The Australian Research Council (ARC) and the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) released a joint statement and updated policies on April 28, 2026, concerning the use of generative AI in grant applications and peer review. These policies aim to uphold academic integrity and human judgment while allowing AI as a supportive tool.
Key Policy Details (Effective April 28, 2026)
For Grant Applicants
Permitted Use: Generative AI can be used as a support tool for drafting, summarizing, and streamlining applications, as well as for improving clarity, grammar, and reducing language barriers.
Responsibility: Applicants are solely responsible for the authorship, accuracy, and intellectual content, ensuring AI use does not compromise the originality of the research proposal.
For Peer Reviewers (Assessors)
Permitted Use: AI can only assist with technical aspects of drafted assessments, such as grammar, spelling, formatting, and readability.
Prohibited Use: AI must NOT be used to evaluate, critique, or score applications. The core assessment must be based on the reviewer’s expertise and judgment.
Confidentiality Breach: Inputting any application material (text, data, or images) into public generative AI tools is considered a serious breach of confidentiality.
Implementation and Scope
ARC: The policy applies to applications and assessments for the Discovery Indigenous 2027 round and all subsequent scheme rounds.
NHMRC: The policy applies to all peer review conducted for NHMRC MREA grant schemes from April 28, 2026.
Monitoring: Both agencies will monitor AI developments and update policies as needed.
These updates replace previous 2023 guidelines and align with international standards to prevent AI-generated content from compromising the peer review system.
Core Principles
- Confidentiality and Privacy: Protecting applicant intellectual property
- Human Expertise: Prioritizing human judgment in funding decisions
- Ownership and Accountability: Humans must take responsibility for AI-assisted outputs
- Transparency: Maintaining trust in the fairness of the grant system
- Rigour: Ensuring AI use does not introduce bias or reduce scientific quality