Queensland-Bavaria Collaborative Research Development Program 2026

PLEASE NOTE: THIS APPLICATION FORM IS ONLY FOR QUEENSLAND BASED APPLICANTS.

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

Welcome to the Department of Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation's (the department) online grant application service for the Queensland-Bavaria Collaborative Research Program 2026 (Round 3). 

This program aims to develop relationships between Queensland and Bavaria by supporting practical and applied collaborative science and research projects that help build capacity in research and development, support the growth of businesses to deliver new products and services into global markets, and support new industries that will provide future jobs.

You are required to fully read the Guidelines and understand the department's requirements before proceeding with your application. If successful, the applicant will be required to sign a detailed Financial Incentive Agreement. As part of the application process an initial Financial Incentive Agreement Declaration Form is required to be completed, which can be found here.

PROGRAM QUESTIONS

For queries about the guidelines, deadlines, or questions in the form, please contact Science Partnerships and Development on (07) 3516 0484, or via email at science.grants@detsi.qld.gov.au.

ABOUT THIS FORM

HELP

If a technical error occurs, staff at SmartyGrants are available to help you. Contact them on (03) 9320 6888 during business hours or email service@smartygrants.com.au and quote your application number. 

NAVIGATING

Use the menu on the left-hand side of each screen to navigate directly to any page of the application form. Alternatively, use the 'Next Page' or 'Previous Page' buttons at the top or bottom of each page to move through the form sequentially.

SAVING YOUR DRAFT APPLICATION FORM

You are strongly encouraged to save your application form every 5 to 10 minutes to reduce the risk of loss of information. 

To save a partially completed application, click 'Save' and log out. You can resume your application by logging back in, selecting 'My Applications' at the top of the screen, and reopening your draft to continue where you left off.

DOWNLOAD DRAFT APPLICATION

You can also download any application, whether in draft form or submitted, as a PDF file. Click on the 'Download' button at the bottom of the application navigation panel. 

SUBMITTING YOUR APPLICATION

You will find a 'Review' button at the bottom of the navigation panel. You need to review your application before you submit it.

IMPORTANT: Any question marked with an asterisk ('*') is mandatory. Failure to answer any of these questions will stop you from being able to complete and submit your application form.

Once you have submitted your application, no further editing or uploading of supporting documents is possible.

When you submit your application form, you will receive an automated confirmation email with a copy of your submitted application attached. This will be sent to the email address that you used to register with SmartyGrants.

If you do not receive a 'confirmation of submission' email, then your application has not been received. Review the error message highlighted in red and ensure that all mandatory fields have been completed. You should then be able to successfully submit your application. 

ATTACHMENTS AND SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS

You will need to upload attachments to support your application. Files can be up to 25MB each; however, files up to a maximum of 5MB are recommended - the larger the file, the longer it takes to attach.

Some requested document fields are mandatory. Failure to attach them will stop you from being able to successfully submit your application form.

If you are not able to attach a document, please contact SmartyGrants on (03) 9320 6888 for technical support.

COMPLETING AN APPLICATION IN A GROUP OR TEAM

A number of people can work on an application form using the same login details, as long as only one person is working on the application form at a time. Ensure that you save as you go. It is recommended that the email address provided be accessible by multiple people within the organisation, such as admin@project.com.au. This ensures that correspondence is readily seen and allows for any changes in staff throughout the duration of the project. 

As detailed in the Terms and Conditions of the Financial Incentive Agreement, the information provided during the application process, including your personal information, will be collected by DETSI as is necessary to evaluate applications, populate Financial Incentive Agreements, and announce and publicise the successful applicants.  

Applications for the Program are to be lodged on the SmartyGrants website, a third-party cloud-based platform operated by 'Our Community Pty Ltd'. The Our Community Privacy Policy states that they may use third party service providers that may store information outside Australia. By lodging an application, you do so under the conditions in the Our Community Privacy Policy and agree to any overseas transfer of information made in accordance with that Policy. 

The information contained in the application will be provided to authorised DETSI officers and approved grant assessors under the Financial Accountability Act 2009 (Qld) for the purpose of assessing and administering the application. The approved grant assessors are required to sign an agreement that binds them to hold the information in confidence and in accordance with the Information Privacy Act 2009 (Qld). 

Information contained in your application, including the applicant and organisation names, project description and partnering supervisor, will also be provided to the Bavarian State Ministry of Science and the Arts for the purpose of assessing the application and administering the program. By lodging an application, you agree to this information being transferred to the Bavarian State Ministry of Science and the Arts, which is subject to the Bavarian Data Protection Act.  If you require further information on the protections provided for under that Act, please speak with your contact at the Bavarian Ministry. 

The Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation will publicly announce details of the successful applicants. Following that announcement, the details of successful applicants will be listed on the Queensland Government website.  Therefore, if your application is successful, the following information will be published on the Queensland Government website: 

• your name, and your organisation's name 

• the total amount of funding allocated 

• the project name, location, description and partnering organisation 

• the project outcomes. 

• Photographs or any other details 

This information may also be used and/or disclosed to promote the Program and the funded projects. 

Generic data (no personal information) will also be provided to Trade and Investment Queensland. 

The executed Financial Incentive Agreements, including all information contained in the agreements, are required to be lodged on the Foreign Arrangement Online Portal as subsidiary arrangements to the Declaration of Intent between the Queensland Government and the Bavarian State Ministry of Science and the Arts - Bayerisches Staatsministerium für Wissenschaft und Kunst (StMWK) under the Australia’s Foreign Relations (State and Territory Arrangements) Act 2020. 

Your personal information will not otherwise be used or disclosed unless authorised or required by law. 

We strongly encourage the Queensland-based lead Applicant to work collaboratively with their Bavarian counterpart in the preparation of the information required in this application form. 

Due to differences in processes, priorities and the distribution of funding, aspects of this form will look different to your Bavarian counterpart. However, as this is a joint project which will be assessed independently by both respective parties, the information needs to be as coordinated and consistent as possible. 

It is expected that the following sections are identical, or as similar as possible, across both application forms:

- Project Title (Page 5, Section 1, 'About the Project')

- Priority Research Area (Page 5, Section 3 'Priority Research Area')

- Project Abstract (Page 5, Section 4 'Project Description')

- AC1* (Page 6, Section 1, 'Assessment Criteria 1)

- AC2* (Page 7, Section 1, 'Assessment Criteria 2)

- AC3* (Page 8, Section 1, 'Assessment Criteria 3)

* It is expected that for the criterion responses there will be some differences in content between the two application forms to allow for localised (Queensland-based) focused information.