Grants to boost participation of girls and women in STEM and entrepreneurship

You can apply if you:

• have an Australian business number (ABN)
• are an entity, incorporated in Australia
• are a publicly funded research organisation (PFRO) or publicly funded research agency (PFRA) (Guidelines Section 14)
• are a government or non-government vocational education and training (VET) provider (Guidelines Section 14), or technical and further education (TAFE) institution
• are an incorporated not for profit organisation.

You can’t apply if you:

• a Commonwealth, state and local government agency or body (including government business enterprises other than eligible PFROs, PFRAs, VET providers and TAFE institutions)
• a primary or secondary school (however, primary and secondary schools may be part of a joint application if the lead applicant is eligible)
• 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
• partnership
• unincorporated association
• trust (however, an incorporated trustee may apply on behalf of a trust).

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 30 April 2025.

Your project must:

• scale up or extend an existing project
• reduce and/or mitigate systemic and cultural barriers to participation in STEM education, careers, innovation and entrepreneurship by girls and women
• reduce the multiplier effect of intersectional barriers to participation, development and leadership of girls and women in STEM education, careers, innovation and entrepreneurship
• address inequality or discrimination against girls and women in STEM education, careers, innovation and/or entrepreneurship (Guidelines Section 5.1)
• include project evaluation that will track the progress of your round 4 project including against grant objectives and outcomes, and your ability to effect lasting systemic and cultural change (Use of the National Evaluation Guide for STEM Gender Equity Programs is recommended, however other frameworks may be used)
• have at least $500,000 (excl. GST) in eligible expenditure
• have a COVID-19 contingency plan that does not involve an increase in grant amount requested.

You can apply for a grant between $500,000 and $1,000,000.

Eligible and non-eligible expenditure is outlined in Appendix A and B of the Guidelines