James Cook University

GrantConnect (Australian Government grants) · FY 2025 · 2025-06

Global responses of marine species and ecosystems to environmental... Category: Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS) Research

GrantConnect (Australian Government grants) · FY 2025 · 2025-06

Global responses of marine species and ecosystems to environmental... Category: Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS) Research

GrantConnect (Australian Government grants) · FY 2025 · 2025-01

Settlement agreements between First Peoples and Australian governments Category: Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS) Research

GrantConnect (Australian Government grants) · FY 2025 · 2025-01

Revolutionising equitable health workforce policy and planning in... Category: Medical Research

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2025 · 2025-01

A study of Torres Strait Islander mobility amid climate change. This project aims to investigate the mobility of Torres Strait Islanders in response to climate change, focusing on how potential relocation impacts their environment, health, and connection to their land and seas. By using innovative participatory methods, the project expects to generate new insights into climate migration. Key outcomes include informed national climate policies and adaptive strategies that enhance community resilience, prioritising the voices and experiences of Torres Strait Islanders. The benefits include a better understanding of human adaptation that integrates Indigenous knowledge, resulting in more effective and inclusive national climate change policies. Field of research: 4505 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, Society and Community This project investigates the urgent mobility challenges faced by Torres Strait Islanders in response to climate change, highlighting their precarious position as a frontline community in the global climate crisis. With rising sea levels and extreme weather events threatening their homes, livelihoods and overall well-being, Torres Strait Islanders are facing an uncertain future. This research seeks to address a critical gap in understanding the economic and social costs associated with mobility and potential relocation due to climate change, particularly for the Torres Strait. The project will enhance resource allocation and investment in adaptive strategies, benefiting not only Torres Strait Islanders but also the broader community by preserving livelihoods, supporting local economies, and protecting cultural heritage. Additionally, it will help to ensure that climate adaptation strategies are informed by the lived experiences of affected communities, leading to more effective, inclusive, and culturally relevant solutions that promote resilience and sustainable development across Australia. The study’s findings will contribute to the development of national climate strategies that are more comprehensive and impactful, integrating Indigenous voices and experiences into policy-making. This research can guide future initiatives, fostering collaboration with Indigenous communities to develop adaptive solutions that strengthen resilience against climate change impacts nationwide.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2025 · 2025-01

Settlement agreements between First Peoples and Australian governments. This project aims to examine settlement agreements between Indigenous groups and Australian Governments. New knowledge about this type of agreement-making will be created by investigating cases from Western Australia and Victoria where settlement agreements have been established under two separate legislative instruments; the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth) and the Traditional Owner Settlement Act 2010 (Vic). The findings promise to provide new conceptual and theoretical arguments about settlement agreements in respect to Indigenous sovereignty and self-determination, while providing valuable insights into the factors which underpin their negotiation, implementation and management. Field of research: 4505 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, Society and Community In the aftermath of the Voice to Parliament referendum, the path to achieving reconciliation with Australia’s First Peoples and overcoming the disadvantage many of them face is unclear. The Settlement Agreements negotiated by Victoria and Western Australia constitute one possible avenue to reconciliation and Indigenous advancement, given that they address matters related to native title, land management, governance, economic advancement, and protection of culture and Country. This project seeks to generate new knowledge regarding Settlement Agreements, and to assess their potential value in improving relationships between First Peoples and the Australian state and advancing the interests of Indigenous Australians. It will do this by focusing on the negotiation, implementation and outcomes of all seven Settlement Agreements concluded in Victoria and Western Australia since 2010. It will focus on the potential and the realised benefits of Agreements for the First Peoples involved, using an innovative methodology designed to assess outcomes in key areas including self-determination, protection of country, economic opportunity, and cultural and social advancement. Findings will be communicated directly with participant groups during the project, through the Agreements, Treaties and Negotiated Settlements (ATNS) website and at the AIATSIS Summit where we will hold a workshop and disseminate knowledge to policy-makers, researchers, native title groups and First Peoples.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2025 · 2025-01

