised signatory. 

When you log in you will be taken to the My applications page. Select your application. 

On the Application summary page select the Agreement and variations tab. Select the Open grant agreement button to download and view a copy of the grant agreement. Once you have read the grant agreement, click on the Accept button to agree to it. You will be shown an electronic declaration, which you must accept in order to accept your agreement. 

When you log in, you are taken to the My applications page. Select your application. After your grant agreement has been executed, the status of your application will change to In progress and forms for reporting will become available. 

On the Application summary page select the Reports tab. A list of reports will appear. To access the report, select the Edit button. You cannot edit reports that have already been submitted.

When you log in, you are taken to the My applications page. Select your application. 

On the Application summary page select the Communications tab.  A list of emails will appear. Choose the email requesting your payment details and select Download to open a copy of the Accounts Payable – Supplier Details form. 

Complete and save the form and send to us via the email address listed. 

When you log in, you are taken to the My applications page. Select your application. 

On the Application summary page select the Payments tab. A list of payments will appear. 

The payment arrangements are outlined in your grant opportunity guidelines. They differ from one grant opportunity to another.

Payment is made by direct credit into the bank account you nominated. 

The status field shows where your application is up to in the grants lifecycle.

The following statuses mean that your application is going through the grants lifecycle:

• Pending eligibility check
  • You have not yet completed the self-assessment eligibility check page in the application.
• Eligibility check failed
  • You have self-assessed that you are not eligible to apply for this grant opportunity and will not be able to proceed. Check your answers to confirm they are accurate.
• Draft
  • You have passed the self-assessment eligibility check page but have not yet submitted your application.
• Submitted pending processing
  • You have submitted your application and the system is processing the submission. Contact us if your application stays at this status for longer than 2 hours.
• Submitted
  • Your application has been successfully submitted. The status will change to Pending assessment when your application is being assessed.
• Pending assessment
  • Your application is being assessed.
• Pending decision
  • Your application is awaiting the final decision.
• Application successful
  • You have been notified that your application was successful. We will contact you with next steps to follow.
• Pending contract
  • Your grant agreement is being developed. We will send a message to the Primary contact when it is ready for your representative to accept.
• In progress
  • You are undertaking your project and submitting reports. You are seeking a variation to your agreement if necessary. We are reviewing reports, making payments, and reviewing variations to your agreement where appropriate.
• Pending evaluation
  • Your project has been completed, but evaluation reports are still pending.

The following statuses mean that your application is no longer going through the grants lifecycle. No further action is required:

• Program closed
  • You are unable to submit this application as the grant opportunity is now closed to receiving applications.
• Application unsuccessful
  • A message was sent to the Primary contact to notify that your application was unsuccessful including the reasons why.
• Ineligible
  • Your application was deemed ineligible for the grant opportunity by the decision maker.
• Removed
  • You removed your application prior to submitting it.
• Withdrawn
  • Your application was withdrawn from consideration for the grant opportunity.
• Terminated
  • The executed grant agreement was terminated.
• Closed
  • Your project has finished. All reports and payments have been finalised