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Activator Fund

Activating South Australia’s Defence Innovation Ecosystem

The Defence Innovation Partnership launched the Activator Fund in June 2023, a program designed to speed up the translation of innovative defence technology into real world capability for the Australian Defence Force.

The fund enables South Australian researchers and industry to create and participate in larger-scale innovation activities strongly aligned with the most significant challenges facing Defence.

To date, the Defence Innovation Partnership has funded five Activator projects a total of $4.8 million.

Applications for the Activator Fund will open on 1 September and close on 30 October 2026. 

This round of Activator, with a total of up to $1.6 million available, will focus on the theme of ‘Counter-Uncrewed Aerial System Technologies’ posing the challenge:

How can we develop and operationalise advanced C-UAS technologies that improve the detection, tracking, classification and prioritisation of increasingly sophisticated and numerous drone threats, while enabling scalable and resilient decision-making in contested environments?

Proposals will be sought from consortia led by South Australian universities and industry and involving Department of Defence partners and other national partners. Successful applicants will be required to provide matching co-contributions. Consortia will have the opportunity to participate in a co-design process for proposal development.

A workshop will be held on Tuesday 1 September for interested parties to hear about the challenge, meet potential project partners and learn about the grant application and selection process.

Supporting Documents

Prior to completing your application, please read the following documents (click to download):

Frequently Asked Questions

Applications for Round 4 of the Activator Fund open on 1 September 2026.

Applications for Round 4 of the Activator Fund close on 30 October at 11:59pm ACST. Late applications will not be accepted.

A total pool of $1.6 million [MF8.1]is available for Round 4 of the Activator Fund and we are expecting to fund 2 projects requesting up to $800,000 each.

No. However, if the outcome of R&D activity has the potential to be classified, or if classified inputs or discussions are needed to complete the work, then all team members undertaking the CRF activity should be capable of obtaining a Baseline security clearance. Australian citizenship is a condition of eligibility for a security clearance.

Please refer to the Fund Guidelines for the assessment criteria.

Before applying for the Activator Fund it is recommended you read and understand these guidelines, and the sample draft South Australian Government Funding Agreement published on the Defence Innovation Partnership website.

To apply, you must complete and submit your application through the SmartyGrants online portal (link available from 1 September when applications open), including all requested information as attachments/uploads, e.g. Participant Declarations, Letters of Support.

You can view and print a copy of your submitted application on the portal for your own records.

If you need further guidance around the application process, or if you have any issues with the portal, contact us at [email protected].