AAMRI Carer’s Scholarship – Guidelines

The 2026 AAMRI Carer’s Scholarship pilot aims to provide funding to staff employed at an AAMRI member institute to help offset the additional costs and practical challenges associated with unpaid caring responsibilities.

This program is designed to support primary carers to participate in valuable career development opportunities.

While AAMRI is flexible with how funds can be used, applicants are required to clearly articulate why the proposed opportunity is important for their career progression at this time, and how the requested funding will alleviate the barriers arising from your caring responsibilities.  

Applicants may apply for up to $2,000 + GST. The requested amount must be supported by an itemised budget to enable the fair and transparent assessment of applications.

Please note: All successful applications will be checked by the applicant’s employing institute for final approval prior to funding being confirmed and awarded. 

What funds can (and can’t) be used for

Scholarship funds may be used to support any career development opportunity and to reduce the additional barriers arising from unpaid caring responsibilities. Examples of eligible uses include:

  • Travel costs for a family member or support person to provide care while the primary carer attends or presents at an in-person or virtual conference
  • Additional paid care to enable the applicant to participate in a workshop or other professional development activity
  • Meal or food delivery services to reduce the logistical burden of meal preparation during periods of intensive work (e.g. preparing a grant, award or promotion application)
  • Coaching or professional support to help navigate personal and professional challenges associated with caring responsibilities
  • Ride-share or transport services for unaccompanied minors or care recipients with a disability or chronic illness to attend medical appointments or care providers
  • Other reasonable and clearly justified supports aligned to the applicant’s individual circumstances.

Funds can’t be used for:

  • Your own flights or accommodation for conference travel 
  • Your conference registration fee

Applicant eligibility

To be eligible for the scholarship you must: 

  • Be currently employed as a staff member* in an AAMRI member institute (either full or affiliate member institutes). 
  • Be the primary carer of one or more children under 18 years of age or have other unpaid caring responsibilities for family members (i.e. those with a disability or chronic/mental health condition, or who are frail/elderly). 

* For the 2026 pilot round, clinician researchers are ineligible to apply, however if there is high demand (please email to programs@aamri.org.au), this eligibility may be broadened post the rollout of this pilot.

Application timing 

AAMRI will run two rounds of the Carer’s Scholarship in 2026, with the scholarship granted to be spent on activities occurring within the 2026-27 Financial Year.

Round 1 – Applications will open Tuesday 2 June 2026 – closing Tuesday 30 June:

  • Assessments will occur in July
  • Successful recipients will be announced and funding awarded by end August

Round 2 – Applications will open Tuesday 1 September – closing Wednesday 30 September:

  • Assessments will occur in October
  • Successful recipients will be announced and funding awarded by end November

The number of scholarships administered per round will depend on the number of applications and financial request of applications received. For each round, a maximum of $10,000 is available, with individual applicants able to request up to $2,000 each.

Application requirements 

Each applicant must complete the online application form – which includes responses to key questions and the online submission of a current resume and an itemised budget that reflects the funding request. 

Applicants are required to provide the following information: 

  • Career Summary: Please provide an outline of where you are in your career. Include any highlights and any key milestones you are working towards in the next 12 months, including how these relate to the opportunity you are requesting funding for.
  • Carer Responsibilities: Please outline your caring responsibilities and the impact these have had on your career, particularly noting how these relate to the opportunity you are requesting funding for. 
  • Proposed Use of Funds: Please summarise how the funds will be used to reduce any caring-related barriers to your access/full participation in the proposed career opportunity. 

Evaluation Guidelines 

Applications will be forwarded to the AAMRI Carer’s Scholarship reviewers for assessment. 

Individual scores of the committee will be collated and reviewed collectively to make the final funding decision. Any conflicts of interest will be raised and discussed at the time of decision-making and managed on consensus. 

AAMRI will announce recipients on their website, via social media and in AAMRI e-news.

In 2026, AAMRI is proudly partnering with AbbVie to deliver this year’s program. 

AbbVie’s mission is to discover and deliver innovative medicines and solutions that solve serious health issues today and address the medical challenges of tomorrow. We strive to have a remarkable impact on people’s lives across several key therapeutic areas including immunology, oncology and neuroscience – and products and services in our Allergan Aesthetics portfolio. 

For more information about AbbVie, please visit us at www.abbvie.com.au.

Follow @abbvie on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X and YouTube.