Does genome rearrangement enable adaptation during environmental change? This project aims to investigate a hidden but crucially important form of genetic variation involving the rearrangement of genomes. By studying the roles that these rearrangements played during historical climate change the project expects to generate new knowledge regarding their impact on the persistence of threatened species during future environmental change. Expected outcomes of this project include models that will predict the effectiveness of genomic interventions designed to mitigate future climate change impacts. This should provide significant benefits for predicting adaptive capacity, updating conservation genetics frameworks, and designing genetic interventions to protect threatened species. Field of research: 3104 - Evolutionary Biology The future health of Australia’s marine ecosystems, from its tropical coral reefs to its Antarctic territorial waters, will depend on the ability of species to adapt as ocean temperatures continue to rise as a result of climate change. Developing marine management strategies that protect and enhance the ability of species to adapt is critical to preserving the immense economic, environmental and cultural value that these ecosystems provide to Australians. Genetic variation must be at the core of any such strategies because it is the fundamental fuel of adaptation and an excellent predictor of adaptive capacity. The goal of this research proposal is to understand an important component of genetic variation that has so far remained hidden in rearrangements of genomes. Human interventions, such as assisted gene flow, are already occurring in an attempt to increase marine species ability to adapt. Such interventions can lead to unintended consequences and may accelerate declines without adequate understanding of these genomic rearrangements. This research will help inform management interventions designed to help species adapt to climate change. This will provide environmental benefits and will also help ensure conservation funds are spent wisely.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2025 · 2025-01

Friend or Foe: are common coral symbionts mutualists or parasites? The cellular processes underpinning coral health are complex. Bacteria represent a third pillar supporting the symbiosis between coral and their algal partner, but despite being critical for coral resilience, this tripartite partnership is poorly characterized. Applying advanced imaging and sequencing approaches, this work will determine how bacterial interactions in corals are sustained, their function in maintaining coral health and whether they help stabilize the faltering coral symbiosis under environmental stress. Detailing the cellular processes that underpin coral health is critical for implementation of strategies to increase coral resilience and protect the values of the Great Barrier Reef faced with rapidly warming oceans. Field of research: 3107 - Microbiology The Great Barrier Reef (GBR) is an Australian economic, environmental, and cultural icon. The sustainability of the GBR is under threat from ongoing environmental impacts, including repeat mass bleaching events. These impacts can spill into a loss of credibility for Australian environmental stewardship and identity. Microorganisms underpin the health of corals that build the GBR, thus new strategies are being developed to manipulate microbes to buffer against climate impacts. However, these approaches are confounded by limited understanding of how microbes contribute to coral health. Our work is critical to improve strategies that protect corals from a changing climate and maintain reefs for future generations, providing direct value to the Australian community and tangible benefits to management of the world heritage listed GBR. Research outcomes will be adopted in novel strategies (i.e., probiotics) and implemented in expanding coral aquaculture commercial opportunities focused on building healthy resilient reefs. The translative work in this area will support upskilling across academia and industry, critical to the on-going fight to preserve our marine resources. New knowledge will underpin a healthy GBR which is critical to the Australian national interest through its direct economic contribution of $6.4 billion and 64,000 jobs, attracting millions of tourists each year and sustaining important marine industries and ecosystem services.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2025 · 2025-01

Do tropical conifers differ fundamentally from angiosperms in CO2 response? This project aims to investigate the physiological basis for a previously observed difference in how tropical conifers and their angiosperm counterparts respond to elevated carbon dioxide. In addition, it aims to determine the relevance of the differential responsiveness under field conditions in north Queensland. This project expects to fundamentally advance understanding of how tropical trees will respond to steadily increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide. The expected outcome is an enhanced capacity to predict which tropical tree species will increase their growth rates and which will not. This should provide significant benefits to the tropical forestry sector, and to conservation and effective management of Australian tropical forests. Field of research: 3108 - Plant Biology The atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration has increased by 50% globally since the beginning of the industrial revolution, driven by human activity. While this has caused global warming and climate change, atmospheric carbon dioxide also provides the fuel for plant growth. Its rise has likely resulted in increased growth of tropical forest trees, but a framework for understanding which tree species respond most strongly in species-rich tropical forests does not exist. Preliminary observations suggest that tropical conifer trees native to north Queensland benefit more than their angiosperm counterparts. In this project, we will identify the underlying processes that allow some tropical tree species to increase their growth rates more than others in response to rising atmospheric carbon dioxide, and we will develop a predictive framework that can be applied to tropical forests broadly. Being able to better predict tree responses to the inexorable rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide will benefit the Australian forestry sector by guiding species selections for plantings; natural resource managers through better informed predictions of carbon accumulation in terrestrial biomass; conservation practitioners by providing insight into species interactions, including between trees and the unique Australian fauna that depend upon them; and policy makers by helping to guide Australia’s path to net zero emissions including through carbon capture by forested landscapes.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2025 · 2025-01

