Prepare to Apply

Supporting research, people and infrastructure

Children’s Cancer CoLab provides funding opportunities through five Impact Programs, each with dedicated funding calls for grant applications. Our Impact Programs cover three research-focused areas (Next-Generation Therapies, Safer Therapies and Survivorship and Living Well), as well as two themes aimed at building capacity and capability: people-support (Future Leaders) and infrastructure-enabling (Innovation Accelerators).

Specific Impact Program guidelines will be available soon; we encourage you to sign up to our newsletter to receive updates on upcoming funding opportunities. If you have any questions, contact programs@cccolab.org.au.

Funding opportunities for FY26

• Next Generation Therapies: Expressions of Interest (EOI) opens in September 2025

• Safer Therapies: EOI opens in September 2025

• Future Leaders: Request for Application opens in September 2025

• Innovation Accelerators: Rolling invitation for ideas – opening soon

Key Dates

Application process

Applicants must submit their applications (EOI and full applications) for Children’s Cancer CoLab funding calls through our online grant portal (Good Grants) before the specified deadline. Each funding call is accompanied by its own set of guidelines, detailing the objectives, key requirements, and evaluation criteria relevant to that specific Impact Program. These guidelines are available on the Funding Opportunity page of our website or within the grant portal. We strongly recommend reading the guidelines thoroughly before starting your application to ensure you understand the process and requirements. If you have any questions that are not addressed in the guidelines, please contact us at programs@cccolab.org.au.

Application Process is linked below for our different types of grants.

Whilst the application process varies depending on the Impact Program, all our applications are reviewed and evaluated by our Scientific Advisory Committee. The Committee has been established by Childre's Cancer CoLab’s Board of Directors to support their grant funding decisions. The entire evaluation process is closely monitored by the Board of Directors, with facilitation from the Children’s Cancer CoLab team to ensure adherence to our rules, policies, and eligibility requirements, as well as to guarantee the impartiality of Committee members. Once a decision has been made, applicants will be notified of the outcome by email.

Eligibility information

Applicant eligibility

1. Only CoLaborators (Member B) are eligible to submit applications. They must be the lead organisation (grantee) that enters into the grant agreement with Children’s Cancer CoLab.

2. Multiple applications from each CoLaborator (as lead organisation) will be accepted for each funding round. However, to ensure an efficient review process, a maximum number of applications from each CoLaborator may be applied.

3. An individual can only be listed as the lead investigator for one application for each funding round; however, there are no restrictions on the number of applications in which a particular individual can be listed as a team member for the same funding round.

4. Applications that involve multiple CoLaborators will be viewed favourably for all funding rounds, and all CoLaborators involved are expected to be included in the project's budget and will receive funding for their participation in the project activities. Multi-party collaboration will be a mandatory condition for applications submitted under the Innovation Accelerators Impact Program.

5. To ensure all funded projects are directly relevant to paediatric oncology, applications from primarily adult oncology-based research groups must include at least one paediatric oncology researcher or group as a team member, and this collaboration must be formalised with both groups receiving funding for their participation in the project activities.

6. Applicants must meet specific eligibility criteria outlined in the specific grant funding guidelines, which will be made available prior to the commencement of the funding calls.

7. For the purposes of the funding opportunity, applicants may include both existing and new roles within their project teams. Applicants are strongly encouraged to propose new roles that will contribute fresh expertise, perspectives, or capabilities to the project team. Preference may be given to applications that demonstrate how newly created roles will enhance project outcomes and advance the overall aims of the funding initiative.

• Existing Role: A position that was established and filled prior to the project start date.

• New Role: A position created specifically to support the objectives and activities of the funded project; recruitment or appointment could occur on or after the project start date (including a previously employed individual who has transitioned into the newly funded position).

Eligible activities

By clearly outlining what is considered eligible and ineligible, we aim to guide applicants in preparing submissions that align with our strategic objectives and funding priorities. These criteria will be used by Children’s Cancer CoLab during the Expression of Interest (EOI) screening process to identify and exclude proposals that fall outside the defined scope, ensuring that only relevant and impactful projects proceed to the review stage. 

In administering funding, Children’s Cancer CoLab will adhere to the specific scopes and eligibility criteria outlined for each of the following three ‘themes’ to ensure strategic and effective distribution of resources.

Additional eligibility criteria, including in-scope and out-of-scope activities, apply for our various Impact Programs.

Eligibility criteria are linked below for our different types of grants.