National Industry PhD Program Frequently Asked Questions

An Industry PhD is a doctoral program designed with an industry application in mind.  

Under academic and industry supervision, PhD candidates undertake a research project co-designed by a university and an eligible Australian business.  

The National Industry PhD Program (Program) gives PhD candidates an opportunity to gain practical and research experience in both industry and university settings. 

The Program aims to create a flexible workforce of researchers who can transition between academia and industry and have multiple career pathways open to them after completing their PhD.   

The Program has two streams:  

• Industry Linked PhD stream: For PhD candidates to undertake research projects co-designed by university and industry, with opportunities to be embedded in industry.  

• Industry Researcher PhD stream: For industry professionals who are supported by their employers to undertake a PhD in partnership with a university while retaining their industry employment and salary benefits.  

• As well as your regular PhD stipend, Industry Linked PhD candidates will be paid a stipend top-up of at least $10,000 from the industry partner and $6,210 from the Australian Government.  

• Recipients must be approved for, or be in receipt of, a Research Training Program (RTP) Stipend (or similar scholarship) and a RTP Fees Offset Scholarship. You will receive a stipend top-up for up to four years as a full-time student and up to eight years as a part-time student.   

• Your enrolling university may offer additional allowances for costs such as travel, conferences, relocation, and publication.  

• You will be embedded in an industry setting during your PhD candidature and will be provided with a 12-week training course during the candidature to gain an understanding of industry engagement.  

Industry Researcher PhD:  

• Your employer will agree to allow you to undertake PhD study and work concurrently. You will continue to receive your salary and other employment benefits from your employer. 

• Your employer receives a government subsidy to support your salary and other costs for the duration of your PhD studies.  

All Industry Researcher PhD candidates will generally undertake their PhDs on a part-time basis and continue working part-time for their employer. Most Industry Researcher PhDs will be completed in four years, but can be extended to up to eight years on reduced hours with the agreement of both the university and industry partner.  

The Department is not in a position to assist with questions about individual taxation circumstances. If you are unsure about whether an amount paid through the Program constitutes a taxable payment, please contact the ATO for further guidance, or seek your own independent legal advice.

Alternatively, the ATO has some guidance on their website for students and universities on scholarship payments.

Information for businesses to assist with determining when payments are taxable is available below:

• What to include in your business's assessable income
• What to exclude from your business's assessable income

Yes. International students can take part in the Program.  

Second year and above PhD candidates are not eligible for the Program. These candidates are not the target audience as they are likely to already be undertaking an established research project.

The Program is targeted at new PhD applicants and first-year candidates who are in the research project design stage and are therefore able to make the most out of the Program.

To qualify as a participating university, your organisation needs to be listed as a higher education provider under section 16-15 (Table A providers) or section 16-20 (Table B providers) in the Higher Education Support Act 2003. 

To be eligible for the Program under both streams, the PhD candidate must be awarded an RTP Fees offset for the duration of their PhD candidature by the university.  

Industry Linked PhD candidates also need to be awarded an RTP Stipend scholarship (or similar scholarship, with the minimum funding amount and conditions equivalent to the RTP Stipend base rate. Equivalent stipend scholarships can leverage other Australian Government funding programs as appropriate. 

A collaborative agreement template is available on the Department’s program website, covering the following topics: Intellectual Property (IP) arrangements, confidentiality, funding amounts and period, embedment arrangements, leave, and thesis publication.

Universities or industry partners can use an existing collaborative agreement template of a similar nature but must ensure they include the above content. Collaborative agreements will be required after the project has been successful in the application rounds. Ownership of the IP will be up to the university and industry partner to negotiate and decide upon.

To qualify as an eligible Industry Partner, you must:

• be a business or organisation with an Australian Business Number (ABN) registered with the Australian Taxation Office or an Australian Company Number (ACN) registered with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, and
• undertake Research and Development (R&D) activities.
  • Please note: To qualify as an industry partner, your organisation must already be undertaking R&D activities at the time of application.

For the full list of conditions under which grants will be awarded to eligible industry partners, please see section 2.9.3 of the Program Guidelines

Industry Linked PhD:

• You will host a PhD candidate working on a PhD project with an industry application, with opportunities to leverage collaborations with universities and their research capabilities and facilities.

Industry Researcher PhD:

• You will receive a financial contribution to the salary of the PhD candidate, industry co-supervisor/mentor and other relevant costs incurred.
• For full-time PhD candidates, you will receive $41,400 per candidate, per year for up to four years.
• For part-time PhD candidates, you will receive $20,700 per candidate, per year for up to eight years.

• Employees of your organisation — both full-time and part-time — are eligible to apply for an Industry Researcher PhD project. Contractors and subcontractors are not eligible for funding through the Industry Researcher PhD stream of this program.
• Other eligibility criteria related to the PhD candidate (i.e., citizenship, completion of previous PhDs, etc.) will also be considered as part of the selection process.
• Please note: Industry Researcher PhD candidates are subject to the PhD entry requirements of the partner university, as set out in the university’s HDR Admissions Policy.

Two application rounds are scheduled to be held each year. Applications will be open for approximately six weeks for each round. For details of current and upcoming rounds, please see the Applications section of the National Industry PhD Program page.

PhD candidates can commence at any time during two periods each year: from January to June, and from July to December. Commencement is during the whole semester to allow for enrolment, visa and scholarship processes, including RTP scholarships. Universities can put an application for an industry research PhD project forward with or without an PhD candidate. PhD candidates will be selected by the university through their standard processes.

There are no restrictions on the field of research for the project. However, the academic and industrial experience of the supervisory team, and their relevant standing in the field of research, will be assessed as part of the application.

Applications need to be submitted by an Australian university. If you are enrolled, or about to be enrolled, as a PhD candidate at a university, please contact your prospective supervisor or Graduate Research Office and ask about being included in an application or Industry PhD funded project. If you have not yet been offered a PhD place at a university, please submit an enquiry and the service provider of the Program will attempt to find a suitable project for you.

If you are interested in applying for this program, please fill in this short Expression of Interest form. Campus Plus, the service provider appointed by the Department to deliver the Program, will be able to assist you.

Yes, you can. If the project is awarded funding under the Program, a PhD candidate can be recruited afterwards.

Universities are responsible for their own PhD candidate applications processes. Whether a PhD candidate is recruited for a research project before or after receiving a National Industry PhD Program scholarship is up to the discretion of each university.

• If an application in unsuccessful, it can still be submitted again for a future round.
• Unsuccessful applications will be archived but will have no impact on applying for future rounds.

Section 9 of the Program Guidelines outlines the appropriate response where the nominated Industry Partner ceases its business operation.

Otherwise, successful candidates will not be permitted to transfer to another Industry Partner after being accepted into the Program. Because the commitment of the Industry Partner to the collaboration is considered as part of the assessment process, partnering with another Industry Partner may change the quality of this commitment and therefore the merits of the application.

Yes - an application can come from a single University with one Industry Partner, or multiple Universities with several Industry Partners (such as a consortium for a Doctoral Training Centre).

Yes, go to the National Industry PhD Program Guidelines page.

The CSIRO Industry PhD (iPhD) program consists of one stream which is run through an industry partner, a university researcher and a CSIRO researcher working closely together to deliver a training experience for domestic PhD students on a project that has been developed by, or with, industry.

Under the CSIRO iPhD candidates receive a scholarship package of $45,000 a year consisting of:

• $12,000 a year from the industry partner towards the student’s scholarship, and
• $33,000 a year base scholarship ​from the CSIRO iPhD program office to the host university.

Candidates will also receive 3-5 days of training each year to support the development of their applied research and industry relevant skills.

An Industry PhD scholarship will be funded for a maximum of four years, including a minimum three-month industry engagement component, where the candidate will undertake research under the guidance of their industry partner. The CSIRO iPhD program office will reimburse operating expenses to the organisation where the candidate is primarily located of up to $13,000 a year to be used for the student’s project.

See more information on the CSIRO’s Industry PhD Program.