Small Pelagic fisheries in the Pacific: the future of nutritional security? The project aims to improve understanding of the role of terrestrial nutrient delivery in driving productivity of a hitherto neglected fishery sector: small pelagics (sardines, scads and small mackerels) in the Western Pacific. The high productivity, resilience to fishing pressure, and superior nutritional value of these fish warrant greater attention as population and market pressures increase. We will generate data correlating nutrient dynamics and fishery production, together with ethnographic data on local fishery knowledge, to better understand the relationship between small pelagic fisheries and the catchments that deliver the nutrients they depend on. Field of research: 4401 - Anthropology Small pelagic fish (sardines, scads and small mackerels) are by far the most important species for marine fishery-based nutritional security among Australia’s densely populated Southeast Asian neighbours but receive remarkably little scientific attention. Even less is known about these fisheries in two of Australia’s most geostrategically important Western Pacific neighbours, Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands, where their potential nutritional significance is rapidly increasing with burgeoning population pressure and climate stress. Small pelagic fish have vastly higher nutritional value (higher Calcium, Iron, Zinc, Vitamin A and Vitamin B12) than most other exploited fish groups and are much more productive and resilient than most other fish species. Small pelagic fish are part of plankton-based food webs which depend fundamentally on nutrient delivery from either upwellings or terrestrial runoff. Despite their nutritional and economic importance there is surprisingly little scientific literature on small pelagic fisheries, particularly on the significance of terrestrial nutrient delivery for their productivity. Key benefits of our research for Australia are significant nutritional security improvements among our low-income Pacific and Asian neighbours (with multiple human development flow-on benefits including improved maternal and child health, and educational achievement), and enhanced understanding of a scientifically neglected fishery sector at home.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2025 · 2025-01

Navigating the Tides of Change. This project seeks to undertake a landmark study into how Torres Strait Islanders have navigated the external influences in their communities over the past century. The project will be led by Torres Strait Islander researchers with a long track record of working with Indigenous communities and their leaders, building capacity of community researchers, early career researchers, graduating research students, and delivering projects on time. The significance of this study is the potential for it to assist current negotiations with governments to better align their organisations and services to meet the needs and interests of Islanders, and to benefit all Indigenous communities. Field of research: 4505 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, Society and Community This project will contribute to the national Closing the Gap agenda by addressing a crucial gap in research knowledge of the qualities of Indigenous leadership and specifically their engagements with external influences that can work best for Indigenous people. The inability of the federal, state, and territory governments to make any significant gains in improving the life outcomes of Indigenous Australians has again been reported by the Productivity Commission, despite efforts over recent years to work closely with the Coalition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peak Organisations to drive a community-led, strengths-based approach. By examining how Torres Strait Islanders have navigated legal and policy frameworks of governments in pivotal events over the past century, this project will show how Islanders resolved tensions in adapting to changes in their region because of external influences whilst maintaining continuities with their traditional way-of-life. The aim is to extract from these tensions the elements that can best reveal how change and continuity have been managed over time. These qualities will go directly to informing how governments can work with Indigenous people to transform government organisations, policies, and services to improve how they address inequities in this country.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2025 · 2025-01

