Funding to undertake research which informs government policy responses to regional issues

You are not eligible to apply if you are: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’ (www.nationalredress.gov.au).

Your application is assessed against the eligibility criteria and then against the assessment criteria. Only eligible applications will proceed to the assessment stage.

The amount of detail and supporting evidence you provide in your application should be relative to the project size, complexity and grant amount requested. You should define, quantify and provide evidence to support your answers.

In assessing your proposal, it will be considered whether:

• your project aligns with the policy intent
• your project is appropriately costed and represents value with relevant money
• your proposed activities and expenditure are eligible
• you can deliver your project on time and to budget as identified in supporting documents
• the level of risk associated with the project and its implementation is manageable and acceptable.

The Program Delegate decides which grants to approve taking into account the application assessment and the availability of grant funds.

The Program Delegate’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
• any variations to the project such as extensions of time.

Decisions about the merits of your application cannot be reviewed.

The Program Delegate will not approve funding if there is insufficient program funds available across relevant financial years for the program.

The grant is subject to an acceptable proposal that includes:

• contact name and position details
• project description
• project start and end date
• details of project milestones including the key activities relevant to each milestone
• details of project governance
• evaluation strategy and timetable (including measures of success/key performance indicators)
• details of project partners and collaborators, including their funding contributions for the 2020‑21 and 2021-22 financial years
• project budget (split over financial years).

Successful Applications:

If your application is successful, you’ll receive a written offer and you will get any specific conditions attached to the grant.

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

The Grant Agreement:

The grant agreement must be executed with you before any payments can be made. Execute means both you and the Commonwealth have signed the agreement. The Commonwealth are not responsible for any expenditure you incur until a grant agreement is executed.

The approval of your grant may have specific conditions determined by the assessment process or other considerations made by the Program Delegate. These will be identified in the offer of grant funding.

The Commonwealth may recover grant funds if there is a breach of the grant agreement.

You will have 30 days from the date of a written offer to execute this grant agreement with the Commonwealth.

The offer may lapse if both parties do not sign the grant agreement within this time. Under certain circumstances, this period may be extended. The approval of your grant is based on the information you provide in your application. Any required changes to these details will be reviewed to ensure they do not impact the project as approved by the Program Delegate.

Payments will be made according to an agreed schedule set out in the grant agreement. Payments are subject to satisfactory progress on the project.

Reporting:

You must submit reports in line with the grant agreement. You will be provided with the requirements for these reports as appendices in the grant agreement. You will be reminded of your reporting obligations before a report is due. You will be expected you to report on:

• progress against agreed project milestones
• project expenditure, including expenditure of grant funds
• contributions of participants directly related to the project
• any other information reasonably required by the Commonwealth.

The amount of detail you provide in your reports should be relative to the project size, complexity and grant amount.

The progress of your project will be monitored by assessing reports you submit and site visits may be conducted to confirm details of your reports if necessary. Occasionally claims may need to be re-examined, further information may need to be sought or an independent audit of claims and payments could be requested.

Payment:

Grant payments will be made according to an agreed schedule set out in the grant agreement.

You must identify any project or milestone reporting delays as soon as you become aware of them.