What's in the 2025-26 federal budget for your organisation?

Funding highlights for community groups and social sector services included:

• $1.5 billion in grant funding to be administered through the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) via the Future Made in Australia (FMIA) Innovation Fund, including:
  • $750 million to green metals
  • $500 million to clean energy technology manufacturing
  • $250 million to low carbon liquid fuels (LCLF)
• $1.2 billion in provisional funding over the forward estimates to accommodate expected additional expenditure on disaster response payments following ex‑Tropical Cyclone Alfred
• $693.2 million co‑funded with the states and territories to continue providing support to disaster‑affected small businesses and not-for-profits
• $200 million over four years from 2025–26 for the Saving Australia’s Bushland program to expand protected areas and establish new Indigenous Protected Areas
• $178 million over five years for social cohesion measures, including funding for multicultural media outlets and capacity building for African-Australian community groups
• $137.3 million over three years from 2024–25 to fund the transition between the Community Development Program and a new remote employment service which supports job seekers in remote Australia in building skills and overcoming barriers to employment. A forecast opportunity has been published on GrantConnect.
• $47.6 million over four years from 2025–26 to support First Nations organisations in delivering culturally appropriate aged care assessments for First Nations people
• $30.1 million over five years from 2024–25 to fund Commonwealth Home Support Programme providers, increasing indexation in existing grant agreements to cover costs from the Fair Work Commission's stage 3 decision on the Aged Care Work Value Case. The cost of this measure will be partially met from within the existing resourcing of the Department of Health and Aged Care.
• $24.7 million over four years from 2025–26 to improve access to culturally safe and qualified mental health support including scholarships for up to 150 First Nations psychology students
• $23.9 million over five years from 2024–25 to strengthen the Indigenous Procurement Policy to boost opportunities for First Nations businesses
• $21.4 million over three years from 2025–26 to build a nutrition workforce in remote communities through upskilling store‑based First Nations staff
• $21.4 million over three years to improve the experience of sexual violence survivors and victims in the court system including extending trial programs of specialist sexual assault legal services and expanding the pilot programs nationally
• $16 million for a new Australia–India Trade and Investment Accelerator Fund
• $10 million for the National Australia Day Council to award community grants for Australia Day events
• $10 million in 2025–26 to support independent multicultural media outlets to fast track their transition to sustainable news media
• $8.6 million in 2025–26 to extend the Revive Live program to support Australian live music venues and festivals
• $6.2 million over three years from 2025–26 for a Homelessness Sector Development Round to support homelessness peak bodies in undertaking research, undertaking sector development and providing advice on improving housing security
• $4 million to extend the Maitri Grants Program supporting exchange and collaboration between Australian and Indian communities
• $3.4 million over three years from 2025–26 to establish a place‑based business coaching and mentoring program for First Nations businesswomen and entrepreneurs
• $1 million in 2025–26 to provide grants for community‑based projects to prevent modern slavery
• Extension of the Energy Bill Relief Fund to 31 December 2025 to provide eligible small businesses and not-for-profits with rebates on their energy bills

It's still unclear when or how some of this money will trickle down to not-for-profits and community groups, but we'll be keeping our eyes peeled for grant updates relevant to Funding Centre members.

In the meantime, log in to your Funding Centre account to sign up for alerts to be among the first to know where the money is flowing, to search for grants, and to manage your grant applications using the dashboard tool.

Update your email alert settings here | Search for grants here