Research Block Grants

Research block grants (RBGs) provide funding to eligible Australian higher education providers (HEPs) to support research and research training, and are established under the Higher Education Support Act 2003 (HESA).

Policy

RBGs comprise two programs, the Research Support Program (RSP) and the Research Training Program (RTP).  

RBG funding is allocated on a calendar year basis and calculated using program-specific formulae set out in the Other Grants Guidelines (Research) 2017 (OGG) for the RSP and the Commonwealth Scholarships Guidelines (Research) 2017 (CSG) for the RTP. Funding for both programs is awarded based on the relative performance of each HEP in attracting research and development income, and in addition for the RTP, in supporting students to complete higher degrees by research (HDRs).

HEPs have autonomy to expend RBG funding to achieve their research and research training priorities, including to provide for equipment and infrastructure, and support research students, staff and projects, provided expenditure is in accordance with HESA, the OGG and the CSG. 

Programs

RBGs comprise two programs, the RSP and the RTP.

In 2025, the Government will provide $2.33 billion in RBG funding to 43 eligible higher education providers (HEPs). 

This includes:

  • $1.09 billion through the RSP
  • $1.25 billion through the RTP

RSP

The RSP provides funding to HEPs to support the systemic costs of research such as libraries, laboratories, consumables, computing centres and the salaries of support and technical staff, as well as research costs not supported directly through Australian competitive grants and other sources.

The objectives of the RSP are to:

  • provide a flexible funding stream to support the systemic costs of research undertaken by Australian HEPs, including the indirect costs of Australian competitive grant research;
  • support the delivery of world class research; and
  • support collaboration between HEPs and industry and other research end-users.

RTP

The RTP provides funding to HEPs to support the training of domestic and overseas students undertaking research doctorate and research masters degrees, known as HDRs. Students can be offered RTP scholarships in the form of one or more of:

  • a tuition fee offset
  • a stipend to assist with general living costs, and/or
  • allowances related to the ancillary costs of studying a HDR (such as overseas student health cover, or thesis publication costs).

RTP scholarships can be offered for a period of 3 to 4 years for students studying research doctorates, and for up to 2 years for students studying research masters degrees. 

Research funding, data collection and calculations

2025 RBG allocations

2025 RBG allocations can be found on the 2025 research block grant allocations page and in the research block grant allocations time series. 

RBG calculation methodology

The calculating research block grants page outlines the methods used to calculate annual RBG allocations.

Higher Education Research Data Collection (HERDC)

The HERDC is the means through which the department collects annual research and development income data from HEPs. This data is used to calculate annual RSP and RTP allocations, along with HDR student completions data for the RTP.

Further information is available on the HERDC page.

Consolidated time series datasets

The consolidated time series datasets page provides historical RBG allocations and other higher education research datasets, including:

  • RBG allocations (2001-2025)
  • Research and development income data (1994-2023)
  • HDR student completions (1989-2023)
  • Higher education expenditure on R&D (HERD) by providers(2004-2022).

More information

For additional information regarding RBGs, refer to: