We cannot consider your application if it does not satisfy all the eligibility criteria. We cannot provide a grant if you receive funding from another source for the same purpose.
Please refer to section 2.6 of the Commonwealth Grants Rules and Principles 2024 (CGRPs) for guidance on financial arrangements that are not considered grants.
Who is eligible to apply for a grant?
To be eligible you must:
- be one of the following:
- an Australian entity with an Australian Business Number (ABN), Australian Company Number (ACN), or Indigenous Corporation Number (ICN)
- an Australian consortium with a lead organisation
- an Australian registered charity or not-for-profit organisation
- an Australian local government body
- an Australian State/Territory government body
- a Corporate Commonwealth Entity
- an Australian statutory authority
- an Australian citizen or permanent resident of Australia
- a citizen of the Republic of Korea
- an organisation in the Republic of Korea
- be located in Australia or the Republic of Korea
- be aged at least 18 years if you are submitting an application as an individual or if you are the primary contact of the organisation that is submitting an application.
Applications from consortia are acceptable, provided you have a lead applicant who is the main driver of the project and they are eligible per the list above. For more information, please see also section 7.2 'Joint (consortia) applications' in the Grant Guidelines.
Individuals who intend the grant to be administered by a university or other tertiary institution should list their institution as the applicant.
Who is not eligible to apply for a grant?
You are not eligible to apply if you are:
- an organisation, or your project partner is an organisation, included on the National Redress Scheme's website1 on the list of ‘Institutions that have not joined or signified their intent to join the Scheme’
. on the list of 'Institutions that have not joined or signified their intent to join the Scheme'
- a grantee from a previous Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) grant round who has not provided a full and satisfactory acquittal of an existing project at the time of submitting an application for a new grant.
What can the grant money be used for?
- economy flights, modest accommodation costs, meals and travel allowances - the ATO Tax Determination serves as a guideline for applicants when preparing travel budgets and related expenses, noting limitations outlined in this section
- interpreting and translation services
- venue hire and catering (where possible, it is preferred that co-contributions for catering are provided from the applicant or from another source)
- communications, advertising and promotion — including graphic design, photography, videography, social media content, printed materials, media engagement, and development of digital assets that enhance visibility and extend the reach of the activity.
- production costs, including freight, artists' and support staff wages and/or fees directly related to the project (business-as-usual wages or fees will not be supported by this grant)
- labour costs (salaries, fees or wages) of staff you hire specifically to deliver the core elements of the project (labour costs of staff who receive their business-as-usual or ongoing salaries/fees/wages will not be supported by this grant)
- only one participant per conference or meeting and only where the participant is a principal speaker and the subject of the conference is of direct relevance to the grant opportunity. (Travel for more than one person, where an event is specifically focused on the proposed AKF grant activity, must be fully justified in the application and will be considered on a case-by-case basis)
- other costs determined as eligible by the Program Delegate.
Travel budgets must be appropriate, reasonable and realistic, reflecting basic travel, accommodation and sustenance costs that an applicant would personally use, while ensuring value for taxpayer money.
- Airfares: Budget at a reasonable economy rate without regard to airline preferences.
- Accommodation: Costs should reflect the price of an appropriate, reasonably priced hotel, with modest accommodation expenses covered.
- Travel allowances: Meal expenses should be consistent with what an applicant would typically spend on a normal work lunch or dinner. Incidental expenses should also be reasonable.
- Other transport and travel costs: Must be at reasonable rates and incurred only if necessary for the project.
- Budgets should include either detailed daily costs or a per diem—not both. If all specific costs are included, additional per diem costs must not be added.
What can't the grant money be used for?
You cannot normally use the grant for the following:
- capital expenditure, including purchase of real estate and vehicles
- purchase of equipment (for example, musical instruments, computers, videos, photographic or printing equipment)
- retrospective costs or recurrent funding of activities
- activities that are already commercially viable in their own right
- activities that will provide commercial advantage to the applicant (e.g. promotion of the applicant's own business)
- costs incurred in the preparation of a grant application or related documentation
- subsidy of general ongoing administration of an organisation such as electricity, phone, rent, and/or administrative charges levied by the applicant's organisation
- business-as-usual or ongoing salaries, fees or wages for existing staff (including for research assistants or administrative staff)
- honorariums
- activities for which other Commonwealth, state, territory or local government bodies have primary responsibility
- study tours or activities where travel by a significant number of participants is the principal element of the proposal
- scholarships or fellowships to individual students
- exchange programs for individual students
- competition or prizes
- side activities not related to the project, including tourist site visits and ticket costs
- passport applications
- completed projects.
We generally do not fund travel and accommodation for attendance at conferences or meetings; participation in fieldwork; sporting; or other events. Such activities are scrutinised by the AKF Board and must be of direct relevance to the project and AKF objectives.
1 National Redress Scheme for Institutional Child Sexual Abuse Grant Connected Policy makes non-government institutions named in applications to the Scheme, or in the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, that do not join the Scheme ineligible for future Australian Government grant funding. The National Redress Scheme Grant Connected Policy came into effect on 1 January 2021. The Department of Social Services is the responsible entity for questions and advice regarding this policy (see www.dss.gov.au).