Advancing workplace gender equality through effective allyship . This project aims to conduct a comprehensive investigation of when, why and how allyship can effectively advance gender equality in the workplace. Using a novel theoretical framework and multi methods approach including interviews, surveys, and experiments, this project expects to generate new knowledge on the nature and impact of (in)effective allyship for workplace gender equality. Expected outcomes include an evidence base to inform interventions for workplace gender equality through effective allyship. This project is expected to make a significant contribution to understanding how workplace gender equality can be advanced which has a number of economic and social benefits for women, men, and society more broadly. Field of research: 5205 - Social and Personality Psychology Despite decades of research and intervention, gender inequality in Australian workplaces remains a widespread and costly problem. This project proposes that encouraging men and organisations to act as allies for gender equality is a crucial yet overlooked piece of the puzzle required to solve this issue. It therefore aims to conduct a comprehensive investigation of when, why and how men and organisations can effectively advance workplace gender equality. This research has a number of economic and social benefits for Australian women, men, and society more broadly: Gender equality in the workplace is associated with increased gross domestic product, greater productivity, improved well-being, and better access to parental leave and flexible working arrangements for all employees. The research outcomes of this project will be regularly communicated to policy makers, organisations and the broader community through a public-facing website with the findings collated in a freely available toolkit to inform allyship interventions for workplace gender equality. It is anticipated that the research will be adopted by organisations around Australia to inform the development of interventions which effectively advance gender equality in the workplace.

GrantConnect (Australian Government grants) · FY 2024 · 2024-12

Addressing unmet need through a model of care for people with mild... Category: Medical Research

GrantConnect (Australian Government grants) · FY 2024 · 2024-12

Addressing unmet need through a model of care for people with mild... Category: Medical Research

GrantConnect (Australian Government grants) · FY 2024 · 2024-11

2024 Equipment Grants Category: Health and Medical Research

GrantConnect (Australian Government grants) · FY 2024 · 2024-10

NHT Partnerships and Innovation Grants Category: Farming

GrantConnect (Australian Government grants) · FY 2024 · 2024-08

Taxonomic and phylogenomic revision of brown rot polypores (Fungi) Category: Scientific Research

GrantConnect (Australian Government grants) · FY 2024 · 2024-06

Fighting inequity in peripheral artery disease-related burden in North... Category: Medical Research

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2024 · 2024-01

Understanding specificity and flexibility in coral symbioses. This project aims to understand why some corals can switch algal partners while others remain faithful to a single strain. This is important because corals depend on their symbiotic algal partners for survival and because some algae provide greater resilience to environmental stress than others. This project will greatly enhance our understanding of the molecular and physiological factors governing flexibility and specificity in coral-algal symbioses. It will provide much-needed knowledge required to identify associations most appropriate for specific conditions, prioritise populations for conservation, and assess the feasibility of new approaches to managing and restoring coral reefs. Field of research: 3109 - Zoology Australia’s world heritage listed coral reefs, the Great Barrier Reef and Ningaloo Reef are precious assets with immense cultural and economic value. The GBR alone contributes around 6.4 billion dollars annually to the Australian economy and supports over 64 thousand jobs. Protecting these reefs against damage from global warming and other human impacts is a complex task and it is often difficult for management agencies to weigh up the efficacy and risks associated with proposed conservation actions. Contributing to this complexity is the fact that corals are critically dependent on symbiotic algae for their health and survival. Some species of corals can associate with a variety of algae while others are extremely faithful to a single algal partner. Understanding why some corals can switch algal partners and others cannot is important because recent research has shown that certain species of symbiotic algae might allow corals to better survive marine heatwaves caused by global warming. The goal of this research proposal is to identify groups of genes in corals and in symbionts that govern this ability to switch and the potential benefits of doing so. It will contribute to Australia’s efforts to conserve coral reefs by providing foundational knowledge needed to predict the efficacy of conservation actions involving new combinations of corals and their symbionts.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2024 · 2024-01

