20 January 2026

Question: Is DFAT able to share an indicative agreement?

Answer: Yes. DFAT can provide an indicative grant agreement. The final agreement will remain subject to negotiation. Interested bidders may request a copy by emailing PacificEduPartnerships@dfat.gov.au.

Question: Can DFAT share any expectations around any overheads (from DFAT) and cash and in-kind (from partners)?

Answer: DFAT anticipates committing up to AUD 22 million of its own funds to the program. A portion of these funds is expected to be allocated to DFAT management costs, including an independent evaluation, with costs anticipated to be less than AUD 500,000. Partner contributions (financial or in-kind) to the program and achieving its outcomes would be in addition to DFAT funds and assessed accordingly as part of the published selection criteria.

Question: Does DFAT require a budget by the 6 March 2026 grant submission deadline and if so, is there a template to be completed for that budget?

Answer: A full budget is not required for the 6 March 2026 submission and there is no budget template. Applicants should outline a credible proposal that fits within DFAT's financial contribution and any proposed co‑contribution. Further detail on co‑funding or other resourcing may be included in the optional annex. A detailed budget will be developed during the design stage with the selected partner.

5 February 2026

Question: The Pacific Research Program Phase Two is now listed as a five-year investment (PRP II, 2022-2027), where previously it was a four-year program. Can you confirm the tender is still open and the timelines have not changed?

Answer: The Pacific Research Program Phase II remains a 4-year program. This has been corrected on the webpage. The competitive grant process for the Pacific Higher Education Partnerships Investment remains open until Friday 6 March 2026, 17:00 AEDT, and the anticipated program timelines remain unchanged.

Question: The grant is not available on GrantConnect at present. Can you please explain this?

Answer: DFAT Aid Grants are not required to be advertised on GrantConnect. As DFAT Aid grants awarded in the support of Overseas Development Assistance (Contributions) are exempt by the CGRPs.

Question: Do we need to identify our design expert at this stage? If yes, does DFAT have a list of preferred design experts?

Answer: You do not need to nominate a design expert at this stage, the full program design will be developed after selection. DFAT does not require selection from a preferred list. However, DFAT can provide guidance to support the selection of suitable expertise during the design phase if needed.

Question: Do we need to identify our Team Leader at this stage?

Answer: No. The documents do not require applicants to nominate a Team Leader at the proposal stage. The Invitation allows applicants to provide optional annexes such as biographies of up to five proposed key staff.

Question: Is there a set management fee awarded to the successful university/consortia?

Answer: Applicants must propose activities and budgets within the maximum envelope of AUD 22 million over four years (excluding co‑financing). Final funding arrangements will be negotiated after selection.

Question: Are cash contributions required?

Answer: Partner contributions (financial or in-kind) to the program will be assessed accordingly as part of the published selection criteria (value for money).

Question: Are LoS and certifications considered to be two separate documents?

Answer: Yes. They are separate documents. Consortium applicants must provide a letter outlining the proposed roles of each partner, the relationship between consortium members, and their intent to collaborate (the 'LoS'). The Organisation's Certification is a separate, mandatory signed declaration that must be submitted for each consortium partner.

Question: Can you confirm that the consortium letter does not count towards the page limits specified in sections 3.2 and 3.3?

Answer: Correct. Letters describing the consortium member's mandate, their proposed role, and their intent to collaborate do not count towards the page limits specified in Sections 3.2 and 3.3.

Question: What is the page limit for the consortium letter? Could you share a template for the consortium letter?

Answer: There is no specific page limit and no prescribed template for the consortium letter. Applicants may use their own format, provided the letter clearly outlines the organisation's mandate, proposed role, and intent to collaborate.

Question: Can you confirm that the 7‑page limit stipulated in Section 3.3 (response to cross‑cutting issues, risk and design) is in addition to the 20‑page maximum response to the selection criteria?

Answer: Yes. The 7‑page limit for Section 3.3 is separate from, and in addition to, the 20‑page maximum for responding to the selection criteria in Section 3.2.

13 February 2026

Question: Can DFAT confirm that the objective of the investment is to fund a lead organisation or consortium to design and deliver a coordinated, multi-year program comprising multiple aligned initiatives that collectively strengthen research capability across Pacific higher education systems, rather than a single standalone project?

