Archived Grant Opportunity View - GO1076

The Building Excellence in Support and Training (BEST) program (the Program) forms part of the Government’s commitment to support the role of ex-service organisation (ESO) pension and welfare practitioners and advocates, who provide advice and assistance to the veteran and defence communities. It also links closely to the Advocacy Training and Development Program (ATDP), which provides the essential skills for claims, advocacy and welfare work.
The Program is intended to assist the veteran and defence communities by providing support and resources to ESO practitioners for pensions, advocacy and/or welfare work.
The Program assists ESOs by providing a contribution to the work of these practitioners. It does not fully fund an organisation. 
The objectives of the Program are to assist ESOs to:
• improve the quality of claims received by the DVA at the primary determining level
• reduce the rate of appeals to the Veterans’ Review Board (VRB) and the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) and/or
• promote the provision of welfare services to the veteran and defence community. 

Only bona fide ESOs are eligible to apply for a grant.

For the purposes of BEST grants, a bona fide ESO is considered to be an organisation:

•whose membership consists primarily of veterans, past and present    members of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) and/or their dependants
•which is established primarily to provide pensions, advocacy and/or welfare assistance to veterans, past and present members of the ADF and/or their dependants and
•which does not operate as a business or charge any fee for acting on behalf of the veterans, past and present members of the ADF and/or their dependants in the provision of claims or welfare services.

ESOs can choose to apply as one of two applicant types:

An ESO applying in their own right for funding for their own organisation.

To be eligible, an ESO must be one of the following entity types as stated in the dropdown list in the application form:
  •Company
  •Cooperative
  •Corporate State or Territory Entity
  •Indigenous Corporation
  •Incorporated Association
  •Partnership
  •Statutory Entity
  •Trustee on behalf of a Trust.

An ESO applying for funding as a sponsor on behalf of one or more ESOs that may or may not be incorporated.
Whether or not an ESO meets the eligibility criteria to apply for funding in their own right, another ESO may apply as a sponsor on their behalf.  Funding is managed by the sponsor but any recommended grant amount will be assessed on the basis of the sponsored organisation’s activity as provided in the application.A sponsor may apply on behalf of more than one ESO.
To be eligible, a sponsoring ESO must be one of the following entity types as stated in the dropdown list in the application form:

   •Company
   •Cooperative
   •Corporate State or Territory Entity
   •Indigenous Corporation
   •Incorporated Association
   •Partnership
   •Statutory Entity
   •Trustee on behalf of a Trust.

To Apply go to: Application Form