ResearchComputeA field guide for Australian researchers

This one has real dates.

NCMAS

National Computational Merit Allocation Scheme

NCMAS is the annual grant of computing time on Australia’s two national supercomputers: Gadi at NCI, and Setonix at Pawsey. It is for research that needs far more than a laptop or a campus cluster. The 2027 round has already closed.

Free if you are awarded time. The competition is real: the 2027 call was more than 2.5 times oversubscribed.

Who it is for

Researchers at Australian universities and publicly funded research agencies. The lead investigator is normally a staff member at one of those organisations. Independent researchers usually need a collaborator who can lead the application.

What you get

A yearly allocation of computing time on Gadi, Setonix, or both. The 2027 call offered CPU and GPU time, plus Setonix-Q for hybrid quantum workflows. In the previous year about 884 million service units were awarded, and only about 47 percent of applications received time.

How to get it

  1. Read the 2027 information for applicants, including the rules on who can lead a project.
  2. Do not start a 2027 application. It closed at 7:00pm AEST (5:00pm AWST) on 2 October 2026. Late applications are not accepted.
  3. If you applied, outcomes are scheduled for 18 December 2026. The scientific advisory committee meets on 3 and 4 December 2026.
  4. Use the waiting months to time a representative job on a campus cluster or on Nectar. NCMAS asks you to show that the work can actually run at this scale.
  5. The smallest request they will look at is 1 MSU (1,000 kSU). If you cannot explain why you need that much time, stay on a campus machine. The next call’s dates are not published yet.

Deadlines

NCMAS 2027 scientific advisory committee

3 December 2026 to 4 December 2026

The committee meets to set 2027 allocations on NCI Gadi and Pawsey Setonix. This is not a public event.

NCMAS 2027 allocations announced

18 December 2026

NCMAS publishes 2027 computing allocations for NCI Gadi and Pawsey Setonix.

NCMAS 2027 applications closed

Already passed, 2 October 2026. Kept so the story is complete.

Applications closed at 7:00pm AEST / 5:00pm AWST. Kept here so the timeline is complete.

Add the upcoming dates to your calendar

Read this before you apply

  • Partner schemes and startup schemes are the path for smaller or newer projects. NCMAS is the wrong form for a weekend analysis.
  • Service units are not the same number of core-hours on Gadi and on Setonix. Use the facility guide before you convert.
  • Dates for the following call (allocations for 2028) had not been published when this page was checked.

Check before you rely on this

  • The open and close dates for the next NCMAS call, for 2028 allocations, are not published.

Sources