Answer: Yes. The investment is intended to fund a single lead organisation or consortium to design and implement a coordinated, multi year program consistent with the proposed program goal and outcomes we have articulated in the documentation. We would envisage that multiple aligned initiatives, projects or activities would be required to deliver on these outcomes.

17 February 2026

Question: Could we request an extension of 2-3 weeks to the current submission deadline?

Answer: Stakeholders who consider that the current submission deadline may affect their ability to lodge a proposal are invited to provide feedback on the timeline before 23 February 2026 17:00 AEDT. DFAT will review all feedback received and take a decision on any potential adjustments by 17:00 AEDT 26 February 2026. At this stage, stakeholders should continue to prepare for submission by 6 March 2026, 17:00 AEDT.

23 February 2026

Question: Can higher education providers request salary recovery for project team members that are already employed by the provider, but whose time would be partially dedicated to program activities?

Answer: Yes. Applicants may cost staff time/salary for personnel whose effort will be dedicated to the program.

Question: Is it expected that Universities will request a management fee for overheads / indirect cost recovery?

Answer: DFAT does not prescribe an overhead or management fee rate. Applicants are responsible for structuring and justifying their full budget, including indirect costs, within the AUD 22 million funding cap. Proposals will be assessed on value for money, but we recognise that effective partnerships in the Pacific region require sustained effort, consistency, and face-to-face engagement. We encourage applicants to provide a realistic outline of the activities that can be delivered within the available funding to meet the objectives of the investment.

Question: Is there a particular template required for the proposal?

Answer: Applicants must respond to the Invitation as described in Section 3.1-3.3. Beyond this, there is no mandatory template that applicants must follow.

Question: Do applicants need to report Australian Government funding (previous 3 occasions) received by the whole university, or only by the faculty most relevant to the proposal?

Answer: Our intent in seeking this information is to understand whether entities have been recipients of Australian Government funding focused on Pacific engagement. Please focus on Australian Government funding most relevant to the proposal.

Question: What weighting will be applied in scoring to the section 3.3 Response to Cross Cutting Issues, Risk and Design?

Answer: No separate weighting is applied. Content in Section 3.3 is considered supporting evidence informing the three weighted Selection Criteria.

Question: What weighting will be applied to optional annexes material?

Answer: Optional annexes have no standalone weighting. They are considered supplementary information that may strengthen responses to the weighted Selection Criteria.

Question: We note DFAT’s response to Question 9 during the briefing, which indicated that consortium members can be beneficiaries where relevant, subject to appropriate conflict of interest management. Could you please confirm whether this applies equally to Pacific and Australian institutional partners, and whether DFAT’s primary requirement is that a clear and robust conflict of interest identification and mitigation process is outlined in the proposal?

Answer: Where consortium members may be beneficiaries of the program (through capacity building support, for example), conflicts of interest (and how the lead entity proposes to manage and mitigate them) should be identified and managed. This applies to Pacific and Australian institutional partners.

Question: Where consortium partners may be program beneficiaries, are there any specific expectations regarding how these arrangements should be structured or documented?

Answer: The Lead Organisation will be the primary agreement holder. The Lead Organisation is solely accountable to DFAT for all funds, budgeting, governance mechanisms and the performance of the consortium under the Grant Agreement. As stated in the Guidelines, consortium proposals must include a letter from each partner outlining their proposed roles, describing the relationship between the Lead Organisation and partner organisations, and confirming their intent to collaborate. Conflicts of interest (and their mitigation) should also be outlined.

27 February 2026

Question: Is DFAT placing any limitations or restrictions on the research fields or disciplines that may be proposed by institutions in the bidding process?

Answer: There are no limitations or restrictions on the research fields or disciplines that may be proposed by institutions in the bidding process. DFAT encourages all prospective applicants to draw on their institutional strengths and areas of demonstrated capability and to think about Australia’s interests and relationships with the Pacific. The broadest range of issues, including geopolitics, security, economic and development issues in the Pacific region remain in scope. DFAT will work with the successful applicant to refine and agree the program’s focus areas to ensure it supports Australian and Pacific interests, including leveraging the institution/s strengths and ensuring that cross-cutting issues such as climate change, GEDSI and other important priorities within Australia’s International Development Policy are appropriately considered within the agreed research portfolio.