Funding projects that identify and add Indigenous values to Australian Heritage places

You can apply if you:

• have an Australian Business Number (ABN), unless you are not entitled to an ABN,

And you are:

• a First Nations individual, group or organisation that is also the owner/manager of a listed place (see Appendix A of the grant opportunity guidelines), or
• a First Nations individual, group or organisation that is not the owner/manager of the listed place and have evidence of the support of the listed place owner/manager for your project, or
• a non-First Nations owner/manager of the listed place and have evidence of First Nations involvement and support for your project, or
• a third party with:
  • evidence of First Nations involvement and support for your project, and
  • evidence of the support of the listed place owner/manager for your project.

And you are one of the following entities:

• an Australian State/Territory Government agency or body
• an Australian local government agency or body as defined in section 14 of the grant opportunity guidelines
• a Commonwealth corporate entity
• an entity, incorporated in Australia (this includes Indigenous land management organisations registered with the Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations)
• a registered Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander land council
• a partnership
• a publicly funded research organisation (PFRO) as defined in section 14 of the grant opportunity guidelines
• an individual.

Partner with other organisations

You can partner with one or more other organisations and join as a group to deliver a project. But you must decide who the lead organisation is.

The lead organisation must be eligible to apply and submit 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 have a formal arrangement in place with all parties prior to execution of the grant agreement.

You must complete your project by 30 April 2026.

Your project must:

• support First Nations people to identify, record and/or protect Indigenous heritage values that have not been previously identified, recorded and/or protected at listed places
• include eligible activities and eligible expenditure.

Eligible activities must be directly related to the project and can include:

• research to identify Indigenous heritage values that have not already been identified at listed places, including engagement of consultants and preparation of heritage nominations
• preparing and updating management plans to include new or protect existing Indigenous heritage values that are not already included in the management plan for the place
• providing access for Traditional Owners and Elders to undertake cultural practice to assist the identification of new Indigenous heritage values or improve the management of Indigenous heritage
• enabling First Nations people who are recognised as being authorised to speak for the specific site concerned, to promote the Indigenous heritage values of a place to others
• facilitating workshops to impart technical skills to First Nations people to assist them in the identification and recording of new Indigenous heritage values of the specific site they have association with and belonging to e.g. the use of remote sensing equipment, mapping tools etc.
• paying for on ground works for the protection of, or improvement of the condition of, Indigenous heritage values of World Heritage and/or National Heritage sites.

We cannot fund your project if it receives funding from another Commonwealth government grant for the same project activities.

You can apply for a grant for your project under more than one Commonwealth program, but if your application is successful, you must choose either the First Nations Heritage Grant Program - Round 1 grant or the other Commonwealth grant.

You can apply for a grant between $25,000 and $250,000, which will be up to 80% of eligible project expenditure.

You can use this grant funding to support:

• salaries for staff working on the project, and on-costs (up to 30%). For existing staff this is on a pro-rata basis relative to time spent on the project activities
• contractor costs or expert advice
• research costs
• on-ground works where they directly protect newly identified Indigenous heritage values or those Indigenous heritage values that have not already been protected under previous works and/or a management plan
• communication and promotional costs
• costs you incur to obtain planning, environmental or other regulatory approvals from non-Commonwealth government agencies
• materials and equipment hire/purchase
• domestic travel including meals, accommodation and transportation. These must be commensurate with the size and location of the project
• catering required to conduct project activities such as workshops at the heritage site locality. These must be commensurate with the size and location of the project
• project contingency costs up to a maximum of 10% of the eligible project costs (note that payments are based on actual costs incurred)
• administrative costs related to the project at no more than 15% of the grant funding requested.

You are responsible for the remaining 20% of eligible expenditure and all ineligible project costs. Under exceptional circumstances, you can request an exemption from the contribution.