Funding information

The 2024 grant round opened on 19 August 2024 and closed on 12 September 2024.  

Submissions to the 2024 Community Grant Program are now closed.

Monday 19 August 2024: Applications open at 9:00am AEST 

Thursday 12 September 2024: Applications close at 5:00pm AEST 

December 2024 – Jan 2025: Grant recipients notified and agreements finalised 

1 January 2025 – 31 December 2025: Timeframe for delivering your project. 

Eligible proposals must deliver grassroots, educational or research activities that will enhance the utility of the internet. We are keen to support projects that focus on the overarching themes of digital inclusion and digital innovation, and will achieve practical outcomes through innovative means, i.e., research and development undertaken for the purposes of acquiring new knowledge and/or creating new or improved processes or services. 

To be eligible, a project must benefit one or more of the following five priority groups:  

• Rural, regional, and remote Australians 

• Australians living with disability  

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples 

• Older Australians (65 years +) 

• Young Australians (12-24 years). 

The grant may not account for 100 per cent of the cost of the project. Applications need to demonstrate an in-kind or financial contribution from the applicant of at least 10 per cent of the total project cost. 

You can read about our previous grant recipients and their projects. 

auDA will not support the following types of projects or budgetary items: 

• Projects for a religious, political or sectarian purpose 

• For-profit organisations 

• Ongoing service delivery (but will consider applications for strategic expansions of existing programs or new/innovative additions to an existing program)  

• Retrospective funding  

• Requests for sponsorship 

• Endowments, memorials or named academic chairs 

• Conferences 

• Projects where the primary focus is outside of Australia 

• Overseas travel 

• General fundraising appeals 

• General digital capability for your organisation 

• Generic IT training (such as introduction to social networking or trading websites)  

• Website design (such as development of a new website or redesign of existing website) rather than focusing specifically on delivery of the project using the website 

• Requests for IT equipment or the provision of IT equipment 

• Marketing or market research activities, even where that research is about website/internet usage. 

To be eligible for funding, applicants must satisfy the following eligibility criteria. Eligibility criteria cannot be waived. 

Eligible applicants: 

• Not-for-profit organisations and research institutions, including universities, that are registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profit Commission (ACNC) are eligible to apply 

• All entities/organisations must be registered in Australia under a Commonwealth, State or Territory law, such as a company, partnership or association 

• Each organisation may submit one application except universities which may submit up to three applications. Each application from a university must be from a different faculty or department and must be signed off by the Advancement team  

• Past grantees are welcome to apply, however, organisations that auDA has not funded in the past 12 months will be preferred. A past grantee must have successfully acquitted their previous grant.   

Project: 

• The project must comply with relevant Australian laws, standards and guidelines 

• The project must benefit one or more of the five priority groups detailed in section 2 and meet the eligibility criteria of these Guidelines. 

Additional requirements: 

• As the grantee you must use the whole of the grant exclusively for the project as described in the application for the grant and not for any other purpose 

• The auDA grant must not account for 100 per cent of the cost of the project 

• To be successful as an applicant, you must make an in-kind or financial contribution to the project budget of at least 10 per cent of the total project cost 

• Your intended contribution must be specified in the application using the budget template provided 

• All of the auDA grant money must be spent within Australia for the benefit of the Australian community 

• The grant must be acquitted within two months of completion. The acquittal will provide evidence of the expenditure, and a report detailing outcomes and impact compared to your application  

• If you have not successfully acquitted a previous auDA project grant, you and your organisation may not be eligible for future funding.  

A panel will assess the applications and make grant recommendations to be endorsed via the Public Benefit Program Committee and approved by the auDA Board.  

The panel will comprise external subject matter experts and auDA’s Chief People and Culture Officer (and may also include some auDA staff).  

auDA is committed to maintaining the integrity, legitimacy, impartiality and fairness of auDA processes. 

The panel will assess all eligible proposals against the following criteria: 

• Delivers digital inclusion and/or digital innovation

• Addresses a demonstrated need in the Australian community in at least one of the five priority groups

• Demonstrated support from stakeholders impacted by the project

• Expected positive outcomes/impact for one or more of the defined priority groups

• The applicant has capacity to successfully implement the project. 

In addition, reviewers will rate all eligible proposals on the following attributes: 

• Identified need and expected outputs, outcomes and impact 

• Innovation 

• Merit 

• Accessibility  

• Potential for sustainability. 

• You as the grantee will sign a grant agreement provided by auDA 

• The grant funding will be used exclusively for the project described in the application 

• The grant funding does not constitute a taxable supply of goods or services and will therefore not be subject to GST 

• The grants are gifts, and no material benefit will arise to auDA from the acquittal of the grants provided 

• The funded projects are expected to be completed within the grant period calendar year which is 1 January 2025 – 31 December 2025 

• In consultation with auDA, you as the grantee will acknowledge the assistance of auDA in any published or displayed material as specified in the grant agreement.  

• Similarly, as the grantee you will acknowledge that you received auDA funding in any project materials you publish, and you will make those project materials available to the public under a creative commons licence.

• You will provide a progress report on your project by 31 July 2025. The acquittal of the funds and final report is due by 31 December 2025  

• Reports will be submitted via auDA’s Grant Management Platform. It is your responsibility to submit reports on time 

• If you do not acquit your grant on time, you may not be eligible for future funding.