It is a condition of COALAR grant funding that recipients fully acquit the funds received. Grant moneys should be acquitted within 60 days of the completion of a project through the submission of a completed Acquittal report including a financial statement of expenditure through SmartyGrants.
As part of the acquittal process, grant recipients need to indicate how the money spent can be linked back to the activities for which funding was originally requested. All unspent funds must be returned to COALAR.
Lower risk grants may have their financial statement of expenditure certified by an official from the organisation that received the grant. Higher risk grants should be certified by a qualified accountant. As a general rule, all grants greater than $50,000 should be certified by a qualified auditor. The cost of certification can be included in the grant funding provided.
Funding recipients are required to keep all receipts and records for five years and to make these available upon request.
Reporting
You must submit progress reports in line with the timeframes in the grant agreement. Sample templates for these progress reports are available on the DFAT website. We will expect you to report on:
- progress against your communications plan, actively deepening international relationships and promoting your grant project and COALAR
- progress against agreed project milestones
- participant contributions which are directly related to the grant project
- eligible expenditure of grant funds
- results against key performance indicators and the project-specific outputs detailed in your grant agreement.
You will also be responsible for:
- meeting the terms and conditions of the grant agreement and managing and promoting the activity efficiently and effectively
- complying with record keeping, reporting and acquittal requirements as set out in the grant agreement
- all administrative arrangements associated with your grant project including visa and travel arrangements, visa charges, airport taxes and ground transport; travel and health insurance for project participants' medical and hospital insurance cover (both overseas and in Australia for visitors not covered by Medicare), including evacuation and death cover; and any necessary insurance for equipment, and accommodation costs and arrangements
- other insurances, including workers' compensation, as required by law, and professional indemnity, public health and liability insurance, as required by the grant project
- complying with all applicable domestic and international laws.
Ad-hoc reports
We may ask you for ad-hoc reports on your grant. This may be to provide an update on progress, or any significant delays or difficulties in completing the grant activity.
Final report (for all grants)
When you complete the grant activity, you must submit a final report. Final reports must
- identify if and how outcomes have been achieved
- include the agreed evidence as specified in the grant agreement
- identify the total eligible expenditure incurred
- outline communication activities and impact
- be submitted within 60 days of completion in the format provided in the grant agreement.
All COALAR acquittals are to be submitted online through SmartyGrants.