2.1
This chapter provides an overview of the proposed amendments to the Australian Research Council Act 2001 (the Act) and provides some background on the Australian Research Council (ARC) and its grant assessment process.
Overview of the bill
2.2
As noted in Chapter 1, the Australian Research Council Amendment (Ensuring Research Independence) Bill 2018 (the bill) would amend the Act to remove Ministerial discretion from research grants administered by the ARC. It would do this by providing that the responsible Minister must approve a research proposal and its associated expenditure if that proposal has been recommended for approval by the ARC.
2.3
Specifically, the bill would repeal subsection 51(1) of the Act and substitute new subsections 51(1) and (1A) that would require the Minister to approve research grants recommended by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the ARC.
2.4
The bill would further amend section 51 to insert subsection 51(2A) to require that the funding determined by the Minister be no less than the amount recommended by the CEO of the ARC. At present, subsection 51(2) requires the Minister to determine funding for the approved research proposals.
2.5
Finally, the bill would repeal subsection 52(4) of the Act which states that the Minister may (but is not required to) rely solely on recommendations made by the CEO.
The ARC
2.6
The ARC is an independent statutory agency established under the Act. The ARC's purpose is to 'grow knowledge and innovation for the benefit of the Australian community' by funding the 'highest quality research, assessing the quality, engagement and impact of research and providing advice on research matters'.
2.7
As the Australian Government's (the government's) main source of advice on national research investment, the ARC is responsible for administering the Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) framework, which identifies and promotes excellence across the full spectrum of research activity in Australia's higher education institutions. The ARC also administers funding for both fundamental and applied research through the National Competitive Grants Program (NCGP).
2.8
The NCGP comprises 13 schemes under two programs: the Discovery and Linkage Programs. The Discovery Program focuses on research by individual researchers and small teams of researchers while the Linkage Program encourages collaboration between higher education institution researchers and industry, business, and other research partners. The grants are awarded competitively through a peer assessment process.
Grant assessment process
2.9
Prior to submission to the ARC, research proposals typically go through an extensive and time-consuming development process, including the preparation of lengthy applications.
2.10
Once research proposals are submitted to the ARC, a Selection Advisory Committee (SAC) assesses each funding proposal and makes recommendations to the ARC CEO about which applications should be funded and how much funding they should receive. The SAC assessors are commonly drawn from the ARC College of Experts, which is comprised of over 200 Australian experts in various disciplines. This process is also subject to a National Interest Test (NIT).
2.11
In line with the Act, the ARC CEO then makes recommendations to the Minister in relation to which research proposals should be approved and the funding that should be allocated to those proposals. Subsection 52(4) of the Act states that, in deciding which proposals to approve, 'the Minister may (but is not required to) rely solely on recommendations made by the CEO'.
2.12
Typically, the Minister approves the proposals recommended by the CEO, but, in line with the Act, the Minister may choose to reject recommended proposals. For example, seven research proposals were rejected in 2005 by the Hon Brendan Nelson MP, nine projects were rejected by Senator the Hon Simon Birmingham in 2017, and in December 2021 the Acting Minister for Education and Youth, the Hon Stuart Robert MP, rejected six research proposals recommended for approval by the ARC.
Reforms to the ARC grant funding process
2.13
On 6 December 2021, the Acting Minister for Education and Youth, the Hon Stuart Robert MP, sent a Letter of Expectations to the ARC, outlining his expectations of the ARC in relation to government policy directions that rely on ARC-funded university research. The letter identified four priority areas for reform to be implemented by the end of 2022. These were:
supporting national priorities;
fast-tracking implementation of recommendations from the review of the ERA Framework and the Engagement and Impact (EI) assessments; and
enhanced organisational governance.
Supporting national priorities
2.14
As part of the supporting national priorities reforms, the Letter of Expectations required the ARC to 'ensure its research funding schemes align clearly and tangibly to those areas of Government priority for economic development'.
2.15
To this end, it stated that at least 40 per cent of funding approvals by value should be for proposals under the Linkage Program. Additionally, at least 70 per cent of funding under the Linkage Program should be for projects that align with the government's six National Manufacturing Priorities.
Strengthening the NIT
2.16
In relation to strengthening the NIT, the Letter of Expectations stated that the ARC assessment process and recommendations should 'demonstrate a clear public interest from the significant public investment in university research'.
2.17
In line with this direction, the ARC has been asked to look at ways to expand the role of industry and other end-user groups both as members of the College of Experts and in assessing the NIT of high-quality projects.
Fast-tracking implementation of recommendations from the review of ERA and EI assessments
2.18
The Letter of Expectations asked the ARC to expedite work arising from the review of ERA and EI assessments, including the development of 'more efficient and robust assessments of the quality and impact of Australian research'.
2.19
To this end, the ARC has been asked to work with the Department of Education, Skills and Employment to develop quantitative metrics focused on the impact of research, and to convene an expert working group to develop a revised ERA rating scale.
Enhanced organisational governance
2.20
In order to support the reform process more broadly, the Letter of Expectations asked the ARC to provide advice on the re-establishment of a designated committee to support the CEO. The committee would bring 'additional external and end-user perspectives' that would help improve governance, align the ARC's strategic agenda with government priorities, and drive innovation in relation to research funding programs and impact assessment.
2.21
On 25 February 2022, the Acting CEO of the ARC responded with a Statement of Intent, on which the CEO provided an update on the steps the ARC is taking to implement the Minister's priorities.
Consideration by the Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills
2.22
The Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills (Scrutiny of Bills Committee) considered the bill in the Scrutiny Digest 6 of 2018. No comment was made on the bill by the Scrutiny of Bills Committee.
Compatibility with human rights
2.23
The statement on compatibility with human rights for the bill concluded it is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.
2.24
The Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights made no comment on the bill as it found the bill 'did not raise human rights concerns'.