Funding to support First Nations organisations to progress their clean energy projects

To be eligible you must:

• be a First Nations organisation (as defined in section 14 of the grant opportunity guidelines)
• have an Australian business number (ABN).

And be one of the following:

• a registered land council representing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, or an entity that manages or holds land rights, native title or other Traditional Owner related agreements and settlements, including a land council established under the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976, noting these organisations may, or are required to, establish separate legal entities for commercial purposes
• an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Corporation registered under the Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Act 2006 (Cth)
• a company limited by guarantee
• an incorporated trustee on behalf of a trust established for the benefit of First Nations peoples
• a not-for-profit incorporated association or cooperative
• an incorporated association or cooperative.

You must provide evidence that verifies your organisation and entity type and provide all mandatory attachments specified under section 7.1 of the grant opportunity guidelines.

Joint applications are acceptable, provided both the lead organisation and grant activity partners are eligible to apply.

You can’t apply if you are:

• any organisation not included in section 4.1 of the grant opportunity guidelines
• an organisation, or your project partner is an organisation, included on the National Redress Scheme’s website on the list of ‘Institutions that have not joined or signified their intent to join the Scheme’
• an organisation that is insolvent, subject to insolvency proceedings, or that has declared bankruptcy
• an employer of 100 or more employees that has not complied with the Workplace Gender Equality Act (2012).
• a partnership
• an individual
• a Regional Development Australia Committee
• an unincorporated association
• a trust (however, an incorporated trustee may apply on behalf of a trust where otherwise eligible)
• a Commonwealth, state, territory or local government body (including government business enterprises) not specified in section 4.1 of the grant opportunity guidelines
• a non-corporate Commonwealth entity.

Partner with other organisations

You can partner with one or more other organisations that also meet the eligibility criteria. But you must decide who the lead organisation is.

The lead organisation must fill out the application form.

If we give your group the grant, the lead organisation:

• signs the grant agreement
• is responsible for making sure your group follows the rules in the grant agreement.

You must complete your project by 30 June 2028.

Your project must:

• be aimed at progressing a First Nations clean energy project beyond feasibility towards financial close that will deliver economic benefits to First Nations peoples
• have at least $1 million in eligible expenditure.

Eligible activities must directly relate to the project objectives and outcome and may include the following:

• Front End Engineering Design (FEED)
• obtaining permits, regulatory approvals, development approvals, and undertaking Environmental and Social Impact Assessments (ESIA)
• undertaking commercial and contractual arrangements
• financing and funding activities
• risk management and mitigation planning
• procurement and clean energy project execution planning
• organisational business and workforce planning to support clean energy project delivery, including employment and training of staff and equitable gender and inclusion planning
• capability development including training and/or activities to improve clean energy project knowledge, skills and governance capability 
• engagement activities with Traditional Owners, stakeholders and communities to support clean energy project development, capability development and First Nations community benefit planning.

We may also approve other eligible grant activities, provided they directly relate to the program objectives and outcome.

You can use this grant funding for:

• legal, audit and accounting costs related to the clean energy project
• costs directly related to the raising of capital and financing activities for the clean energy project, or the formation of consortia or joint ventures or other partnering arrangements
• costs to obtain government approvals (permits, planning, environmental or other regulatory approvals) to undertake the clean energy project
• costs to obtain clean energy project safety and operational certifications
• costs that directly contribute to or enable clean energy project knowledge sharing and reporting with the clean energy sector including database development, websites, applications and reports
• labour expenditure, such as salaries and wages, including reasonable labour on-costs of up to 30 per cent of total labour expenditure, for personnel employed directly on the grant activity
• costs of stakeholder engagement activities and community benefit planning for the clean energy project
• costs of organisational business and workforce planning to support delivery of the clean energy project
• costs related to clean energy project capability development up to a maximum of 10 per cent of total eligible grant expenditure
• costs related to clean energy project engineering design, technical specifications, construction plans and schedules
• costs associated with commercial and contractual negotiations and arrangements for the clean energy project
• costs associated with clean energy project risk management, mitigation planning, procurement planning and execution planning
• administrative expenses, including expenses incurred on communications, office accommodation, equipment and utilities, recruitment, printing and stationery, where such expenses are related directly to the grant activity up to a maximum of 5 per cent of total eligible grant expenditure
• reasonable costs for domestic travel, including flights (limited to economy class) and ground transportation related to the grant activity, including relevant domestic accommodation and meal allowance
• the cost of an independent audit of grant activity expenditure up to a maximum of 1 per cent of total eligible grant expenditure.