Invest in the future of pain research and clinical care

SUPPORT APS TODAY

Login Join

APS Early Career Research LaunchPad Grant Application

The Australian Pain Society Early Career Researcher Launchpad Grant supports early career researchers committed to pain research and its management. The scheme funds independent pilot studies and research projects that strengthen your track record and improve your competitiveness for future external funding. Grants of up to $30,000 are available.

Before starting your application, please read the 2026 APS ECR Launchpad Grant Application Guidelines carefully. Applications that do not meet the eligibility criteria or guidelines will not be assessed.

Closing date: 5pm AEST, Wednesday 30 September 2026

For queries, contact office@australianpainsociety.org

Before you begin, have the following ready:

  • ✓
    Your CV, including all qualifications, research and teaching experience, previous research support over the last 5 years, and your top 5 publications with descriptions
  • ✓
    A supervisor approval letter confirming support and any in-kind contributions from your lab, school, or institution
  • ✓
    Your ethics approval status and reference number (if applicable)
  • ✓
    Budget estimates across all relevant categories (Personnel, Equipment, Consumables, Participant Costs, Consumer Engagement, Other) — maximum $30,000 total
  • ✓
    The name, position, email and phone of your Head of Department and Responsible Officer
  • ✓
    Responses to all narrative sections — we recommend drafting these in a Word document first. Word limits apply to each section.

🕐
Estimated completion time: 60–90 minutes
💾
Your progress is saved automatically in this browser. Return on the same device and browser to continue where you left off.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Last Page
Section 1 — Administrative Detail
Please complete all fields below. This information is used for correspondence and eligibility assessment.
Project Title *
Maximum 90 characters including spaces.
Location of Research
Department *
Institution *
Location / City *
Supervisor Name *
Supervisor Position *
Supervisor Qualifications (incl. year and institution) *
Applicant Details
Full Name (incl. title) *
Date of Birth *
Email Address — double-check carefully, all correspondence will be sent here *
Personal Telephone *
Home Address
Street Address *
Suburb *
State *
Postcode *
Current Position of Applicant
Department *
Institution *
Work Email *
Work Telephone *
Work Mailing Address
Street Address *
Suburb *
State *
Postcode *
Eligibility Confirmation
All eligibility criteria must be met to proceed. Ineligible applications will not be assessed.
Year PhD Awarded (or equivalent) *
Career Disruption Periods (if applicable)
Have you ever been the lead Chief Investigator (CIA) on an NHMRC, ARC, MRFF or HRC grant? *

⚠️ You are not eligible to apply for this grant. The APS ECR Launchpad Grant is open only to researchers who have not previously held a CIA role on an NHMRC, ARC, MRFF, or HRC grant. If you believe this is an error, please contact office@australianpainsociety.org.

Are you a current APS member? *
What is your citizenship status? *

⚠️ You are not eligible to apply for this grant. The APS ECR Launchpad Grant is open to Australian citizens and permanent residents currently working in Australia. If you believe this is an error, please contact office@australianpainsociety.org.

Section 2 — Project Detail
Word limits are specified for each section. Submissions exceeding word limits may be penalised during assessment.
Project Summary (max 250 words) *
Background and Research Plan (max 1,200 words) *
Outcomes (max 200 words) *
Career Trajectory (max 150 words) *
Reference List (no specific word limit)
Context of Proposed Research Project (max 600 words) *
Training and Mentorship Plan (max 600 words) *
Resources (max 200 words) *
Research Translation and Future Impact (max 400 words) *
Ethical and Privacy Considerations
Does the project involve personal information from a Commonwealth Department or Agency? *
Specify Commonwealth department and privacy safeguards
Does the project involve: *
Ethics approval status *

Note: Proof of ethics approval is required before grant funds are released. We strongly recommend submitting ethics applications as early as possible, ideally in parallel with this grant application.

Outline ethical considerations for your human or animal research
Project Risks
Identify risks to the conduct of the proposed project and your mitigation strategies (e.g. delays in recruitment, ethics approval, backfill etc.). Add a row for each risk.
Section 3 — Budget
Applicants may request up to $30,000. Enter line items for each relevant category, then provide written justification below. Categories not applicable to your project may be left empty.
Personnel
Personnel Subtotal
$
0.00
Personnel Justification *
Equipment
Equipment Subtotal
$
0.00
Equipment Justification
Consumables
Consumables Subtotal
$
0.00
Consumables Justification
Participant Costs
Participant Costs Subtotal
$
0.00
Participant Costs Justification
Consumer Engagement
Consumer Engagement Subtotal
$
0.00
Consumer Engagement Justification
Other
Other Subtotal
$
0.00
Other Justification
Total Expenditure (max $30,000)
$
0.00

⚠️ Your total expenditure exceeds the $30,000 maximum. Please review your budget before proceeding.

Supporting Documents
PDF or Word format only. Maximum 10MB per file. Ensure filenames clearly identify the document and your name.
Applicant CV — PDF or Word document *
Maximum file size: 10 MB

Your CV must include: all qualifications; a summary of previous research and teaching experience; previous research support over the last 5 years (project title, funding source, amount); and your top 5 publications with a brief description of perceived importance/novelty beneath each.

Supervisor Approval Letter (including lab/school/institution in-kind support) — PDF or Word document *
Maximum file size: 10 MB
Section 4 — Approvals
By signing below you confirm that all information in this application is accurate and complete, and that you meet the eligibility criteria for the APS ECR Launchpad Grant.
Applicant Full Name *
Date *
Applicant Signature *
Clear
Head of Department
Please provide the contact details of your Head of Department. APS may contact them to verify your application if required.
HoD Full Name *
HoD Position / Title *
HoD Email Address *
HoD Phone *
Responsible Officer (Institutional Certification)
Please provide the contact details of your institution's Responsible Officer. APS may contact them to verify institutional support if required.
RO Full Name *
RO Position / Title *
RO Institution *
RO Email Address *
RO Phone
Declaration

Login Join