Saving Koalas Fund – Community Grants Round 2

The objective of the program:

• to support community-led conservation and recovery efforts to improve the trajectory of the listed koala (combined populations of Queensland, NSW and the ACT).

The intended outcome of the program is to improve the extent, quality and connectivity of the nationally listed koala’s habitat.

To be eligible you must:

• have an Australian Business Number (ABN)

and be one of the following entities:

• an entity incorporated in Australia
• an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Corporation registered under the Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Act 2006 (Cth)
• a co-operative
• a Regional Natural Resource Management (NRM) organisation supporting a project that is delivered by, or directly engages with, local community groups
• an incorporated not for profit organisation, including incorporated First Nation not-for-profit organisations
• an incorporated trustee on behalf of a trust
• an Australian local government agency or body as defined in the glossary.

See the guidelines for full details of eligible and ineligible organisations.

To be eligible your project must:

• be aimed at addressing the program objective and outcome as outlined in section 2.1
• include on-ground project activities that benefit the listed koala (combined populations of Queensland, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory)
• include on-ground project activities that are undertaken in areas where the listed koala is known or likely to occur. You may wish to review the listed koala’s known or likely distribution (as identified in the National Recovery Plan for the Koala) in this National Map link. This map is also available via the protected matters search tool
• be designed to complement, extend or expand existing activities or designed to be stand-alone, provided the project does not overlap or duplicate existing activities. Activities that are complementary to work that is already underway must demonstrate alignment, for example:
  • by filling a critical gap
  • by expanding or supplementing an existing activity, or
  • by increasing the reach and impact of an existing activity.

Eligible activities may include:

• improving the extent, quality and connectivity of the listed koala’s habitat, such as
  • supporting climate and fire refugia
  • supporting corridors facilitating movement and metapopulation processes of koalas
  • improving the condition or extent of existing koala habitat through altered land management practices.
• targeted and coordinated threat management, that provides a demonstrable reduction in pressure on the listed koala and its habitat (e.g. weed control where you can show a clear link with increasing the useability or restoration of koala habitat)
• environmental restoration and protection across areas that support the listed koala
• applied research, that includes on-ground interventions such as protection or threat abatement techniques (not including koala translocation)
• encouraging the participation of First Nation people in the program, including:
  • sharing of First Nation ecological knowledge to support achievement of the project and program outcomes
  • collaboration with Traditional Owners
• supporting First Nation-led caring for Country activities.

See the guidelines for full details of eligible and ineligible projects and activities.

Your project must be delivered in locations within Queensland, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory where the listed koala is known or likely to occur.

See the guidelines for full details of eligible locations.

You can only spend grant funds on eligible expenditure you have incurred on an agreed project as defined in your grant agreement.

Eligible expenditure items may include:

• purchase (or hire) of materials and supplies to support eligible project activities such as tube stock, hardware, seed and chemicals
• salaries and on-costs for personnel directly employed in delivering the project activities (this should be calculated on a pro-rata basis relative to their time commitment). This excludes project management or project co-ordination costs which are covered under administrative support below
• staff training that directly supports the achievement of project outcomes
• contract expenditure being the cost of any agreed project activities that you contract to others directly relating to the program objectives. All contractors must have a written contract in place covering the work to be undertaken, prior to starting any project work
• costs associated with managing collaborations and partnerships with Traditional Owners and the local community
• removal of legislated weed species (including Weeds of National Significance)
• costs incurred in obtaining planning, environmental or other regulatory approvals during the project period. However, associated fees paid to the Commonwealth, state, territory and local governments are not eligible
• domestic travel to and from the on-ground location limited to the reasonable cost of accommodation and transportation required to conduct the agreed project activities
• administrative support and overheads additional to the normal day-to-day running costs of the organisation, including project management or project co-ordination (maximum 10 per cent of the grant)
• reporting on project outcomes
• contingency costs up to a maximum of 10% of the eligible project expenditure. Note that we make payments based on actual project costs incurred.

To be eligible, expenditure must:

• be a direct cost of the project
• be incurred by you for required project audit activities.

See the guidelines for full details of eligible and ineligible expenditure.

To apply for this funding, applicants must:

• complete the online application form via business.gov.au
• provide all the information requested
• address all eligibility and assessment criteria
• include all necessary attachments – refer to section 7.2. of the guidelines
• geospatial data about the project location(s)

You must provide the following documents with your application:

• project plan
• project budget
• trust deed (where applicable)
• documents requested in section 4.2 and 7.2 of the guidelines, as they apply to your project.

See the guidelines for full details of information requirements.

Applications are submitted online via the business.gov.au portal.

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