Funding to increase and improve telecommunications resilience in bushfire affected communities

We assess your application against the eligibility criteria and then against the assessment criteria. Only eligible applications will proceed to the assessment stage. We consider your application on its merits, based on:

• how well it meets the criteria
• how it compares to other applications
• whether it provides value with relevant money

When assessing whether the application represents value with relevant money, we'll have regard to:

• the overall objectives of the grant opportunity
• the evidence provided to demonstrate how your project contributes to meeting those objectives
• the relative value of the grant sought

We then refer your application to the departmental committee comprised of employees from the DITRDC. The committee may also seek additional advice from independent technical experts.

The committee will assess your application against the assessment criteria and compare it to other eligible applications before recommending which projects to fund.

The Minister for Communications, Cyber Safety and the Arts (the Minister) decides which grants to approve taking into account the recommendations of the committee and the availability of grant funds.

The Minister’s decision is final in all matters, including:

• the grant approval
• the grant funding to be awarded
• any conditions attached to the offer of grant funding

You must address all assessment criteria in your application. We'll assess your application based on the weighting given to each criterion.

We will only consider funding applications that score at least 50% against each assessment criterion, as these represent best value for money.

• Assessment criterion 1: Project alignment with program objectives (50 points)
• Assessment criterion 2: Capacity, capability and resources to deliver the project (50 points)

If your application is successful, you’ll receive a written offer. If you are unsuccessful, we’ll notify you in writing.

Successful applicants must enter into a grant agreement with the Commonwealth. The grant agreement will specify the reporting requirements, payment schedule and milestones necessary to receive payments.

We’ll make the first payment when the grant agreement is executed. We’ll make subsequent payments after we have received and accepted the required reports.

Payments will be made by direct credit into a nominated bank account.