Global responses of marine species and ecosystems to environmental change. This project will determine and predict the effects of environmental change on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning worldwide. Current understanding of the combined effects of environmental change across biodiverse species in wild ecosystems is limited. To solve this problem, this project uses untapped data from global species collections to analyse responses of 300+ species to drivers of change over the last 100-300 years. Outcomes will highlight and forecast multiple species and ecosystem trajectories to environmental change through time and space, and provide significant environmental, economic and social benefits through improved predictive capacity for vulnerable and resilient groups to inform management, fisheries and conservation. Field of research: 3103 - Ecology Billions of people depend on marine resources for food security and livelihoods. Yet environmental change is altering marine ecosystems globally at unprecedented rates. This innovative project will used the untapped resource of museum collections to determine how marine species and ecosystems have already responded in the face of escalating drivers of change, allowing a critically enhanced understanding of the past, present, and projected future responses of hundreds of species. Using global collections in a novel way, this project will focus on animals without backbones (invertebrates), which represent 92% of marine animal species, including important fisheries and environmental indicator species. Determining species and ecosystems across the planet that are adapting or declining will deliver practical management and conservation advice for ecosystem managers, fisheries, conservation practitioners and tourism end-users within Australia and globally. Research outcomes will be adopted into policies and programmes implemented by government environment and fisheries departments, and data will feed directly into conservation assessments of marine invertebrates, the majority of which have never been assessed at the Australian or international level. Research outcomes will be promoted through traditional and social media, exhibitions, lifelong learning and school programmes, and talks to maximise public and end-user understanding to ensure better management of marine resources.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2024 · 2024-01

Northern Australia Plant Biosecurity Facility. Quarantine glasshouses (Biosecurity Containment Level 2) are required to develop research with invasive plants. However, in Australia, no quarantine glasshouses exist north of parallel 27 (Brisbane), posing a remarkable barrier to research on tropical biosecurity. This proposal aims to establish a quarantine glasshouse for a broad range of internal and external users, enabling scientists based in the Australian tropics and other interested parties to address plant biosecurity risks from and for northern Australia. Tropical biosecurity is a key area of strategic focus for JCU and its network of partners, who will benefit from the targeted research, quarantine services, and specialized training that will be enabled by this facility. Field of research: 4102 - Ecological Applications At present, there are no plant quarantine glasshouses (Biosecurity Containment Level 2) in northern Australia, with the northernmost facilities located in either Brisbane or Perth. This poses a severe disadvantage to northern Australia’s institutions and industry, who cannot develop plant biosecurity research programs tailored to the environments prevalent in the north. This facility will be able to support tropical biosecurity research that is difficult to develop elsewhere, and to provide regional plant quarantine services that are unpractical to outsource and currently not available in northern Australia. Tropical Australia is a critical region for biosecurity due to its proximity to neighbouring countries with high biosecurity risks, and its unique environment and diversity of habitats sensitive to the introduction of weeds. Our northernmost land is the island of Saibai, in the Torres Strait, located only 3.5 km from Papua New Guinea’s land (PNG). Cairns is the northernmost regional capital in the Cape York Peninsula, and it is located less than 500 km from the southern limit of the biosecurity buffer areas north of Coen, and less than 1,000 km from PNG. Biosecurity threats can potentially spread through the country from the north, and the presence of this plant quarantine facility would play an important role not only in promoting tropical biosecurity research, but also in rapid response to future plant biosecurity needs and emergencies.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2024 · 2024-01

