The success rate slipped for 2023 Discovery Early Career Research Awards, announced Friday, due to an increase in applicants for the same number of awards

The Australian Research Council reports that last year there were 996 applications and 196 awards (19.7 per cent) compared to 1335 applications and 200 awards (15 per cent) this.

As usual, STEM soaked up the cash, with engineering making up 20 per cent of successful applications with 43, ICT has 15, and biology 29. Biomedical-clinical sciences, health sciences and chemistry combined have 23.

In contrast economics has one grant and education three.

Researchers at 15 universities, shared the wealth – with the big five picking up most, Monash U (ten), Uni Melbourne and Uni Sydney seven each, followed by UNSW and Uni Queensland, six each. Of the other Group of Eight members, ANU has four, Uni Adelaide ten  and UWA two each.

Success rates by institution with 20 or more applications are

The Australian National University	81	13	16.0 per cent
Macquarie University	35	5	14.3
University of New South Wales	149	18	12.1
University of Newcastle	20	1	5.0
University of Sydney	103	22	21.4
UTS	49	8	16.3
University of Wollongong	32	3	9.4
Griffith University	29	4	13.8
Queensland University of Technology	58	8	13.8
University of Queensland	129	17	13.2
The University of Adelaide	60	10	16.7
University of South Australia	12	2	16.7
University of Tasmania	21	1	4.8
Deakin University	52	8	15.4
La Trobe University	27	4	14.8
Monash University	107	21	19.6
RMIT University	48	10	20.8
Swinburne University of Technology	19	2	10.5
The University of Melbourne	124	22	17.7
Curtin University	24	3	12.5
The University of Western Australia	40	5	12.5