Following the closure of the Industry Call in November, all proposals are subject to a thorough assessment by HAL. Some proposals may also be sent to an external reviewer on a confidential basis for further expert assessment. The proposals are then sent to the relevant Industry Advisory Committee (IAC) which determines their alignment with industry strategic objectives and annual investment priorities. Finally, they are again considered by HAL with respect to the overall availability of both industry and Australian Government matching funds.
Applicants are notified in mid-April if they have been successful in securing a budget allocation. This notification does not constitute approval for the application and funds are not confirmed until a HAL contract is signed. The provisional allocation of funds is a trigger for and necessary further negotiation to take place. The project is contracted once it has successful completed all the approval processes within HAL. These approval processes vary according to the nature and value of the project.
To provide greater transparency on the anticipated timing of the contracting of each project, HAL phases all new projects from July through to May of the commencement year. A target month is nominated for the project to be contracted subject to successful negotiation. Applicants are advised of this phasing date at the time of receiving notification of their budget allocation.
