Prime Minister’s Prizes for Science

Australia’s Prime Minister’s Prizes for Science are the country’s top national science, research-based innovation, and science teaching awards. They are meant to give public recognition to individuals or teams who have made important contributions in these fields and to elevate their work as examples for students, communities, and future researchers.

This page is written for people who need to decide quickly whether this opportunity is worth pursuing, and then for people ready to assemble a real nomination package.

Quick snapshot (at-a-glance)

What this opportunity is and what it is not

This is not a grant that you apply for directly to fund a new project. It is an award program. You do not get a contract with ongoing recurring funding by entering the competition. The expected outcome is public recognition, a substantial one-off prize, and often a profile boost that can open new collaboration and visibility opportunities.

If your goal is to secure operating or R&D money for a proposal, this is not the program you should use first. If your goal is to position an accomplished researcher, innovator, or STEM educator for national recognition and a major award, this program is directly relevant.

The prizes are split into three sections:

1. Science Prizes (5 prizes)
2. Science Teaching Prizes (2 prizes)
3. Prime Minister’s Prize for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Knowledge Systems (1 prize)

The official program page currently states that up to $1.4 million is awarded each year across these categories.

Who should read this page

You should use this guide if you are:

• a potential nominator (colleague, team leader, principal, school authority, or institutional supporter),
• a prospective nominee trying to decide if you are likely to be a match,
• a department or office planning annual nominations,
• or a committee member supporting a team through preparation.

If you are unsure whether you can submit this opportunity right now, check the official date table below first. For the 2026 cycle, the program pages show this intake as closed.

At a glance timeline and when this is worth your time

Current-cycle calendar (from official pages)

Practical decision rule

• If you are preparing a current application: you should not submit now; the 2026 cycle is listed as closed.
• If you are planning for next cycle: start preparation now while information is in your organisation.
• If your candidate won’t be nominated this cycle: use this process as a readiness framework for the next year.

Prize categories, amounts, and fit

Science Prizes (5)

These are the categories for scientists and innovators.

Common eligibility pattern for these prizes:

• Nominee must be willing to be nominated.
• Nominee should be an Australian citizen or permanent resident.
• Can be individual or team (up to 4).
• Nominators need informed knowledge, and for science/innovation categories, usually should hold professional qualifications in a related area.
• The nominee can come from academia, research, or industry.

Field coverage for the science/innovation categories is broad and mapped to ANZSRC 2020 field groups. It includes life, physical, environmental, engineering, computing, health, and related disciplines.

Science Teaching Prizes (2)

Main requirements in these categories are:

• Must be a registered teacher at a primary or secondary school listed on the Australian Schools List,
• must be teaching science, technology, engineering, or maths-related learning,
• nominee must be an Australian citizen or permanent resident,
• nominations cannot be self-led,
• if the nominee is a principal, nomination support must come from within school leadership.

Prime Minister’s Prize for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Knowledge Systems (1)

Eligibility specifics are distinct:

• Nominee must be Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander,
• can be a person, team (including family groups), or community group representation,
• project must be Indigenous-led and practice preservation of knowledge systems,
• nominee should provide evidence of authentic connection and respectful engagement with communities,
• nominees and nominators are not self-nominated.

This category is often the first step toward stronger national visibility for Indigenous-led applied knowledge.

Eligibility: who can and cannot apply

The program is a nomination-based recognition. There is no direct applicant form in the same sense as many grants.

Nominators

You can nominate in all three groups, but with strong constraints:

• You must have first-hand knowledge of the nominee’s work.
• You should be able to provide evidence and informed judgment.
• You must not be a close family member.
• Self-nominations are not accepted.
• For science and innovation categories, nominators are expected to be knowledgeable and in related fields.
• For teaching categories, at least one nominator/supporter in the nominated school context must come from school leadership (especially if the nominee is a principal).

Nominees

Across categories, the nominee must generally be:

• an Australian citizen or permanent resident,
• willing to be nominated,
• and able to provide materials that support a category fit.

For Science and Innovation, nominees can be at different career stages and can come from academia, industry, or research organisations. For teaching prizes, the requirement is active classroom relevance and active teaching role in STEM at the time of nomination.

What this opportunity does not accept

• No self-nomination.
• Nomination for someone with no evidence-based achievements in a recognized area is not competitive.
• Generic letters without concrete evidence are normally not persuasive enough.
• If a candidate does not want to participate publicly, their nomination should not proceed.

How to apply (practical workflow)

The process is two-stage and is handled through the business.gov.au Grants Portal.

Stage 1 (common logic across categories)

Stage 1 is a structured submission where the nominator captures the core nomination case. Official guidance says:

• state evidence against eligibility and assessment criteria,
• identify two supporters (and, for science prizes, usually two independent referees),
• provide nominee CV and background information,
• use the official form in the relevant grants page.

The 2026 science/innovation and teaching pages also specify character/document limits for Stage 1:

• Science Prizes: approximately 3,000 characters against criteria, with CV template constraints.
• Knowledge Systems: up to about 790 words or 4,500 characters.
• Teaching: around 4,500 characters and nominee CV, plus two supporters.

Stage 2 (if shortlisted)

Only shortlisted nominees move to Stage 2. This is where teams usually spend the most effort and lose most submissions if underprepared.

Expected Stage 2 work (from official pages):

• a fuller evidence response to all assessment criteria,
• updated or expanded material from Stage 1,
• supporter statements,
• optional or category-specific media formats (for some categories, short audio/video options are accepted in Stage 2),
• additional attachments as per guidelines.

