Australia Day 2025 Community Grant

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This is a preview of the 2025 Community Grants Application form. When you’re ready to apply, click Fill Out Now to begin.
 

Background

About this grant opportunity

This grant relates to Australia Day 2025.   

The National Australia Day Council (NADC) Community Events Grant Program makes grants available to support communities to hold an Australia Day event designed to promote the theme – ‘Reflect. Respect. Celebrate.’.   

 The Australia Day 2025 Community Events Grant Program (Program) is being made available by the NADC, with the assistance of the Australian Government. The Program makes available grants of:    

  • $10,000 (GST exclusive) to assist eligible event organisers to ensure inclusive Australia Day 2025 events proceed (Base Grant); and   
  • an additional $5,000 (GST exclusive) for events that include significant Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander elements (Additional Grant).  

Australia Day provides an opportunity for all Australians to reflect, respect and celebrate. These grants are to support inclusive events that allow communities to come together and reflect, respect and celebrate the individual and collective efforts of Australians.  

 Local, state and territory government entities and Australian not-for-profit organisations are eligible to apply for this grant opportunity.   

 Applicants are encouraged to ensure their event is inclusive of all Australians, including people with disability.  

 The NADC encourages applicants to work together with local Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander communities to create Australia Day events that acknowledge our complete and complex history and the deep connection to Country that First Nations people have. As noted above, for events that include significant Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander elements, eligible event organisers may apply for the Additional Grant of $5,000 (GST exclusive).  

 Applicants are also encouraged to support local businesses and communities through the planning and execution of the event, including through fostering creation and enabling retention of local employment opportunities.  

 For Australia Day 2025, NADC continues to encourage the message of ‘Reflect. Respect. Celebrate.’. The NADC has created branding and design assets with this message for Australia Day 2025 (Australia Day Designs). These designs are available for use by all organisations in their Australia Day promotional collateral. Successful applicants will be required to promote this message through NADC collateral. Where organisations do not have access to local printing or production facilities, grant recipients will be able to purchase items online through the Australia Day Council Aussie Merchandise Program.  

 A total of $4.5 million (GST exclusive) is available through the Program. Successful applicants may only receive one grant (which may comprise of a Base Grant only or a Base Grant and an Additional Grant) through the Program and there is no guarantee or assurance that an application will be successful. Applicants who have not properly acquitted a grant provided by NADC under previous Australia Day Community Grants Programs (or similar) may not be eligible for funding.   

 The intended outcomes of this grant opportunity are to provide funding for Australia Day 2025 events that:   

  • enable Australia Day events/activities to proceed  
  • encourage community participation in Australia Day events/activities   
  • reflect, respect and celebrate Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples’ histories and cultures  
  • are inclusive of all Australians, including people with disability 
  • create or support local employment   
  • promote the messaging of 'Reflect. Respect. Celebrate.’.   

Successful applicants will be required to have their event(s) listed on the NADC’s Australia Day Event Register website

Applicants should read the full program guidelines before commencing this application. Applicants should also read the sample grant agreement found at the end of the program guidelines before submitting an application.   

Before you begin 

The application form requires information about:

  • the applicant, including their ABN and their address
  • the planned event, including reference to the assessment criteria
  • accessibility and inclusivity elements of their events
  • where the applicant is also applying for the Additional Grant of $5,000 (GST exclusive), a clear outline of the plan to include significant Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander elements and how the Additional Grant funds are proposed to be used
  • a commitment to providing high quality photographs or video of their event.

In addition, the NADC requires the following with an application:

  • a copy of the applicant's public liability insurance policy (certificate of currency)
  • banking details, including evidence that the account is the applicant organisation’s account
  • for local, state or territory government applicants, written commitment that they will financially invest no less than the level of investment they made in the previously held event.

Use of Information

The information an applicant provides in their application form will be handled in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). For more information see the NADC's Privacy Policy. 

 In submitting an application, the applicant agrees to the NADC collecting their personal information, including name, contact details and role in order to assess the application and for the purpose of grants administration.   

 The NADC's online portal is powered by SmartyGrants, an enterprise of Our Community Pty Ltd. To use the portal, applicants will be asked to register and agree to Our Community's Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. 

Complaints  

 Applicants should address any complaints regarding this grant opportunity in writing to the NADC through the Contact Officer.  

Application and Agreement

Successful applicants will be required to enter into a short form agreement with the NADC. This will be sent to successful applicants electronically via email at the time that an applicant is notified that its application for a grant has been successful. 

Applicants are able to download a copy of the sample agreement. These terms and conditions cannot be changed. 

The applicant will need to provide banking details including evidence that the account is an account of the entity applying for the grant.

Notification of Outcome

The NADC will use best endeavours to advise the outcome of an application within 20 business days of the closing date for submission.

Tips

This form is an online form. The answers provided go directly into the NADC database and will be used to generate reports and other documents throughout the assessment process as well as any resulting grant agreement, if the applicant's application is successful.

Please take care to answer carefully and clearly.

Please note red warning boxes may appear where pages have compulsory questions. Where a response needs to be provided in a certain format, tips will also appear in these boxes, e.g. for address you may see “must have a postcode".