​​Funding for organisations to help build a sustainable future Defence industry workforce​

You can apply if you:

• have an Australian Business Number (ABN) or Australian Company Number (ACN)
• be registered for the Goods and Services Tax (GST)
• have an account with an Australian financial institution

And be one of the following entities:

• an entity, incorporated in Australia
• an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Corporation registered under the Corporations (Aboriginal and /or Torres Strait Islander) Act 20061
• 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:

• 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 overseas resident/organisation
• an individual
• an unincorporated association
• an educational institution such as a secondary or primary school, inclusive of both private and public entities
• a Commonwealth, state, territory or local government body (excluding corporate commonwealth entities).

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 2030.

Your project must:

• be located in Australia
• include eligible activities.

Eligible activities must raise the awareness of defence industry and career pathways relevant to defence industry through vocational education activities (such as mentoring, site visits and work experience) and/or STEM educational experiences relevant to defence industry workforce requirements. For example:

• STEM enrichment programs incorporating participation and mentoring opportunities for defence industry representatives (where able), and exposure to meaningful career pathways relevant to defence industry. This could include STEM design challenges, interactive workshops, competitions, immersive activities, and/or thematic project-based learning
• meaningful defence industry awareness activities that increase exposure to and raise awareness of defence industry career pathways and facilitate industry linkages including engagement activities such as careers fairs, outreach programs, work experience and/or site visits; or roadshows involving defence industry participation, parent information sessions, and/or information on meaningful career pathways into defence industry
• targeted professional development for teachers with the intent to improve:
  • an understanding of the defence industry
  • an awareness and ability to work with defence industry representatives to provide immersive experience in STEM education including mentoring, networking and vocational education
  • an awareness of vocational opportunities and study pathways for students within defence industry
  • the facilitation of vocational education experiences with defence industry.

You can apply for a grant between $200,000 and $4,000,000.

You can use this grant funding for:

• labour costs of employees you directly employ on the core elements of the project
• labour on costs up to a maximum of 30% to cover employer paid superannuation, payroll tax, workers compensation insurance directly required or related to the delivery of the project
• contract expenditure covering the cost of eligible project activities where contractors are engaged under a written agreement and invoices from contractors provide a detailed description and breakdown of the work including hours and hourly rates
• domestic travel costs of up to 10% of total project costs and limited to reasonable accommodation and transport costs within Australia. Eligible air travel is limited to the economy-class fare and supporting evidence of the equivalent economy fare required where non-economy travel is used
• reasonable associated costs as deemed by the Senior Responsible Officer to facilitate project activities such as booking fees for physical venues, freight and transportation costs
• capital expenditure for the purchase of assets such as furniture, computers or printers that are solely related to the project
• costs of assets such as equipment and/or software licencing to be used within the implementation of project activities
• consumables used within the implementation of project activities, such as stationery and kit supplies, or items used when hosting an event
• communication and promotional material costs directly related to the facilitation of your project activities
• cost of developing and distributing educational materials, curriculum content, toolkits or similar
• the cost of an independent audit of project expenditure (where we request one) up to a maximum of 1% of total eligible project expenditure.