Aboriginal Affairs NSW Cultural Grants Program 2023/2024

The Aboriginal Affairs NSW Cultural Grants Program supports Aboriginal community organisations across NSW to celebrate Aboriginal culture and hold key cultural events and activities. 

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Important Dates 

The AANSW 2023–2024 Cultural Grants Program opens twice a year. 

Round 1
Applications Open	Monday, 28th August 2023
Applications Closes	11 am on Monday, 9th October 2023
Project must be starting on or after	1st January 2024
Projects must be completed on or before	31st December 2024
Round 2
Applications Open	Monday, 15th January 2024
Applications Closes	11 am on Monday, 26th February 2024
Project must be starting on or after	1st July 2024
Projects must be completed on or before	30th June 2025

Timing 

Applications will be accepted at any time during the open period. An organisation can only receive one grant from the 2023-2024 Cultural Grants Program. An organisation may additionally act as an auspice for a maximum of one project in each Round. 

Please read all the details in the Program Guidelines before applying under 2023-2024 Cultural Grants Program. 

The project must be completed by the dates detailed in the table above. Where an application does not confirm that a project will be completed by this date, Aboriginal Affairs NSW (AANSW) reserves the right to set the application aside for further consideration. 

2023-24 Cultural Grants Program is a non-competitive program where applications will be assessed in the order they are received. Applications that cannot be considered in Round 1 due to the funding allocation being exhausted, will be given the option to opt in to having their application assessed in Round 2. Applicants can re-apply in Round 2 if they wish to. 

How much can I apply for?  

Applicants can apply for grants from $500 to $20,000.  

Funding Allocation

Aboriginal Affairs NSW has allocated $1 million for the Aboriginal Affairs NSW Cultural Grants Program in 2023-2024.  

Round 1 - $500,000 

Round 2 - $500,000 

Any Round 1 allocation not expended in Round 1 may be made available in Round 2, at the sole discretion of AANSW. 

The AANSW Cultural Grants Program objective are to: 

• support Aboriginal communities to strengthen, protect, and maintain traditional and contemporary expressions of Aboriginal culture   
  
• support key contemporary Aboriginal cultural events and activities   
  
• contribute to Aboriginal community wellbeing and healing, through the use of Aboriginal culture and community connection 
  
• facilitate sharing of Aboriginal cultural knowledge and skills between generations. 

What can I apply for?  

Funding can 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 funded, where they are aligned with the program objectives:

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

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

Applicants are encouraged to contact their nearest Aboriginal Affairs NSW Regional Office to discuss their project. Regional office staff are available to provide advice regarding program objectives and eligibility requirements, however, they cannot assist with the development of an application. 

Funding can be used for: 

• purchasing consumables – such as catering, equipment items and mat (excluding alcohol) – for the purposes of the project or event  
• hire of equipment to be used for the period of the project or event
• engagement of contractors, such as facilitators, trainers and teachers
• eligible costs associated with holding key state-wide and/or regional Aboriginal sporting or cultural events
• purchase 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. Up to 10% of the requested AANSW funding amount can be used for this 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.   

Funding cannot be used for: 

• 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 and salaries and on-costs for ongoing staff
• sitting fees, travel allowance 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 the 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 ect. 
  

Who is eligible?  

To be eligible for funding, your organisation must be a legal entity located in NSW, or working with Aboriginal communities in NSW, and able to enter into a funding agreement with AANSW.  

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 (Auspice organisation can be non-ACCO) to receive and administer the funding. An organisation may only act as an auspice for one grant project in each round. 

Eligible applicants 

Eligible organisations must be Aboriginal-owned and controlled. Eligible organisations are:  

• 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; OR
• 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), OR  
• an unincorporated Aboriginal community group with a not-for-profit auspice organisation (auspice organisation can be non Aboriginal Community Controlled 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 deliver a service to Aboriginal communities within NSW and have public liability insurance of at least $10 million per claim or be willing to purchase it as part of the project budget.  

 

Applicants not eligible for funding are: 

• 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. 

Assessment Criteria 

This is a non-competitive program, where applications will be assessed in the order they are received, and are assessed individually against the assessment criteria, not competitively against other applications.  

All applications will be screened for eligibility. Eligible applications will then be assessed against the criteria by a panel including Aboriginal Affairs NSW staff. and independent members within four weeks of submission.  

All assessment recommendations will be provided in writing to the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Treaty (the Minister). The Minister is the final decision-maker considering the recommendations of the assessment panel. 

Some applicants may be offered partial funding where budget includes ineligible items. 

Assessment will be based on the following criteria: 

Criteria	What are we looking for?	Weighting
Project Quality	Evidence that the project meets the program aims and objectives	20%
Project Detail	Explanation of what the funding will do and how it will be spent	20%
Project Impact	Evidence of who the project will benefit and how this will be achieved	20%
Capacity	Evidence of applicants experience managing previous projects or relevant training and experience of key staff involved	20%
Value for money	Explanation of how budget items contribute to the project outcomes. A reasonable and realistic budget	20%

For more information on the assessment criteria please see the 2023/2024 Cultural Grant Program guidelines or FAQ’s 

How to Apply 

Applications must be submitted online at the Aboriginal Affairs NSW online grants platform. Applicants are encouraged to contact their nearest Aboriginal Affairs NSW regional office to discuss their project. 

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Applicants can choose to submit a video response to application questions on project objectives and outcomes.  Aboriginal Affairs NSW regional staff are available to support applicants with recording and preparing a file for upload if required. 

An organisation can only receive one grant in any round from the 2023-2024 Cultural Grants Program. 

Auspicing organisations may only auspice one Cultural Grant Project in addition to their own. 

Unsuccessful applicants will be offered a feedback session if requested and may reapply for funding in the next opening period (if any). 

Resources 

• Program Guidelines  
  
• Step by Step Guide for Applicants 
  
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Budget Fact Sheet 
  

Support and Contacts  

For any questions regarding the AANSW Cultural Grants Program, please contact your nearest AANSW Regional Office on the phone numbers below or email grants@aboriginalaffairs.nsw.gov.au 

Region/Office	Phone number
Illawarra Southern  Batemans Bay	02 8575 1013
New England North-West  Tamworth	02 8575 1172
Greater Northern  Coffs Harbour	02 9566 8318
Murdi Paaki  Broken Hill	02 9228 4877
Binaal Billa  Dubbo	02 8575 1518  02 8575 1073
Hunter Central Coast  Newcastle	02 8575 1680
Greater Sydney   Sydney	1800 019 998

Other information 

Aboriginal Cultural and Intellectual Property (ACIP) 

AANSW has developed an Aboriginal Cultural and Intellectual Property (ACIP) Protocol that aims to build awareness and respect for Aboriginal culture. The Protocol sets a standard for how AANSW engages with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities regarding their cultural and intellectual property and what it expects from the organisations it funds. 

Any Aboriginal Cultural or Intellectual Property submitted in a grant application to AANSW remains the property of the relevant community organisation or Aboriginal person. 

AANSW will not distribute or communicate any ACIP contained in SmartyGrants and agrees to respect the cultural protocols of Aboriginal people to whom it may apply. 

More information on the ACIP, including the protocol, is available on the AANSW website.  

Funding arrangements and reporting 

 Successful applicants will be required to: 

• enter into a Funding Agreement with AANSW within 2 weeks of the offer being made 
  
• start and complete funded activities and events by the dates specified in the Funding Agreement 
  
• notify AANSW of any proposed changes to your funded activity and complete a project variation request 
  
• acknowledge the support of AANSW in accordance with the Funding Acknowledgement Guidelines 
  
• report on outcomes from the activity and acquit the grant within one month of project completion. Evidence to support this can be uploaded in SmartyGrants and must include evidence of expenditure (copies of invoices and receipts) as well as photos, media coverage and links to video clips where relevant. If the acquittal is not completed within the required timeframe, you will be at risk not being eligible to apply for AANSW grants until acquitted or an agreed timeframe. 
  

Discloser of information 

Information relating to successful applications will be included in: 

• public media releases 
  
• an announcement on the AANSW website 
  
• NSW Grants Finder website 
  

• AANSW social media. 
  

This information may include the name of the applicant and their business, a description of the funded project and the funding amount. 

Applicants should be aware that information provided to AANSW may be made publicly available under the GIPA Act. Information may also be made publicly available as a result of an order for papers made by the NSW Legislative Council under Standing Order 52.  

Disclaimer 

Every effort has been made to ensure that this publication is free from error and/or omission at the date of publication. The authors, publisher and any person involved in the preparation of this publication take no responsibility for loss occasioned to any person acting or refraining from action as a result of information contained herein. 

2022/2023 successful applicants 

 View the 2022/2023 Cultural Grant recipients as at 22 March 2023 here. 

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