Allowed. The funder lets applicants use AI, and applicants answer for everything they submit.
What applicants may do
What the funder asks of applicants
Rules for reviewers
- Reviewers may use AI only for limited administrative purposes, such as improving the grammar, readability or structure of comments they wrote themselves. [1][2][3]
- Reviewers must not use AI to do assessment work. This includes analysing applications, identifying strengths and weaknesses, generating scores, ranking applications or forming assessment judgements. [3]
- Reviewers must rely on their own expertise to evaluate and score applications. [1][2][3]
- Reviewers must not give applicant or application information to AI systems in a way that could compromise privacy, confidentiality or intellectual property. [3]
Where this comes from
The funder's own words, from its own pages.
Under the policies, applicants may use AI as a support tool when preparing grant applications, with responsibility for accuracy and integrity of any generated output remaining with the applicant.
Peer reviewers may use AI to refine the wording of review comments, such as improving grammar but must rely on their own expertise when evaluating and scoring applications.
Both policies make it clear that information must be handled cautiously—only the minimum necessary information should be used, and anything entered into generative AI tools should be treated as potentially public.
Tracker - 28 April 2026 (opens in a new tab)
Applicants may use generative AI to support application preparation but remain responsible for accuracy and integrity.
The policy outlines safeguards for confidentiality and privacy, including limiting inputs to generative AI tools to minimum necessary, treating inputs as potentially public, and checking outputs for accuracy and bias.
Ideas Grants 2026 Peer Review Webinar Transcript (opens in a new tab)
Peer reviewers may use AI tools for limited administrative purposes such as improving grammar, readability, or the structure of your comments that you've written yourselves.
However, as peer reviewers, you must not use AI to undertake assessment activities.
This includes analysing applications, identifying strengths and weaknesses, generating scores, ranking applications, or forming assessment judgements.
Information from applicants and applications should never be provided to AI systems in a way that could compromise privacy, confidentiality, or intellectual property.
See National Health and Medical Research Council's 1 open program
This is a reading of what the funder has published, and it is not legal advice. A solicitation can set its own rule, so read the funding announcement before a PI applies.