Indigenous Advancement Strategy Grant Guidelines - updated July 2021
The Indigenous Advancement Strategy (IAS) is the way the Australian Government funds and delivers a range of programs for Indigenous Australians. Grant Opportunity Guidelines (or GOGs) set out the requirement for each funding opportunity.
The majority of grant opportunities will use tailored GOGs, which will set out program funding available, application selection criteria and the preferencing of organisations with greatest Indigenous involvement when making funding decisions.
Agency Collaborates GOGs can be used in specific circumstances, generally to cover urgent and ad hoc grant activities. Each set of grant opportunity guidelines provide information about applying for grant funding and managing grant activities. All current and forecast grant opportunities are advertised on GrantConnect.
For more information, visit the Indigenous Advancement Strategy webpage.
Incorporation requirements
Organisations receiving grants of $500,000 or more in a single financial year from funding administered by the National Indigenous Australians Agency (NIAA) are required to incorporate under Commonwealth legislation.
Organisations may incur some additional one-off costs for independent legal advice and accountancy services to support the transfer of incorporation. To assist organisations required to transfer their incorporation status, the NIAA will provide a one-off $10,000 payment from the granting activity upon receipt of evidence that the transfer has occurred.
More information can be found by reading incorporation requirements.
Funding Agreement
Under the IAS, funding recipients for Indigenous grants sign a single Head Agreement with the Commonwealth, as represented by the NIAA. The Head Agreement sets out the general terms and conditions applying to all projects and grants.
Compliance
The Agency acknowledges that the large majority of funded organisations are willing and able to comply with the obligations of their grant funding agreements.
However, some organisations may be inadvertently non-compliant, may engage in inappropriate activities which do not meet requirements, or in a small number of cases, may have entrenched non-compliance issues that will require remediation.
The Integrated Program Compliance and Fraud Framework (ICFF), applies to the entire lifecycle of all funded activities and services, including employment programs. It ensures that NIAA programs perform as well as they can to achieve the outcome of improving the lives of Indigenous Australians.
If you would like more information, please contact 02 6152 3020 or Compliance@niaa.gov.au.
In circumstances of non-compliance, the Agency considers an appropriate response. Where there is suspected complex or serious non-compliance, the Agency undertakes a compliance review to address any allegations or potential breaches of the funding agreement. The relevant grant opportunity guidelines will provide an overview of the Agency’s management of organisational risk and compliance.
Performance reports
Performance reports are submitted by the provider to the Agency via the IAS Online Performance Reporting System. When reporting via the IAS Online Performance Reporting System, organisations will receive an auto-generated email containing instructions on how to log-on and complete their online performance report. The IAS Online Performance Report User Guide - DOCX 877 KB provides an overview and general instructions on how to complete the Performance Report.
Organisations completing their IAS Performance Reports should note the following:
- Certain fields in the Performance Report will be automatically pre-populated. This data has been sourced from the Agency’s grant system and cannot be changed in the Performance Report
- The Performance Report also contains tips (hover cursor over text) on each question to indicate whether the question is mandatory, has any size limits and what type of information is required
If organisations have any questions regarding the Performance Reporting process, they should call the contact officer for their project, quoting the Review ID (located on the front page of your IAS Performance Report form).
If your organisation experiences any difficulties submitting the Performance Report electronically or does not receive confirmation that the Agency has received their report, they should email the IAS Performance Reporting helpdesk via the email address IASPerformanceReports@niaa.gov.au.
Fraud
The NIAA has a low tolerance for fraud, we recognise that not all fraud risks can be avoided or prevented. However, we do not tolerate dishonest or fraudulent behaviour and will take all reasonable steps necessary to prevent, detect and respond to fraud and corruption in our delivery of programs that are meant to benefit Indigenous Australians. Our Fraud and Corruption Control System shows how we respond to fraud and corruption to ensure NIAA funding is used for the intended purposes.
If you suspect any fraudulent behaviour in relation to funding provided by the Agency, please report it to our staff by calling 02 6152 3020 or by email at fraud@niaa.gov.au. All reports are dealt with in the strictest confidence and your privacy is protected.
In 2021, the former General Manager of the remote Papunya Community Store Aboriginal Corporation was convicted of fraud. Find out more in this case study.