The Indigenous Knowledge Systems page documents a Stage 2 window for the 2026 cycle (31 March-23 April 2026), while the science and teaching pages provide process detail but not always the public date window in the same view.

Where to apply by category

• Science Prizes: business.gov.au Science Prizes page.
• Science Teaching Prizes: business.gov.au Science Teaching page.
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Knowledge Systems: business.gov.au Knowledge Systems page.

Each of these pages is the official starting point and includes the current guideline links and Stage 1/2 requirements.

What applicants normally underestimate (and why)

Many teams underestimate preparation effort. A useful way to think about this nomination is as three deliverables:

1. Proof: claims with measurable outcomes.
2. Context: why this achievement matters beyond a CV.
3. Narrative quality: a reviewer-friendly explanation of why this is among Australia’s top contributions.

You usually lose before deadline if one of these is weak.

Common preparation bottlenecks

• Waiting until last week to contact referees.
• Using long prose instead of review criteria language.
• Missing the nominee’s willingness confirmation before nomination submission.
• No clear statement of impact on Australia (benefit to people, economy, health, environment, capability).
• Failing to match category scope (e.g., teaching nomination without active classroom context).
• Not explaining team roles in multi-person entries.

What reviewers often find convincing

• A direct first paragraph: what was done, why it matters, why this nominee is uniquely suited.
• A short list of outcomes with numbers (adoption figures, patents, policy use, community outcomes, student outcomes, commercial uptake).
• Clear evidence for claims, ideally with file names/IDs that map to annexes.
• A realistic story of impact across at least two time horizons (current outcome and sustained effect).

Required materials checklist (practical list)

Use this as your master list. Keep each file named and versioned.

For Science Prizes

• Nominee declaration or willingness confirmation.
• Nominee CV (using required template constraints where published).
• Completed Stage 1 response with concise criteria mapping.
• Supporter contact details (2).
• Independent referee contact details (2).
• Stage 2 assets if shortlisted (criteria statements, supporter statements, additional attachments, optional media evidence).

For Science Teaching Prizes

• Nominator statement and nominee agreement.
• Nominee CV.
• Two supporters.
• Stage 1 narrative and Stage 2 statement if shortlisted.
• Classroom examples and evidence of innovation/impact in teaching.
• Optional media submission (where supported).

For Knowledge Systems Prize

• Evidence that the work is Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander-led.
• Background and experience statement (required format details in official guidelines).
• Supporter details and independent referees.
• Stage 1 and Stage 2 evidence set as required.
• Optional/accepted media attachments in Stage 2.

Common mistakes to avoid (and how to prevent them)

1. Submitting generic statements instead of criteria-specific evidence.

   • Prevention: open the guidelines and map each sentence to a criterion number.

2. Not aligning nominee role with category.

   • Prevention: choose one category and keep all documents aligned to it.

3. Assuming ‘highly experienced’ is enough evidence.

   • Prevention: include outcomes from publication, adoption, partnerships, or measurable student impact.

4. Confusing supporters and referees.

   • Prevention: document each contact role clearly; category rules vary between supporters and independent referees.

5. Skipping nomination ethics.

   • Prevention: ensure no family conflicts and clear nomination ownership.

6. Underestimating char limits.

   • Prevention: prepare drafts with exact counts before opening the portal form.

FAQ (practical, confirmed points only)

Is this for funding a project?

No. It is a recognition award, with a medallion, medal/lapel pin, award certificate, and prize money to the recipient.

Can self-nomination happen?

No.

Do nominees need Australian citizenship?

Science, teaching, and knowledge categories state nominee status as Australian citizen or permanent resident. If unclear for a specific category, always confirm on the specific category page before proceeding.

Can international collaborators be included?

You can nominate teams and collaborations, but nominee status still follows the official rules. Collaborative outputs are often stronger when you explain the domestic relevance.

Can a nominee be nominated in more than one category?

The official guidance says a nominee should be aware that they may be asked to choose one if multiple nominations occur.

Who reviews the nominations?

The process is stage-based, with departmental checks, then independent committees/referees, and then final assessment.

Is this a good use of time?

It is usually worth applying only when:

• your nominee has evidence beyond normal CV material,
• your team can produce a clean Stage 1 package,
• and the nominee is confident about public profile and award obligations.

If the evidence is not there yet, it is often better to delay until there is stronger proof.

Your next action plan (7 days)

1. Decide category fit with the criteria.
2. Confirm nominee willingness in writing.
3. Check each required role (supporters, referees, institutional contacts).
4. Pull evidence into one repository and date-tag files.
5. Draft Stage 1 with criterion-by-criterion mapping.
6. Have one reviewer from the same field read for factual integrity.
7. Review wording for clarity and concision before portal submission.

If you are at risk of missing Stage 1, do not improvise at the last minute. Stop, gather what is missing, and submit only when your evidence map is complete.

Official links and what to open first

Must-read

• Prime Minister’s Prizes for Science program page
• Science Prizes (application and criteria)
• Science Teaching Prizes (application and criteria)
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Knowledge Systems Prize (application and criteria)
• Department contact: [email protected]

If the page is marked closed right now

For the 2026 cycle, official pages now say applications are closed. That is not a reason to act only reactively. Keep your evidence file updated and wait for the next 2027 nomination open window.

The most valuable use of waiting time is writing the candidate evidence in a review-ready format now, so that when the next window opens, you can respond quickly and confidently.