Funding for organisations to help build a sustainable future Defence Industry workforce
Schools Pathways Program Open Competitive
The Schools Pathways Program Open Competitive grant opportunity provides organisation with up to $2 million in funding to inform young Australians about the varied pathways and career opportunities within the defence industry and encourage engagement in STEM.
Opening date: Tuesday 10 September 2024 10:00am AEST Tue 10 Sep 2024 10:00am AEST
Closing date: Wednesday 25 September 2024 5:00pm AEST Wed 25 Sep 2024 5:00pm AEST
What do you get?
Grants up to $2 million, to cover up to 100% of eligible expenditure.
Who is this for?
Companies, not-for-profit organisations and Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Corporations.
Overview
The Schools Pathways Program Open Competitive grant opportunity (the program) will run over two years from 2024-25 to 2025-26. The program is a key initiative of the Defence Industry Development Strategy launched in February 2024.
The aim of the grant opportunity is to inform young Australians about the varied pathways and career opportunities relevant to defence industry, encouraging engagement in STEM. The grant opportunity facilitates an understanding of the defence industry, provides access to defence industry career experiences, mentoring and networking opportunities, and encourages student participation in STEM activities and/or subjects. Projects under the grant opportunity can have national reach or specifically target the workforce needs of one or more critical defence industry hubs, such as the Hunter and Cairns regions.
The objectives of the program are to:
- provide linkages and enhance work and career pathways for students into the Australian defence industry, and address specific skills gaps in defence industry capability
- expand the pool of skilled workers from which the Australian defence industry can recruit (including by supporting studies, experiences, and education endeavours in science, technology, engineering and mathematics for students).
All projects must be completed by 31 March 2026.
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) or an Australian Company Number (ACN)
- are registered for the Goods and Services Tax (GST)
- have an account with an Australian financial institution.
And are one of the following entities:
- 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 trustee on behalf of a trust
- an incorporated not for profit organisation or registered charity
- an Australian Commonwealth Corporate Entity.
You can’t apply if you are:
- 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
- a partnership
- an unincorporated association
- an overseas organisation
- an Australian local government agency or body as defined at Section 14 of the grant opportunity guidelines
- an Australian state/territory Government agency or body.
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 31 March 2024.
Your project must:
- be located in Australia
- include eligible activities
- support Sovereign Defence Industrial Priorities.
You can apply for a grant between $150,000 and $2,000,000.
Refer to section 5.1 of the grant opportunity guidelines for information on what you can use this grant funding for.
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
When the online form is available, you must submit your application through the online portal. You’ll need to set up an account when you first log into the portal. The portal allows you to apply for and manage a grant or service in a secure online environment.
First we check that you meet the eligibility criteria. Then we assess your application against the assessment criteria.
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.
Applications must score at least 65% against each assessment criteria to be considered meritorious.
Meritorious applications will then be ranked competitively according to the total number of points we give your application.
- Assessment criterion 1: Project alignment with the objectives and outcomes of the grant opportunity (40 points)
- Assessment criterion 2: Project support for critical defence industry hubs (20 points)
- Assessment criterion 3: Your capability, capacity and resources to deliver the project (20 points)
- Assessment criterion 4: Project impact and impact of grant funding (20 points)
The amount of detail and supporting evidence you provide should be relative to the project size, complexity and grant amount requested.
The program delegate makes the final decision.
Contact
Need help?
Let us answer your question via phone, email or live chat. And if we can't help, we'll put you in touch with someone who can.
- Phone:
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Open Hours:
Monday – Friday, 8am – 8pm across Australia
- Website:
Key documents
Project budget template
xlsx · 0.06 MBSample participation data report template
xlsx · 0.06 MBWe use cookies to give you a better experience on our website. Learn more about how we use cookies and how you can select your preferences.