Funding for community projects that support the recovery and protection of the Koala

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)
• a co-operative
• a regional National Resource Management (NRM) organisation supporting a project that is delivered by, or directly engages with, local community groups
• an incorporated not for profit organisation, including incorporated Indigenous not-for-profit organisations
• an incorporated trustee on behalf of a trust
• an Australian local government agency or body.

You can’t apply if you are:

• an organisation not included in section 4.1 of the guidelines
• an individual
• an unincorporated association
• a trust (however, an incorporated trustee may apply on behalf of a trust)
• a non-corporate Commonwealth entity
• an Australian State/Territory Government Agency or body (unless a Regional Land Partnerships service provider)
• a university or other publicly funded research organisation (as defined in the glossary 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).

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
• takes responsibility for making sure your group follows the rules in the grant agreement.

You must complete your project by 30 April 2024.

Your project must: 

• include on-ground project activities that are undertaken in areas where the Koala is known or likely to occur (with the exception of ex-situ healthcare facilities and treatment). You may wish to review the Koala’s location via the protected matters search tool
• include activities that will benefit the listed Koala combined populations of Queensland, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory (see listed Koala in the glossary in the guidelines)
• have at least $50,000 in eligible expenditure
• have identified that the Koala (combined populations of QLD, NSW and the ACT) will benefit from your project activities.

You can apply for a grant between $50,000 and $200,000.

You can use this grant funding for:

• purchase (or hire) of equipment, materials and supplies to support eligible project activities such as tube stock, hardware, seed and chemicals
• salaries and on-costs for personnel directly employed in delivering the project activities (this should be calculated on a pro-rata basis relative to their time commitment). This excludes project management or project co-ordination costs which are covered under administrative support below
• building modifications where you own the modified asset and the modification is required to undertake the project, for example installing improved Koala care facilities. Modifications to leased buildings may be eligible
• staff training that directly supports the achievement of project outcomes
• contract expenditure being the cost of any agreed project activities that you contract to others directly relating to the program objectives. All contractors must have a written contract in place covering the work to be undertaken, prior to starting any project work
• costs associated with managing collaborations and partnerships with Traditional Owners and the local community
• removal of legislated weed species (including Weeds of National Significance)
• costs incurred in obtaining planning, environmental or other regulatory approvals during the project period. However, associated fees paid to the Commonwealth, State, Territory and local governments are not eligible
• domestic travel to and from the on-ground location limited to the reasonable cost of accommodation and transportation required to conduct the agreed project activities
• administrative support and overheads additional to the normal day to day running costs of the organisation, including project management or project co-ordination (maximum 10 per cent of the grant)
• reporting on project outcomes
• contingency costs up to a maximum of 10% of the eligible project expenditure. Note that we make payments based on actual project costs incurred.