Procedure: Fellowship

Purpose

To inform staff of the appointment and remuneration procedures relating to ARC and NHMRC Fellows.

Definitions

ARC means the Australian Research Council.

NHMRC means the National Health and Medical Research Council.

Procedure

1. For the purposes of this procedure, a Fellow is an employee of the University who is in receipt of a formally named ARC or NHMRC Fellowship that is awarded as part of an ARC or NHMRC grant.
2. A Fellow may be a current ANU employee who is awarded a Fellowship or an employee who is appointed to the University to take up their Fellowship.

Taking Up a Fellowship

3. Award of a Fellowship is considered a meritorious process and an additional recruitment process is not required to appoint Fellows to the University.
4. Paperwork from the granting body evidencing the award of Fellowship is required for the personnel file to support the appointment without advertisement process. A full copy of the grant application is also required.
5. A Fellow will be employed as an academic employee of the ANU and hold the appropriate Fellowship title, as determined by the funding body.
6. The relevant funding body salary schedule (see ARC salaries schedule or NHMRC salaries schedule) are used to establish the ANU's equivalent academic salary levels for each Fellowship.
7. Where a Fellow is newly appointed to the University to take up their fellowship they will be appointed at no less than the equivalent academic level set out in the relevant funding body salary schedule.
8. Where a Fellow is an existing employee of the University and holds a substantive position at or above the equivalent academic level to their Fellowship, their substantive salary level will be maintained.
9. Where a Fellow is an existing employee of the University and holds a substantive position at a lower level than the equivalent academic level to their Fellowship, they may be promoted to the higher, equivalent academic level upon approval of the relevant delegate. The substantive position will also be increased to the higher level.

• Promotion to levels B, C or D will be considered by the relevant College Dean.
• Promotion to level E will be considered by the Senior Academic Promotion Committee (SAPC) for recommendation to the Vice-Chancellor.

10. The relevant delegate will be provided with: documentation evidencing the award of the Fellowship; and a copy of the Fellow's CV in order to consider promotion. Supporting statements from referees may be requested, if deemed necessary by the delegate.
11. Conditions of Fellowships often require the Fellow to relinquish the duties of their substantive position (where applicable). This does not require an existing ANU employee to give up an ongoing or longer fixed term tenure with the University in order to take up a Fellowship. The employment offer will detail a return to the substantive position on completion of the Fellowship, where applicable. If the Fellowship provides a promotion from the initial substantive level, the substantive position is also raised to the higher level.

Remuneration and Conditions

12. Fellows are eligible for academic promotion, in accordance with the Academic Promotion Policy. Where an employee is promoted above the equivalent academic level for their Fellowship, the University will pay an increased salary maintenance loading (gap payment) to maintain a higher salary rate.
13. As all Fellows will have an equivalent academic level, remuneration will not be less than would be paid to an academic employee at that equivalent level.
14. Fellows will receive incremental salary increases at the equivalent ANU salary, in accordance with the Payment of Salary Increments procedure, for the duration of the Fellowship.
15. Fellows' employment conditions will be governed by the University's Enterprise Agreement in conjunction with any additional conditions set out in the relevant funding body agreement.

ARC Fellowships

16. ARC Fellowship rates are determined by the ARC and adjusted on an annual basis.
17. As all Fellows have an equivalent ANU academic salary level, where the salary rates paid by the ARC Fellowship fall below the salary level for the equivalent ANU academic level, a salary maintenance loading (gap payment) will be paid to the employee.
18. Salary levels for each ARC Fellowship and the associated maintenance loading (where applicable) are set out in the ARC salaries schedule.
19. Fellowships will be funded by the associated ARC grant up to the Fellowship rate determined. Salary maintenance loadings (gap payments), where applicable, will be funded by the University.

NHMRC Fellowships

20. NHMRC Fellows do not have determined Fellowship rates, and accordingly salary levels will be determined by the equivalent ANU academic salary level.
21. NHMRC payment rates are set out in the NHMRC salaries schedule.

Retention

22. Fellows are often high performing academics, and accordingly the University encourages the use of retention strategies to encourage staff to stay with the University after the completion of their Fellowship. Such strategies may include, but are not limited to:

• Offering continuing employment after the completion of the Fellowship;
• Providing bridging funding under continuing (contingent funded) employment arrangements to support Fellows in securing further grant funding;
• Encouraging applications for academic promotion, where appropriate; and
• Providing research support and facilities and/or career development opportunities.