Types of Grants

MS Australia Project Grants

Funding Details: The MS Australia Project Grant is awarded for up to three years to support research that advances the understanding, prevention, treatment and cure of MS. The grant seeks to enable researchers to pursue innovative projects that can lead to breakthroughs in MS research. 

Eligibility: Applicants must:

• Be Australian or New Zealand citizens or permanent residents (permanent residency status to be confirmed by January of the year the grant is commencing).
• Be undertaking research at an Australian research institution.
• Use the grant for salaries, project costs and consumables essential to the project. Funds may not be used for travel expenses or conference attendance. 

Funding limit: Up to $400,000 total, with an annual range of $50,000 to $200,000.

Application Dates: Applications open 17 March 2025 and close 28 April 2025.

Important Note: Please also consider applying to NHMRC and NMSS. You must submit separate applications to other funding bodies, as there is no automatic routing of applications between funding bodies.

MS Australia Postdoctoral Fellowship

Funding Details: The MS Australia Postdoctoral Fellowship is awarded for up to three years and provides salary support for early career researchers working in the field of MS.

Eligibility: Applicants must be:

• Australian or New Zealand citizens or permanent residents (permanent residency status to be confirmed by January of the year the fellowship commences).
• Undertaking research at an Australian research institution.
• Within 10 years post-PhD at the start date of the fellowship, calculated from the date of the PhD acceptance letter and considering relative to opportunity.

Final-year PhD students may also apply, provided they have officially received their PhD by January of the fellowship start year. 

Funding Amount: Salary of $40,000 to $100,000 per annum available for up to three years.

Application Dates: Applications open 21 April 2025 and close 30 May 2025.

Important Note: In order to increase your chances of funding please also consider applying for a NHMRC Investigator Grant. There is no automatic routing of applications between funding bodies.

MS Australia Senior Fellowship

Funding Details: This prestigious award is available to established researchers who are potential leaders in the MS research community. The goal is to provide the security and funding support for these individuals to lead a team in MS research. Candidates are expected to have an established and verifiable track record in MS at a national and international level.

Eligibility: Applicants must:

• Be Australian or New Zealand citizens or permanent residents (permanent residency status to be confirmed by January of the year the fellowship commences).
• Be undertaking research at an Australian research institution.
• Have completed a PhD or MPhil. 

Funding Details: This grant provides a full-time salary for a Senior Research Fellow, with a maximum of $130,000 per annum for up to five years.

Application Dates: Applications not offered in 2025.

Important Note: In order to increase your chances of funding please also consider applying for a NHMRC Investigator Grants. There is no automatic routing of applications between funding bodies.

MS Australia Paired Fellowship

• Be Australian or New Zealand citizens or permanent residents (permanent residency status to be confirmed by January of the year the fellowship commences).
• Be undertaking research at an Australian research institution.
• The Senior Research Fellow must have completed a PhD or MPhil and the Clinical Fellow must have completed a medical degree (MD, MBBS, or equivalent).

MS Australia Postgraduate Scholarship

Funding Details: These scholarships are granted to students who plan to undertake a PhD or are currently undertaking a PhD at an Australian university, working in the field of MS. Successful Postgraduate Scholarships for both rounds will commence in January 2025.

Eligibility: Applicants must:

• Be Australian or New Zealand citizens or permanent residents (permanent residency status to be confirmed by January of the year the scholarship commences).
• Be planning to undertake a PhD or are currently enrolled in a PhD program at an Australian higher education provider. 

Funding Amount: The scholarship stipend is up to $40,000 per annum for up to three years.

Application Dates:

• Postgraduate Scholarship Round 1: Applications open 03 February 2025 and close 07 March 2025.
• Postgraduate Scholarship Round 2: Applications open 02 June 2025 and close 04 July 2025.

Important Note: MS Australia participates in a partner scheme with the NHMRC to provide top-up funding to successful NHMRC Postgraduate Scholarship recipients. To be considered, applicants must apply separately for both the MS Australia Postgraduate Scholarship and the NHMRC Postgraduate Scholarship, as there is no automatic routing of applications between funding bodies.

MS Australia Incubator Grant 

Funding Details: Incubator grants provide seed funding for the early stages of innovative new research efforts, with the aim of generating preliminary data needed to support future grant applications. There are two rounds of Incubator applications. The research is expected to be completed within a year from the date that the grant is awarded. Successful grants from Round 1 will commence funding in August/September of the same year, while successful grants from Round 2 will commence in January the following year.

Eligibility: Applicants must:

• Be Australian or New Zealand citizens or permanent residents (permanent residency status to be confirmed by time the grant commences).
• Be undertaking research at an Australian research institution.
• Have research experience. 
• Use the grant for project costs, consumables and personnel essential to the project. Funds may not be used for travel expenses or conference attendance. 

Funding limit: Up to $25,000 for one year.

Application Dates:

• Incubator Grant Round 1: Applications open 03 February 2025 and close 07 March 2025.
• Incubator Grant Round 2: Applications open 02 June 2025 and close 04 July 2025.

Funding Details: Ian Ballard Travel Awards are intended to enable recipients to undertake an international travel tour with the aim of extending and collaborating on their MS research specialty.  This award cannot be used to fund attendance at conferences. 

Eligibility: This award is specifically for MS researchers. Applicants must be citizens or permanent residents of Australia or New Zealand.

Funding Amount: The award is up to $25,000 and travel is expected to be completed within one year of receiving the award. Duration of travel is typically 8 weeks or less.

Application Dates: Applications open 02 June 2025 and close 04 July 2025.

About Ian Ballard
Ian Ballard was an inspirational person with MS who valued the importance of research into multiple sclerosis. He encouraged a group of like-minded people to start fundraising via various means. In November 2005, Foundation 5 Million (F5M) was launched in Sydney, with the idea that if 2,500 people with MS and their families and friends could raise $2,000 each, we could rapidly raise $5 million to fund MS research.

Unfortunately, Ian passed away from a heart attack in 2008 before he could see F5M achieve its goal of raising $5 million in 2011. This award is in his memory.