Maitri Fellowships

The Maitri Fellowships program supports leading policy researchers to undertake secondments with prominent Australian and Indian organisations.

The program will build institutional links and academic capacity in both countries, and enhance public discourse on our bilateral, economic and broader geostrategic relationships.

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Building
institutional links

Promoting
public discourse

The 2025-26 Maitri Fellowships Program will fund Australian organisations with experience in the Australia-India bilateral relationship to engage a Fellow to work on geostrategic or geoeconomic policy issues under the following streams:

Inward Fellowships up to 12 months for Indian Research Fellows, Senior Research Fellows, Associate Professors or Principal Research Fellows to come to Australia.
Outward Fellowships up to 12 months for Australian Research Fellows, Senior Research Fellows, Associate Professors or Principal Research Fellows to go to India.
Two-way Fellowships up to 2 years for an Australian and Indian Fellow to collaborate in a research exchange through their respective Australian and Indian organisations.

ELIGIBILITY

Applications can only be submitted by Australian organisations with relevant experience working on the Australia-India bilateral relationship.

Applicant organisations need to be able to meet the requirements of DFAT’s due diligence process, including:

ABN registration with a business or other recognised registration/accreditation body
Not listed on sanctions lists, including those published by the Australian Government, the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, African Development Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, or the Inter-American Development Bank.
Other background criminal and reputational checks.

Fellows can be inbound or outbound, each with specific eligibility criteria.

Inbound fellows will need to be Indian citizens without permanent residence in Australia. Fellows should also be able to participate in events and functions organised by the Centre, DFAT, or the Australian organisation. For a full list of eligibility criteria refer to ‘Section 3 Eligibility Criteria’ in the Grant Guidelines
- Inbound fellows will need to maintain a valid Temporary Activity visa (subclass 408) Research Stream for the duration of the fellowship in Australia.
Outbound fellows will need to be Australian citizens and not have permanent residence in India. They should be able to participate in events and functions organised by the Centre, DFAT, or the Australian research organisation.
- Outbound fellows will need to maintain a valid visa for the duration of the fellowship in India.

Please note the Centre is unable to support or provide advice on the visa process, including fast tracking visa applications or providing letters of support.

APPLICATION PROCESS

The dates below are indicative only and subject to change.

16 September 2025: Applications open
14 January 2026: Deadline for submission of applications at 5:00pm AEDT.
January/February 2026: Successful proposals are selected and proceed to due diligence and contracting.
May 2026: Implementation begins