1. Can I use grant funding to cover my organisation’s overheads and administrative fees?
Refer to Section 5.3 of the Grant Guidelines. Grant funding cannot be used to cover an organisation's standard ongoing administrative or operating costs, including administrative charges, overheads or indirect costs levied by the applicant organisation.
More broadly, grants do not fund fixed or recurrent expenditure of an organisation that would be incurred irrespective of whether the project proceeds.
Grant funding may only be used for eligible project-specific costs that are directly related to delivering the proposed activities and are consistent with the Grant Guidelines.
Please refer to Section 5.2 ‘Eligible Expenditure’ in the Grant Guidelines: “Employee labour costs related to delivering the core elements of the grant project (business as-usual labour costs will not be supported)”.
2. Can I list Indonesian partner/s in my joint (consortia) application?
Please refer to Section 7.2 ‘Joint (consortia) applications’ in the Grant Guidelines: “In these circumstances, you must appoint a ‘lead organisation’. Only the lead organisation can submit the application form and enter into a grant agreement with the Commonwealth.
The application must identify all other members of the proposed group/consortium and include a letter of support from each of the partners.”
The lead applicant must fulfil the eligibility requirements outlined in Sections 4.1 and 4.2 of the Grant Guidelines. You may list Indonesian partner/s noting Indonesian participation would receive favourable consideration.
3. Can I include team members who do not fulfil Section 4.1 ‘Who is eligible to apply for a grant?’ in my application?
Yes, if those team member are overseas residents/organisations, but please refer to information above under Question 2 and to Section 4.2 of the Grant Guidelines ‘Who is not eligible to apply for grant?’ and ensure that the applicant fulfils all eligibility requirements.
4. Can funding support reciprocal activities in Indonesia and the participation or honoraria of Indonesian partners?
Please refer to Sections 5.2 and 5.3 in the Grant Guidelines. Note activities are not limited by location however would need to demonstrate clear alignment with the objective of the AII’s 2026-27 Grant Opportunity. Section 5.3 ‘What grant money cannot be used for’ includes “…honorariums and/or administrative charges levied by the applicant's organisation.”
5. I have an ABN as a freelancer; do I select "applying as an individual" or as an "entity with an ABN"? Or can I choose either at my discretion?
Please select “entity with an ABN” if you will be undertaking the grant activities as part of the functions of the business listed through the ABN. If this is not the case, then you may select “applying as an individual”.
6. Can our application allocate budget for personnel costs, including hiring a new team member?
Please refer to Section 5.2 in the Grant Guidelines. As outlined, eligible expenditures include “Employee labour costs related to delivering the core elements of the grant project (business as-usual labour costs will not be supported)”. If the new team member is exclusively focused on delivering the grant activity, this would be considered eligible for AII grant funding.
7. Should we include non-eligible costs in the budget, and state their source of income as being other than the AII grant or should we only include costs for which AII grant funds will be utilised?
Please refer to Section 7.1 in the Grant Guidelines. As outlined “The budget should outline co-contributions (in-kind-and/or cash) from your organisation and other parties that demonstrate commitment to the project.” This would also include non-eligible costs which DFAT grant funding would not cover.
8. Regarding Child Protection Guidelines, the grant instructions say to submit "child safety guidelines". What are our obligations to fulfil these besides ensuring we have valid Working With Children Checks?
As per Section 7.1 in the Grants Guidelines, please provide “child protection guidelines if the project involves people under the age of 18 years”. Please also refer to Section 13.6 in the Grant Guidelines for further details including links addressing DFAT’s child protection requirements.
9. Does every person listed in the application need to have a Working with Children Checkat the time of the grant application submission or is it acceptable for some team members to attain these at a later date?
Please refer to Section 13.6 in the Grant Guidelines. All personnel who will be working with children will need to have the relevant working with children checks prior to engaging with people under 18 years of age.
10. Is an educational institution based in Indonesia eligible to apply directly as the primary applicant?
Please refer to Sections 4.1 and 4.2 of the Grant Guidelines and ensure the applicant meets all eligibility criteria.
11. Is my project concept aligned with the priority theme and focuses of the 2026-27 Australia-Indonesia Institute Grants Program?
Please refer to Section 2.1 of the Grant Guidelines. This for applicants to determine based on the information provided in the Guidelines. The AII Secretariat cannot provide advice on individual project concepts.
12. How do the Grant Guidelines’ eligibility requirements and prioritising of cross-cultural partnerships apply to Indonesian-based organisations with Australian leadership?
The individual or entity applying for the grant needs to fulfil all the eligibility requirements outlined in the Grant Guidelines (Sections 4.1 and 4.2).
13. Are there specific restrictions regarding funding allocations for field logistics, training materials, or local travel within Indonesia for training activities?
Please refer to Section 5.1 in the Grant Guidelines.
14. Is my activity eligible for application?
Please refer to Sections 5.2 and 5.3 in the Grant Guidelines and to the response to Question 11 above. Applicants may determine eligibility based on the information provided in the Guidelines. The AII Secretariat cannot provide advice on individual project concepts.
15. Am I eligible to submit a new application for a 2026-27 grant while my current AII-funded project from a previous year’s grant round is ongoing?
Yes, you are eligible to apply. Please provide relevant details for your current grant in your application in the relevant field.