FAQS about our grants

The last day to submit an application is Saturday, 30 November 2024. Applications can be submitted until midnight (i.e. 11:59pm on Saturday, 30 November 2024).

Community Quick Response Grants opened for application on 1 August 2024. These grants are open for application throughout the year. 

Community Impact and Innovation Grants (Round 1) are open for application from 1 October 2024 to 1 March 2025.

Business Grants (Round 1) are open for application from 1 September to 1 December 2024. 

Our 2022 Grants Program closed on 1 February 2024. 

We can only provide information on how to complete your application. To maintain the fairness, integrity, and transparency of the application process, we cannot assist you in writing the application. 

We have engagement officers in regional areas who can meet with applicants to go through the steps to complete an application. 

To discuss your situation, please contact the Grants Unit at grants@aboriginalinvestment.org.au 

If you have any questions during the application process, including if you are unable to submit your application, please contact the Grants Unit at grants@aboriginalinvestment.org.au.

All applicants must submit an application form online. You will receive an electronic Submission Reference Number (SRN) once your application has been lodged. You should keep a copy of your application, application SRN and any supporting documents. You can use the SRN to ask the Grants Unit on the status of your application. Send your query to grants@aboriginalinvestment.org.au.

Yes. We first review your application for completeness. We will notify you if your application is incomplete. 

We then assess if your eligibility to apply. We will notify you if we need more information to determine your eligibility, or if your application is deemed to be not eligible. 

We then assess eligible applications against the criteria in the relevant Grant Guidelines. We will notify you if we require clarification or further information. 

Yes, but you must clearly identify what you are seeking funding for in your application. 

To assess your grant, we will need to understand your other sources of funding, including grant funding, that you have secured or have applied for.  

We need to know this so that expenses are only funded by one grant source and so that we can ensure that all appropriate stakeholders and funders are involved in your project.  

Any costs for the preparation of the grant application, incurred before an application is approved are not eligible for our grant programs. We have designed the application process to be straight forward to navigate and complete.  

You may need the assistance of an established organisation to apply for and manage a grant on your behalf. This process is referred to as auspicing.  

As such, an auspicing organisation will need to apply for the grant and specify who they are applying and managing the grant on behalf of. The auspicing organisation will need to meet the eligibility criteria in the relevant Grant Guidelines. 

Organisations may want to join together as a group to deliver a project. For joint (consortia) applications, you must appoint a ‘lead organisation’ to submit the application and to enter into a grant agreement with us if the application is successful. 

If an applicant applies on behalf of a group of organisations (consortium), the application must include a letter of support signed by each participating organisation involved in the activity. If you are applying in a consortium, you will need to provide additional information and documentation. 

No. We do not provide legal or financial advice (including taxation) to applicants or grantees. Applicants or grantees should seek their own independent professional advice on financial and legal matters, including compliance with any statutory obligations. 

The National Indigenous Australians Agency (NIAA) will continue to manage ABA grants approved before 2023 and current funding arrangements until they expire. The NIAA will also continue to manage the ABA Homelands Project. 

Please contact the NIAA ABA team on 1800 354 612 or aba@official.niaa.gov.au for all queries relating to this funding. 

The National Indigenous Australians Agency (NIAA) will continue to manage ABA grants approved before 2023. The NIAA will also continue to manage the ABA Homelands Project. Please contact the NIAA ABA team on 1800 354 612 or aba@official.niaa.gov.au for all queries relating to this funding. 

If you are an applicant who has already received ABA Grants funding, we may assess your application against the assessment criteria and also consider your previous performance, demonstrated capability to deliver the activity, and/or other information which has been made available to us. 

Applications are assessed against criteria described in the Grant Guidelines. 

We may draw on sources other than your application to verify claims in your application, which may include but are not limited to: 

Information from within our organisation and NIAA available through the normal course of business such as knowledge about your previous performance. 

Information about you or your application from other Commonwealth, state, territory or local government agencies, whether or not you nominated them as a referee. 

Representatives from an Indigenous community or organisation, or subject-matter experts, who are on an assessment panel, whether or not you nominated them as a referee. 

Recommendations from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander local and regional decision-making groups and organisations. 

For information on how our organisation and NIAA treats personal and confidential information, please see Section 7 of the Common Guidelines for further information.  

Applications are assessed against criteria described in the Grant Guidelines, and according to the Grants Assessment Guideline. Decisions about grants are final and cannot be appealed. We will inform you why your application was declined and provide appropriate feedback.  

If you would like to make a complaint about a grant process please visit Complaints and Feedback.

If you would like to make a complaint about a grant process please visit the Complaints and Feedback page.