Great Barrier Reef Citizen Science

The Great Barrier Reef Citizen Science Program provides up to $4.3 million in funding to deliver on the goals and strategic actions of the Reef 2050 Plan.
Open
Closes in 36 days

Closing date: Friday 17 January 2025 5:00pm AEDT Fri 17 Jan 2025 5:00pm AEDT

What do you get?

A grant of up to $2 million to cover up to 100% of eligible expenditure.

Who is this for?

Entities seeking to support the engagement of citizen scientists in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and/or its catchments.

About the program

The Great Barrier Reef Citizen Science Program aims to tap into local knowledge and target the collection of data and metrics to enhance the understanding of ecological health and resilience indicators of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage area (the Reef). This will help deliver on the goals and strategic actions of the Reef 2050 Plan.

Successful projects from the program will support citizen scientists to generate meaningful data.

The Australian Citizen Science Association’s definition of Citizen Science will be observed for this program: public participation and collaboration in scientific research with the aim to increase scientific knowledge.

The program’s objectives are to:

  • enable the general public to contribute to Reef Trust Outcomes and the delivery of the Reef 2050 Plan
  • build greater community participation and stewardship
  • engage the public in science by offering opportunities to participate, as citizen scientists, in scientific research projects that enhance understanding of the impact of biodiversity conservation efforts and/or water quality improvements
  • generate credible, reliable data that directly relates to the Great Barrier Reef which may support policy, program and management decision-making.

The program’s intended outcomes are to:

  • support decision-making that is informed by cost effective, credible and reliable citizen science data to address key threats to the Reef’s health and resilience
  • contribute to Reef Trust Outcomes and the Reef 2050 Plan
  • increase uptake of voluntary stewardship behaviours amongst Reef communities
  • increase community participation in scientific research projects where participants learn new skills, form new networks, receive acknowledgement for their participation, and receive updates on their participation in specific research projects.

The program will run from 2024-25 to 2029-30.

Check if you can apply

You can apply if you meet the eligibility criteria. The eligibility criteria are a set of rules that describe who we can consider for this grant. You can apply if you:

  • are an eligible entity
  • have an eligible project
  • have eligible expenditure.

The rules are in the grant opportunity guidelines.

You can apply if you:

  • have an Australian business number (ABN)

And are one of the following:

  • an entity, incorporated in Australia
  • an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Corporation registered under the Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Act 2006 (Cth)
  • an incorporated association
  • an incorporated not for profit organisation
  • a publicly funded research organisation (PFRO) as defined in section 14 of the guidelines
  • an Australian local government agency or body as defined in section 14 of the guidelines
  • a Queensland Government agency or body.

You can’t apply if you are:

  • an organisation not included in section 4.1 of the guidelines
  • an organisation, or your project partner is an organisation, included on the National Redress Scheme’s list of Institutions that have not joined or signified their intent to join the Scheme
  • an employer of 100 or more employees that has not complied with the Workplace Gender Equality Act (2012)
  • an individual
  • an unincorporated association
  • a trust (however, an incorporated trustee may apply on behalf of a trust).

Partner with other organisations

Joint applications are acceptable, provided you have a lead organisation who is the main driver of the project and is eligible to apply. For further information on joint applications, refer to section 7.2 of the guidelines.

You must complete your project by 31 March 2030.

Your project must:

  • support public participation and collaboration in scientific research, tap into local knowledge and target the collection of data and metrics to enhance the understanding of ecological health and resilience indicators
  • support the outcomes and objectives of the Reef 2050 plan, the Reef Trust outcomes and the Outstanding Universal Value of the Great Barrier Reef
  • target the collection of credible, reliable data and metrics to enhance understanding of the impact of and help address key threats to Reef health and resilience
  • include the participation of the public, as citizen scientists, to contribute in a meaningful role in the delivery of the genuine science outcome throughout the project
  • be informed by expert advice, including consultation with Traditional Owners where appropriate
  • include either data collection or transformation of data.

You can apply for a grant between $150,000 and $2,000,000.

You can use this grant funding for:

  • labour and on-costs for personnel directly employed in delivering the project activities. This should be calculated on a pro-rata basis relative to the time commitment of the personnel. This excludes project management or project co-ordination costs
  • contractor costs for the delivery of eligible project activities. All contractors must have a written contract prior to starting any project work. Invoices from contractors must contain a detailed description and breakdown of the work including hours and hourly rates
  • costs associated with administrative support activities up to a maximum of 10% of total eligible expenditure incurred through the delivery of eligible project activities
  • costs associated with purchase, lease or hire of equipment where needed to undertake eligible activities
  • costs associated with monitoring and reporting activities
  • domestic travel (economy class only) limited to the reasonable cost of accommodation and transportation required to conduct agreed project activities in Australia
  • staff training that directly supports the achievement of project outcomes
  • the cost of an independent audit of project expenditure (where we request one) up to a maximum of 1% of total eligible project expenditure.

How to apply

Check if you’re ready to apply for a grant

Finding a suitable grant opportunity is just the start of the process to get funding. The application process can take time and effort. Understanding the entire process will help you be grant ready and may improve your chances of getting funding.

Use our checklist to find out what it takes to apply for a grant.

When you're ready to apply

Apply using our online portal:

  1. Create or log into your portal account.
  2. Follow the instructions to complete your application.
  3. Submit your application before the close date.

Make sure you include enough detail and supporting evidence in your application to help us decide whether to award you the grant.

First we check that you meet the eligibility criteria. Then we assess your application against the assessment criteria.

The committee assess eligible applications against the assessment criteria including an overall consideration of value with money and compare it to other eligible applications.

We will only award funding to applications that score at least 50% against each assessment criterion.

The assessment criteria are a set of rules that describe how we must assess each application.

We give each criterion a certain number of points.

We’ll decide whether to award you the grant based on the total number of points we give your application.

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

The amount of detail and supporting evidence you provide should be relative to the project size, complexity and grant amount requested.

The Decision maker makes the final decision.

Apply now

Apply for Great Barrier Reef Citizen Science Program now.

Before you apply, make sure you:

  • read and understand the grant opportunity guidelines.
Apply now

Sample applications

The best way to understand what information you need to provide is to start an application. We have also provided a version to download at the bottom of this page.

Technical help

See our customer portal's frequently asked questions to help with your queries. If you can't find your answer, contact us for assistance.

If you submit your application before the close date you can retrieve it any time to make changes. But you must submit it again before the close date.

We can’t consider the application you submit after the close date under any circumstances.

Contact

Need help?

Let us answer your question over the phone, email or live chat.

  • Phone:
  • Open Hours:
    Monday – Friday, 8am – 8pm across Australia
  • Website:

Key documents

Grant opportunity guidelines

pdf · 0.40 MB docx · 0.17 MB

Sample application form

pdf · 0.39 MB docx · 0.11 MB
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