Closed Grant Opportunity View - GO8640

The Australian Government is inviting organisations through a closed, non-competitive process to apply for a Volunteer Grant under the Families and Communities Program – Volunteer Grants Activity.

The 2025–26 Volunteer Grants round began with a call for Expressions of Interest (EOI) by Federal Members of Parliament (MPs) who consulted with a community committee to develop a list of organisations to nominate. Following the EOI process, MPs nominated organisations to receive an invitation to apply. The nomination period for MPs to submit their nominations for the main 2025–26 Volunteer Grants round closed on 17 April 2026.

This Volunteer Grants Activity is specific to the Farrer electorate only and is directly linked to the main Volunteer Grants Activity – 2025–26 Volunteer Grants round. Due to the resignation of the previous Federal MP for Farrer in February 2026, the 2025–26 Volunteer Grants process for this electorate was deferred until a new Federal MP was elected. The nomination period for the MP for Farrer closed on 14 September 2026.

The Volunteer Grants Activity is an element of the Families and Communities Program, which recognises the valuable work of Australia’s volunteers. This initiative forms part of the Australian Government’s ongoing commitment to encourage, support and increase participation in volunteering. Eligible not-for-profit community organisations can use grant funding to cover expenses for online communication and insurance items, small equipment, training, and background screening checks for the main purpose of supporting the volunteer cohorts and volunteer-run activities specified in the 2025–26 Volunteer Grants – Farrer Grant Opportunity Guidelines.

The intended outcome of the activity is to strengthen community functioning by supporting and increasing participation in volunteering.

To be eligible to receive a grant, you must be a community organisation that has been nominated by the Federal MP for Farrer via the EOI process, received an invitation to apply through GrantConnect, and:

• be a legal and eligible entity, or
• be an unincorporated association that agrees to the primary contact on your application entering into an agreement on behalf of unincorporated association. This means that if your grant application is approved, an authorised officer (over the age of 18) of the community organisation will assume all legal liability and become personally liable for the delivery of the funded activity, expenditure of funds and any other associated obligations arising from the grant agreement validity executed

and

• have a minimum of 40% of volunteers working for your organisations
• be a not-for-profit community organisation
• have an Australian Business Number (ABN) or be willing to complete a Statement by a Supplier Form (reason for not quoting an ABN) within the application form. Please refer to the Australian Tax Office website for further information
• have a bank account with an Australian financial institution in the name of the organisation applying, unless you are applying as an unincorporated association in which case the bank account can be in the name of the individual assuming legal liability
• be willing and legally able to enter into a grant agreement with the Commonwealth (refer section 10.1 of the Grant Opportunity Guidelines)

and

You must be one of the following entity types:

• Company
• Cooperative
• Corporate State or Territory Entity
• Incorporated Association
• Indigenous Corporation
• Non-corporate State or Territory Entity
• Non-corporate State or Territory Statutory Authority
• Statutory Entity
• A not-for-profit community organisation associated with, but not legally part of, a Local Council
• Unincorporated association.

By invitation only.