The Australian Research Council (ARC) is one of the Australian government's two main agencies (with NHMRC) for competitively allocating research funding to academics and researchers at Australian universities. The other is the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC).
The ARC's mission is to deliver policy and programs that advance Australian research and innovation globally and benefit the community. It supports fundamental and applied research and research training through national competition across all disciplines except clinical and other medical and dental research, for which the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) is primarily responsible. Established as an independent body under the Australian Research Council Act 2001, the ARC reports to an Australian government minister, currently the minister for education and training. ARC is the primary source of advice to the government on investment in the national research effort.