We 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.
Funding for projects that provide social benefits for local communities
Stronger Communities Programme Round 10
The Stronger Communities Programme provides each of the 150 Federal electorates with $150,000 to fund small capital projects. Federal Members of Parliament (MPs) identify potential projects and invite applications from their electorate.
Closing date: Tuesday 19 January 2027 5:00pm AEDT Tue 19 Jan 2027 5:00pm AEDT
The closing date for MP nominations is 30 November 2026 at 5:00pm AEDT.
What do you get?
Up to $20,000 of funding to deliver small infrastructure projects.
Who is this for?
Eligible entities that have been nominated by their local MP and invited to apply.
About the program
The Stronger Communities Programme (the program) supports the Australian Government’s commitment to deliver social benefits in communities across Australia by funding projects in each of the 150 Federal electorates. The program provides grants for community projects to strengthen and benefit local communities and is part of the Government’s 2026-27 budget initiatives.
The objective of the program is to deliver infrastructure projects that provide social benefits for local communities, by supporting one or more of the following:
- support or encourage interstate or international tourism
- support or celebrate Indigenous Australians
- commemorate Australians killed or injured in war or who contributed to Australia’s war efforts
- support veterans and defence force members, their families and communities
- support the participation and settlement of newly arrived (i.e. within the last five years) immigrants who are not citizens
- provide benefits to a specific cohort or cohorts of students
- enable or foster the use of electronic communications
- provide medical services or facilities, or services or facilities incidental to the provision of medical services
- enable or foster the use of electronic communities
- support the provision of community infrastructure that:
- promotes and supports the mental and physical abilities of children
- supports positive mental or physical health, or facilitates community participation to promote tolerance, and social cohesion or health
- support the acquisition or deployment of greenhouse gas emissions mitigation measures
- support community infrastructure that promotes climate adaptation and resilience and/or native flora/fauna biodiversity
- support the dignity of persons (including children) with disabilities by enhancing their access to public infrastructure
- address gender inequality or discrimination in access to public infrastructure or sport
- support access for children to public infrastructure which enables interstate or overseas travel, accommodation, or education or health care infrastructure or services.
The intended outcomes of the grant opportunity are to:
- encourage and support participation in local projects
- improve local community participation
- contribute to vibrant and viable communities.
Community consultation is a critical element of the program. In consultation with their community, each MP must identify potential applicants and projects in their electorate and invite them to apply for a grant. We will assess invited applications against the program’s eligibility and assessment criteria through a closed non-competitive process.
For this round, grant funding will be up to 100% of eligible project costs for all eligible applicants, except for local governing bodies. Grant funding for local governing bodies will be up to 50% of eligible project costs. This means local governing bodies must provide at least 50% of the eligible project costs in matched funding contributions.
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 invited to apply by your MP
- have an Australian Business Number (ABN)
- meet the eligibility requirements in section 4.1 of the grant opportunity guidelines.
The rules are in the grant opportunity guidelines.
You can apply if you are one of the following entities:
- an incorporated not for profit organisation such as:
- Police and Citizen Youth Clubs
- child care centres
- surf clubs
- local aged care bodies
- Parents and Citizens, Parent and Friends groups and equivalent bodies
- a Commonwealth, state or territory government agency or entity that is a fire service, rural fire service, country fire authority, state emergency service or similar
- non-distributing co-operatives
- companies limited by guarantee
- Australian Indigenous corporations
- religious organisations incorporated under legislation
- an incorporated trustee on behalf of a trust with responsibility for a community asset or property. You will be required to provide relevant trust documents
- a local governing body as defined by the Local Government (Financial Assistance) Act 1995.
For the purposes of this program, we also consider the following organisations to be local governing bodies:
- Anangu Pitjantjatjara, Maralinga, Gerard, Nepabunna and Yalata local governing bodies in SA
- Cocos (Keeling) Islands Shire Council
- Lord Howe Island Board
- Norfolk Island Regional Council
- The Outback Communities Authority
- The Shire of Christmas Island
- The Silverton and Tibooburra villages in NSW
- The Trust Account in the NT
- ACT Government.
As a not-for-profit organisation you must demonstrate your not-for-profit status through one of the following:
- state or territory incorporated association registration number or certificate of incorporation, e.g. clubs and other associations
- current Australian Charities and Not for profits Commission’s (ACNC) registration, e.g. for organisations registered as a charity
- constitutional documents that demonstrate the not-for-profit character of the organisation
- legislation that demonstrates the not-for-profit nature of the organisation, e.g. religious organisations incorporated under legislation.
You can’t apply if you are:
- a for profit organisation
- an individual
- a partnership
- a Regional Development Australia Committee
- a university, technical college or school
- a hospital
- a Commonwealth, state, territory government agency or body (including government business enterprises) unless listed in section 4.1 of these 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 but the lead application must be invited to apply and meet the eligibility criteria and merit criteria.
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 2028.
You must:
- apply for the project and grant amount as agreed to and nominated by your MP
- if you are a local governing body, declare that you are able to meet your share of the matching funds contribution for the project (at least 50%) as outlined in section 3.1 of the grant opportunity guidelines
- provide the relevant mandatory attachments as outlined in section 7 of the grant opportunity guidelines
- have a project that meets the overall project outcomes and aligns with one or more program objectives and matching eligible activities as outlined in section 5.1 of the grant opportunity guidelines.
You can apply for a grant between $2,500 and $20,000.
To be eligible, expenditure must be a direct cost of the project, must relate to eligible activities and include:
- the cost of suppliers and contracted labour undertaking the eligible activities
- the cost of obtaining planning, architectural, engineering, design and consultant fees or environment or other regulatory approvals for undertaking the eligible activities
- the purchase, warranty and subscription or support membership of assets, equipment and materials, lease or hire of equipment required for undertaking the eligible activities.
Not all expenditure on your project may be eligible for grant funding. The Program Delegate (who is a Manager within the department with responsibility for administering the program) makes the final decision on what is eligible expenditure and may give additional guidance on eligible expenditure if required.
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:
- Once invited, create or log into your portal account.
- Follow the instructions to complete your application.
- Submit your application before the close date.
When you are invited, 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.
We’ll decide whether to award you the grant based on the total number of points we give your application.
- Assessment criterion 1: Alignment of project activities with program objectives and outcomes (100 points)
The amount of detail and supporting evidence you provide should be relative to the project size, complexity and grant amount requested. We will only award funding to applications that score at least 50% against each assessment criterion.
The Program Delegate makes the final decision.
Apply now
Apply for Stronger Communities Programme Round 10 now.
Before you apply, make sure you:
- read and understand the grant opportunity guidelines
- are invited to apply.
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.
Past rounds
Contact
Need help?
Let us answer your question over the phone, email or live chat.
- Phone:
-
Open Hours:
Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm across Australia
- Website: