Published: 20 June 2021 Updated: 26 July 2021

Once the FRDC approves a research project, we will seek to put in place an agreement with the organisation undertaking the project.

A legally binding contract, the Project Agreement outlines the obligations of both parties. In most cases our Standard Project Agreement will be used.

We then monitor the contractual relationship on an ongoing basis to ensure the relationship is working, and the project is on track.

Project Agreement (Contract)

A copy of the Project Agreement will be sent to the 'Financial Admin' contact specified in the application. Generally, the Principal Investigator (PI) is copied in.

A copy of the contract must be signed by the appropriate person from your organisation and returned to the FRDC together with the first invoice. Once received, we will then sign the contract and return a copy to your organisation by email.

Special Conditions of the Project Agreement (‘Schedule Three’)

Schedule Three outlines any special conditions applicable to the Project Agreement. These conditions will have been included in the Decision Notification Letter received upon project approval.

In most cases, progress against these conditions needs to be reported through Milestone Reports as specified in the milestone template.

It is the PI’s responsibility to ensure that special conditions are met. As many PIs do not necessarily view the Project Agreement, we ask you to read Schedule Three – Special Conditions. You can either request this from your administration contact or the FRDC.

Capital items

Capital items are assets that are purchased with project funds and hold value at the completion of the project. Capital items and expenditure are specified in the application. Capital items not specified in the application must be approved by FRDC prior to purchase.

Before purchasing any capital items, PIs should be aware that these items are the property of FRDC and may be recovered at the conclusion of the project. Alternatively, the residual value may need to be returned to the FRDC.

Depending on expenditure and value, we may ask you to provide further information about capital items when acquitting the project.

Project Income (cash contributions)

Income (cash) contributions are contributions the FRDC will receive towards a project that are paid to the project via the milestone schedule. If cash contributions are part of your project, you must provide FRDC with contact and bank details for the source of each contribution.

For more information on cash contributions, email frdc.programs@frdc.com.au.