Licensing and Access: This award recognises research software contributions irrespective of licensing model (including open-source, proprietary, and unlicensed software). Applicants must declare the licence or access conditions and provide links or documentation. The evaluation will favour good open practices (e.g. the use of OSI-approved licences, documentation, citation metadata, and community pathways) where appropriate.

Eligibility by sector: Where research software was developed by external consultants, companies, or independent professionals, the nomination must reflect the collaborative nature of the work and acknowledge both the intellectual leadership and the technical development contributions.

Please indicate if the software was developed in collaboration with an external consultant or company. If so:

• The Principal Investigator (PI) or Lead Researcher (affiliated with a government-funded academic institution or research organisation) must be listed as the nominated individual or team leader
• The development partner/s (e.g. company, consultant, or independent professional) should be listed as team members or collaborators in the nomination
• The nomination should clearly describe the respective roles of the researcher/s and the development partner/s, including who led the conceptualisation, design, and implementation
• The award will be made to the research project team, recognising both the scientific leadership and the software development expertise that enabled the research software

Note: Nominations where the software was entirely developed by an external contractor without substantive research leadership or engagement from the research team will not be eligible.

Timeframe of Eligibility: The award recognises research software that has been actively developed, maintained, or substantially used for research within the past 10 years, regardless of when the software was first released. Software developed earlier may still be eligible if it has demonstrated sustained impact, reuse, or continued contribution to research during this period. Software that is no longer maintained is not eligible.

Long-Term Sustainability: Long-term sustainability refers to the extent to which measures are taken to ensure the software remains accessible, usable, and valuable to the research community over time. It may include its adaptability, documentation, community engagement, and maintenance practices.

The award will prioritise software that follows recognised best practices to ensure its long-term availability. This includes clear licensing, version control, documentation, and archiving practices that enable others to validate research findings underpinned by the software. Software that demonstrates good stewardship – ensuring that code, data, and workflows remain accessible and verifiable over time will be rated more highly.

Evaluation Framework (for reference): Applications will be assessed using the following criteria (please reference the nomination form):