Australian tropical rainforests in the face of climate change. This project aims to investigate the roles of increasing atmospheric water stress and rising carbon dioxide in driving changes in tree performance and species composition in Australian tropical rainforests. Forest census plots indicate increasing tree mortality, but the mechanisms through which this is occurring are unknown. Experiments will be conducted to unravel the underlying physiological processes. Community-level behavior will be investigated with flux tower and remotely sensed data. The project expects to generate new knowledge of how Australian tropical rainforests are responding to climate change. The expected outcome is an enhanced capacity to understand and manage a highly valued component of the Australian forest estate. Field of research: 3108 - Plant Biology Humans are transforming the global environment in fundamental ways. One of the most impactful of our collective actions has been to raise the atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration from 280 parts per million before the industrial revolution to about 420 today. Plants interact directly with atmospheric carbon dioxide through the process of photosynthesis. Elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide can drive faster photosynthetic rates, but it has also caused warming of the atmosphere and land surface, which can stress vegetation. We will investigate how these atmospheric changes are impacting the world-heritage listed wet tropical rainforests of far north Queensland. We will unravel the mechanisms through which warmer air can cause increasing tree mortality in moist forests where soil water availability generally does not constrain tree growth. We will also investigate whether trees at the dry edge of the rainforest are benefitting from increasing water-use efficiency caused by the rising atmospheric carbon dioxide levels. Results will improve our understanding of the impact of global climate change on the composition and function of Australia's unique tropical rainforests, and tropical rainforests globally. This will provide crucial information for land managers, conservation practitioners, and the restoration sector to better prepare for the future. Results will also inform sound policy decisions to slow the rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide and stabilize global climate.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Sex is important in adaptation to environmental change. Aims: This project will use novel experiments with the aim of determining the potential for plasticity to be adaptive with sexual selection and how non-genetic effects transfer across generations by establishing genomic mechanisms. Significance: Plasticity (or acclimation) is often hailed as the saviour for species in the face of rapid climate change, but it is problematic if it is not adaptive in nature. Expected outcomes: Expected outcomes include an enhanced ability to predict adaptation of fish under environmental change. Benefits: This project will provide significant benefits to Australian and international communities that rely on fish for nutrition, economic and social values, through an improved evidence base to inform management. Field of research: 4101 - Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation Understanding of whether plants and animals can adjust and adapt to rapid environmental change is critical to managing the natural resources that our human population relies on. Some individuals within a population can acclimate to environmental change, but whether this benefits future generations can depend on if these individuals get to reproduce. This project will test an important knowledge gap by including processes like mate choice, which might select the sexiest individuals but not the best for living in altered environments. This research will provide enhanced understanding to resource managers on the response of fish and fisheries to future environmental change allowing more resilient freshwater and marine ecosystems. Economic benefits to Australia will result from Federal and state management agencies, for example the Department of Primary Industries, using the knowledge gained to adjust conservation and harvest practices creating greater food security and environmental sustainability.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Novel reproductive approaches to de-risk and transform barramundi breeding. Demand for Australian seafood outstrips supply. Farming of the iconic Australian barramundi is poised to play a major role addressing this shortfall; but innovative methods are needed to de-risk breeding processes and to provide precise control of maturation, spawning and genetic contribution of broodstock. This project, in partnership with the world’s largest barramundi breeding company, will develop, test and apply novel breeding methods to obtain tight control over barramundi reproductive development and spawning. By combining cutting-edge genetic and applied breeding techniques, selective breeding programs will be more efficient and the genetic gains from breeding programs will be maximised. Field of research: 3005 - Fisheries Sciences This project will provide the critical knowledge and the innovative tools to precisely control the breeding and reproductive development of Australian farmed barramundi. Currently, an inability to tightly regulate barramundi breeding processes in hatcheries limits the efficiency of selective breeding programs. The successful outcomes from this project will; de-risk the operation of advanced selective breeding programs, maximise the rate of genetic gains in improvement and thus increase productivity and economic viability of the industry. These outcomes will foster continued expansion of the industry, and translate to increased employment and economic development throughout the regionally focused aquaculture sector. Increased production of Australian barramundi will enhance domestic consumer’s access to highly nutritious seafood and service the strong international demand for high-quality Australian seafood.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Advancing the chemistry of rare earths - an Australian resource. This project aims to advance knowledge of the synthesis, structures and reactivity of highly reactive rare earth metal-organic compounds. The project expects to build the knowledge and skills to underpin many developments of Australia's still under utilized rare earth resources to diversify from Chinese domination. The anticipated outcomes will be new synthetic and reaction chemistry including a demonstration of how size and electronic factors can be used to modify and advance rare earth chemistry. This project should provide significant benefit such as are a better knowledge base in rare earth chemistry to underpin future applications in chemical manufacturing, new materials, catalysis and recycling. Field of research: 3402 - Inorganic Chemistry The holy grail in chemical synthesis is the discovery of new ways to transform molecules under mild, sustainable conditions. Our highly reactive rare earth (critical metal) compounds will make and break carbon-carbon and carbon-oxygen bonds, delivering innovative new products. Australia has vast rare earth deposits, from which are produced rare earth oxides which supplies materials essential for cars, computers, and green power. New rare earth chemistry will strengthen Australia’s world ranking position in this area. Our project will provide the next generation of highly qualified scientists in the field. Significant advances in newer greener synthetic methods (e.g., replacing mercury with copper or other simple procedures) will be developed and chemistry involving breakdown of harmful molecules, e.g., fluorocarbons, will enhance Australia’s environmental credentials. The project will underpin future applications in chemical manufacturing, new materials, catalysis, and industrial recycling.