Aboriginal Affairs NSW 2023-2024 Cultural Grants - Round 1

Eligible entities

To be eligible you must be:

• an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Community-controlled, not-for-profit organisation working with Aboriginal communities in NSW, and one of the following organisation types:
  • an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Corporation registered under the Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Act 2006 (Cth)
  • a company incorporated in Australia under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth)
  • a Local Aboriginal Land Council under the Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983 (NSW)
  • an Incorporated Association (incorporated under state legislation, and commonly have ‘Association’ or ‘Incorporated’ or ‘Inc’ in their legal name)
  • an Incorporated Cooperative (incorporated under state legislation, and commonly have ‘Cooperative’ in their legal name)
  • an incorporated trustee on behalf of a trust
  • an Aboriginal sole trader or business whose primary business activity relates to cultural expression or revitalisation (noting projects must not be profit-making in nature)
• an unincorporated Aboriginal community group with a not-for-profit auspice organisation of one of the following organisation types:
  • an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Corporation registered under the Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Act 2006 (Cth)
  • a company incorporated in Australia under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth)
  • a Local Aboriginal Land Council under the Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983 (NSW)
  • an Incorporated Association (incorporated under state legislation, and commonly have ‘Association’ or ‘Incorporated’ or ‘Inc’ in their legal name)
  • an Incorporated Cooperative (incorporated under state legislation, and commonly have ‘Cooperative’ in their legal name)
  • an incorporated trustee on behalf of a trust.

Applicants must also:

• be able to enter into a funding agreement with Aboriginal Affairs NSW (AANSW) and have an Australian bank account
• have public liability insurance of at least $10 million per claim or be willing to purchase it and include the cost of insurance as part of the project budget.

Unincorporated groups

If an unincorporated Aboriginal group wishes to apply under the 2023–2024 Cultural Grant Program, they will need to partner with a not-for-profit organisation to receive and administer the funding. An organisation may only act as an auspice for one grant project in each round.

• an individual
• a non-Aboriginal group or organisation (except for eligible auspice organisations auspicing an unincorporated Aboriginal community group)
• federal and state government agencies and bodies, including NSW public schools and hospitals
• unincorporated organisations or groups without an eligible auspicing organisation
• organisations that have not met project requirements, including acquitting and reporting for any grant funding received from AANSW in the previous 2 years
• organisations with redress sanctions as described in the National Redress Scheme.

Projects must take place within NSW, and applicants must deliver a service to Aboriginal communities within NSW.

Funding must be used for projects that meet the objectives of the Cultural Grants Program. The following are examples of the types of activities that may be considered for funding, where they are aligned with the program objectives:

• women’s or men’s gathering on Country
• a culture and wellbeing camp for Aboriginal youth
• creation of a digital installation showing Aboriginal history of the local community
• a statewide regional music and cultural festival
• a series of online and/or face-to-face workshops.

Where events are ticketed, any income generated from ticket sales must be included and expended within the program budget.

Funding can be used for:

• purchase of consumables – such as catering, equipment items and materials for activities (excluding alcohol) – for the purposes of the project or event
• hiring equipment to be used for the period of the project or event
• engaging contractors such as facilitators, trainers and teachers
• eligible costs associated with holding key statewide and/or regional Aboriginal sporting and cultural events
• purchasing minor equipment for event activities up to the value of $5,000 (please refer to the FAQs for guidance on minor equipment)
• administering the project, with up to 10% of the requested AANSW funding amount able to be used for this task or as auspice fees where there is an auspicing arrangement

Eligible sole trader/business applicants may include up to 10% of the requested AANSW funding amount to cover remuneration costs. Refer to the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for more information. 

• costs for individual sporting teams or cultural groups to attend competitions or events
• capital costs – any type of building, construction, major equipment or capital works including renovations to a building, housing-related costs or the purchase of land
• purchase of vehicles
• wages, salaries and on-costs for ongoing staff
• sitting fees, travel allowances or costs associated with membership of boards/councils
• activities that may create an ongoing dependency on cultural grant funding, such as funding that is required over multiple years
• costs that are not directly associated with the delivery of the project
• activities related to NSW Aboriginal Rugby League Knockout, which has a separate funding program
• activities related to NAIDOC Week events, which has a separate funding program
• international travel costs (proposals for domestic travel costs need to demonstrate the benefits of travel to the project, organisation and community)
• operational and business-as-usual costs
• merchandise such as backpacks, gift vouchers etc.

AANSW and the Aboriginal Languages Trust administer a range of other grant programs throughout the year, and applicants may be referred to apply to another program if it is considered a more suitable source of funding.