Categories of Research Income

Research Income, Definition of Research and Classification as Research

7.11.1 Category 1: Australian competitive grants
Category 1 consists only of income from those research schemes and programs listed on the 2012 Australian Competitive Grants Register (ACGR).

Only net receipted income received by HEPs from the programs and schemes registered on the 2012 ACGR can be claimed under this category. The ACGR is available through the department's website at: http://www.innovation.gov.au/Research/ResearchBlockGrants/Pages/AustralianCompetitiveGrantsRegister.aspx

Grants received from the Australian Government and not included in the 2012 ACGR may be eligible for inclusion in Category 2: Other public sector research income.

Where a HEP receives income from another source in addition to funding partners listed in its Australian Competitive Grant application, then that income should be reported under the relevant category, depending on its source.

7.11.2 Category 2: Other public sector research income
Category 2: Other public sector research income includes:

Australian government – Non Category 1
This is any other income for the purposes of conducting research received from the Australian Government, whether via programs, grants or contracts, that is not eligible for inclusion as Category 1 research income.

State or Territory government
This is income for the conduct of research received from state or territory government departments or agencies, whether via programs, grants or contracts.

Local government
This is income for the conduct of research received from local government departments or agencies, whether via programs, grants or contracts.

Government business enterprises
This is income for the conduct of research received from enterprises that are wholly or partly owned or funded by Commonwealth, state or territory, or local governments; have a board; and operate on a profit or cost-recovery basis.

Cooperative Research Centres
This is research income from CRCs in which the reporting HEP was not defined within the Commonwealth Agreement as "The Researcher" or a "Participant" (i.e. was not a signatory to the Commonwealth Agreement, a CRC Participants Agreement, or a Company Constitution during the reporting period).

Reporting of eligible general or untied income from government grants
HEPs are to report any eligible proportion of general or untied income received from government grants for the purposes of conducting research (see section 7.6) according to the source of that grant (i.e. whether Australian government - Non Category 1, State or Territory government, or Local government).

International A: Competitive, Peer-reviewed research grant income
International B: Other income

Category 3 includes:
Australian:

• contract research income provided by industry or other non-government agencies
  
• grants for the conduct of research other than government provided grants (which should be reported in either Category 1 or Category 2)
  
• donations and bequests for the conduct of research that have been received from Australian business, Australian non-profit organisations and Australian individuals
  
• income received from syndicated research and development arrangements
  
• funds received for providing the cost of a domestic student's HDR fee-paying place (but excluding Commonwealth supported places or places funded through the RTS). This includes tuition fees* that domestic fee paying students (non Commonwealth supported) pay to their HEP for a HDR program or HDR-related course of study.
  

Many research income arrangements involve grants covered by a contract. In categorising funds as either contract research income or grant income, HEPs should regard:

• funding for research where the project was developed primarily by the funding agency, or jointly by the funding agency and the investigator(s) as contract research income
  
• funding for research where the project was developed primarily by the investigator(s) as grant income.
  

International A

• Competitive grants, peer reviewed grants for research from non-Australian industry or non-Australian Government agencies including non-Australian industry collaborative research grants.
  
• Grants that can be included are those where:
  1. funds are provided on a competitive basis and are clearly for the conduct of research only; and
     
  2. there is a well-defined mechanism for competition and selection by a well-qualified panel.
     
• Grants that are not eligible are those that provide:
  
  1. grants in kind such as the use of facilities, equipment etc. or subsidised travel or accommodation; and
     
  2. funding wholly or mainly for infrastructure purposes.
     

International B

• Contract research provided by non-Australian industry or non-Australian Government agencies including non-Australian industry collaborative research grants
  
• Non-competitive grants for research from non-Australian industry or non-Australian Government agencies including non-Australian industry collaborative research grants
  
• Donations and bequests for conduct of research that have been received from non-Australian business, non-Australian not-for-profit organisations and non-Australian citizens
  

International C:

• funds received for providing the cost of an international student's HDR fee-paying place (but excluding Commonwealth supported places). This includes tuition fees** that international fee paying students (non Commonwealth supported) pay to their HEP for a HDR program or HDR-related course of study.
  

For donations and bequests (Australian and international)

Where all, or a proportion, of a donation or bequest is invested then only the income earned from that investment which is available for expenditure on research in the reference year should be included.

8. Category 4: CRC Research income
8.1 General requirements

Under Category 4: CRC research income, HEPs must report the research income received for the 2010-11 financial year from a CRC in which they were defined within the Commonwealth Agreement as a "Participant", and are a signatory to the CRC's Commonwealth Agreement or Participant's Agreement.

Income received from CRCs in which the reporting HEP is not a Participant must be reported under Category 2: Other public sector research income (as per section 7.11.2 of Part A).

Category 4 comprises the following subcategories:

• research income derived from Australian Government grants to CRCs
  
• research income derived from non-HEP members of CRCs
  
• research income derived from external parties contributing to CRCs.

HEPs must consolidate the research income from all CRCs in which they were a Participant and enter this into Research Income Return - Return 1, categorised according to the appropriate subcategories. This data does not need to be split between HEPs and their subsidiaries.

Part B of the 2012 HERDC Specifications for the collection of 2011 data provides the information necessary for HEPs to determine what can and cannot be included under Category 4 of the Research Income Return - Return 1. See:

http://www.innovation.gov.au/Research/ResearchBlockGrants/Documents/2012HERDCSpecifications.pdf

* As listed under section 7.3, funds exclude fees that HEPs may charge those domestic HDR students who exhaust their RTS funding entitlement and continue their enrolment. Funds also exclude Commonwealth contributions paid by the Australian Government directly to HEPs for Commonwealth supported places.

**As listed under section 7.3, funds also exclude Commonwealth contributions paid by the Australian Government directly to HEPs for Commonwealth supported places.