Community Grant Program

Your organisation must be registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission.

We will refer to your information on the Charity Register during assessment of your application. Please ensure your contact details, financial reporting and responsible person listing is up to date. Financial Reports must be signed by your auditors.

We also ask you to provide a weblink to your most recent Annual Report.

The grant cannot be used to fund basic digital skills training or development.

There are many free and accessible resources available from not-for-profit organisations such as Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) and Good Things Foundation Australia.

Applicants must be confident they have adequate skills and resources to deliver their proposed project. auDA seeks to support proposals that can be delivered by digitally capable organisations in particular with established policies and procedures to manage cyber security and protect stakeholder data.

Infoxchange is an Australian not-for-profit social enterprise that has been delivering technology for social justice for over 30 years. Infoxchange offers a range of guides and training for not-for-profits that need to assess or build their digital capability. Further information can be found at their Digital Transformation Hub.

You should ensure that your proposed activities and outcomes are made accessible for relevant stakeholders. This may include ensuring:

• Project materials are developed with web-accessibility in mind or provide directions to stakeholders to resources on developing their digital skills
• Project activities or outputs are also shared via community institutions such as local councils, libraries and neighbourhood houses to support those who may not have digital access at home.

Learn more about how to ensure your online content is accessible or explore the Australian Digital Inclusion Index website.

The auDA grant cannot be used for the purchase of IT equipment including devices, data or software.

Visit the Infoxchange website for information on how Australian not-for-profits can source discounted and donated technology for their organisation or their stakeholders.

ACCAN also maintains a list of organisations that may be able to help you source affordable devices.

auDA will fund the development of a website or app only if it delivers high impact functionality for your stakeholders. We may consider projects that include website or app development that:

• Incorporate high levels of accessibility as needed by your stakeholders
• Deliver information in an under-served language or to an under-served community.

The Community Grant Program seeks proposals where the need, potential solution and impact are well-evidenced.

Your evidence may be quantitative or qualitative data, including from:

• Government sources such as Australian Bureau of Statistics, Department of Social Services or your local council
• Research or inquiries such as a Royal Commission, a Roadmap or Blueprint
• Quantitative and qualitative feedback from stakeholders
• Tools such as the Social Cohesion Compass.

We seek proposals that are community-led or strongly desired by the priority focus area. We ask you to provide letters of support from project partners, priority focus area representatives or stakeholders. The letter should indicate that your project partners, priority focus area representatives and stakeholders think your proposal has merit and that your organisation is best-placed to deliver the activity. Letters should clearly demonstrate financial or in-kind support from project partners.

Whilst the grant program is open to all applicants who meet the eligibility criteria, auDA encourages participation from potential applicants seeking to provide benefit for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. We encourage proposals that:

• Are from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander-led organisations (while noting that in some instances a community may prefer an external organisation to conduct a project)
• Build on government or sector investment or recommendations such as the First Nations Digital RoadMap or NBN Co’s Community WiFi rollout.

The Program will fund proposals where the activities can be delivered in 12 months or less. The grant activity period is from 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2026. Please ensure you have identified the resources the project will need - staff, expertise, equipment, approvals and stakeholder relationships – that are essential for your timely delivery.

You should consider whether any ethics approval is required and the impact that may have on your ability to deliver the project in the 12 months grant period. This may be most relevant for applicants from universities and research institutions.

The total project budget should be more than $50,000.

Your total project budget should be such that an auDA grant is a meaningful contribution. Applicants are required to make an in-kind or financial contribution of at least 10 per cent of the total project cost. Any other funding sources will need to be confirmed before a grant can be awarded.

We know change takes time. In your application you should include information about your inputs, outputs, outcomes and potential impact as well as how you will measure and evaluate that you have delivered digital inclusion or digital innovation. This will let us know the potential impact your project may have in the short, medium and long term for your organisation, your stakeholders and your sector.

The following organisations are well-regarded by the Australian evaluation community. They provide free resources about evaluation and measuring impact:

• Better Evaluation
• Centre for Social Impact
• Seedkit – Melbourne Social Equity Institute.

We encourage proposals that aim to:

• Develop new resources, processes or activities that become incorporated into your business as usual and help you better serve your stakeholders or
• Develop a service or tool that can generate revenue for your operations or to invest in new initiatives or
• Develop stronger ongoing partnerships with your project stakeholders or
• Communicate your findings with a broader and/or influential audience so that more Australians benefit from your project.

We encourage proposals that also seek to positively impact the environment through addressing issues such as climate, water, circularity or nature/biodiversity. This may include where your proposed activities and outcomes also lead to you or your stakeholders developing more efficient use of resources such as fossil fuels, electricity and paper.

Further information can be found at government websites such as your local council or Sustainability Victoria.