Does ARC require CRediT?

No - ARC policy text does not require CRediT. The Australian Code authorship guidance is the governing reference, and CRediT is one accepted means of distinguishing contributions.

How does ARC handle academic-industry partner contributions on Linkage Projects?

Through the partnership-management section of the Linkage template. CRediT vocabulary inside that section clarifies intellectual versus operational contribution, particularly useful when academic and industry partners hold complementary roles.

Does the ARC long-form OA provision affect CRediT?

Not directly. Long-form scholarly outputs (monographs, edited collections) follow ARC long-form provisions that permit traditional publication routes; CRediT remains less established as a convention for these formats than for journal articles.

How does CRediT relate to the Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) cycle?

ERA catalogues research outputs at institutional level and does not currently parse CRediT as structured metadata. The publication-layer CRediT statement travels with the article record but is not ingested into ERA reporting directly.

CRediT statement guide

ARC - using CRediT in your application

ARC research-integrity guidance defers to the Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research. CRediT is referenced informally in ARC Linkage and Centres of Excellence guidance as one accepted means of distinguishing contributions on collaborative outputs.

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At application stage

What ARC asks for in proposals

ARC applications submitted through the Research Management System (RMS) cover Discovery Projects, Linkage Projects, ARC Centres of Excellence, Industrial Transformation programmes, and the fellowship suite (Future Fellowships, DECRA, Laureate Fellowships). The Australian Code, jointly issued with NHMRC and Universities Australia, is a grant condition.

Where to embed a CRediT statement

For ARC Linkage Projects and Centres of Excellence, the project-team and partnership sections invite description of how each PI and partner will contribute. CRediT vocabulary inside those sections clarifies intellectual versus operational contribution, particularly when academic and industry partners hold complementary roles. The track-record and significant-contributions sections welcome CRediT-aligned articulation.

Sample wording

In an ARC Linkage Project Project Team and Partnership section: "Lead CI holds Conceptualization and Methodology; partner-organisation lead holds Resources and Funding acquisition; postdoctoral researcher will lead Investigation and Data curation during years 1-2."

At final-report stage

How CRediT figures in ARC progress and final reports

ARC final reports submitted through RMS collect publications, datasets, and impact narratives. The Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) cycle catalogues research outputs at institutional level.

Does ARC ingest CRediT as structured metadata?

ARC does not ingest CRediT as structured grant-reporting metadata. The chain runs through the publication and 12-month-OA route. For long-form scholarly outputs (monographs, edited collections), ARC long-form provisions permit traditional publication routes alongside open access, and CRediT is less established as a convention for these formats.

Common pitfalls

Things to avoid

Treating ARC and NHMRC authorship requirements as different; the Australian Code is jointly issued and applies identically.
Underusing the partnership-management description on ARC Linkage Projects; reviewers look closely for substantive partner contribution articulation.
Failing to use the standard ARC funding-acknowledgement format that names the scheme (Discovery Project, Linkage Project, Centre of Excellence) and the grant reference.
Confusing ARC long-form OA provisions with the 12-month default; long-form outputs have separate provisions allowing traditional publication routes.

Worked example

Sample CRediT statement for a ARC proposal

Illustrative wording (names invented) - adapt to your team and confirm the ARC-specific funding-acknowledgement format current at time of submission.

Conceptualization: L. McKenzie, P. Sharma, R. Tan (industry partner). Methodology: L. McKenzie, P. Sharma. Software: P. Sharma, J. Hoang. Investigation: L. McKenzie, J. Hoang, R. Tan. Formal analysis: L. McKenzie, P. Sharma. Resources: R. Tan. Writing - original draft: L. McKenzie. Writing - review & editing: all authors. Funding acquisition: L. McKenzie. Supervision: L. McKenzie. Project administration: P. Sharma. This research was supported by the Australian Research Council (ARC) under Linkage Project LPXXXXXXXX. The authors acknowledge the contribution of [industry partner organisation] under the ARC Linkage Project scheme.

Frequently asked

ARC + CRediT - common questions

Does ARC require CRediT?: No - ARC policy text does not require CRediT. The Australian Code authorship guidance is the governing reference, and CRediT is one accepted means of distinguishing contributions.
How does ARC handle academic-industry partner contributions on Linkage Projects?: Through the partnership-management section of the Linkage template. CRediT vocabulary inside that section clarifies intellectual versus operational contribution, particularly useful when academic and industry partners hold complementary roles.
Does the ARC long-form OA provision affect CRediT?: Not directly. Long-form scholarly outputs (monographs, edited collections) follow ARC long-form provisions that permit traditional publication routes; CRediT remains less established as a convention for these formats than for journal articles.
How does CRediT relate to the Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) cycle?: ERA catalogues research outputs at institutional level and does not currently parse CRediT as structured metadata. The publication-layer CRediT statement travels with the article record but is not ingested into ERA reporting directly.

Related guidance