1. What Is the Closing Time and Date for Applications?

Questions and Answers The following questions and answers are for this funding round only. New questions are added to the end of this document as they arise and are numbered chronologically. Please also read the Questions and Answers page for general information about applying for grants.

1. What is the closing time and date for applications? All application forms must be submitted by the closing date of 2:00PM AEST on Friday 28 September 2018. It is recommended that you submit your application well before the closing time and date. The Community Grants Hub intends to divide the assessment of applications into five batches. Each batch will contain applications that have been submitted for the grant opportunity over a two- month period. For example, the first batch will contain all applications submitted to the grant opportunity between the opening date of the application period and 31 January 2018. The second batch will contain all applications submitted to the grant opportunity over the next two months, ending 30 March 2018, and so on. The closing dates for each batch are 31 January 2018, 30 March 2018, 31 May 2018, 31 July 2018 and 2:00PM AEST on Friday 28 September 2018. See the Grant Opportunity Guidelines for more information.

2. What is the grant selection and assessment process? The Department, in partnership with the Community Grants Hub (the Hub), will consider compliant and eligible applications through an open competitive grant process. Applications will be assessed by the Hub and be reviewed by an expert panel to inform final recommendations for funding to the decision maker, the Minister for Social Services. The Minister will make the final decision to approve a grant.

The Community Grants Hub intends to divide the assessment of applications into five batches over the grant application period (discussed under question 1). More detail of the batching and assessment process is provided in the Grant Opportunity Guidelines section 5.

3. Will my application only be assessed in the current batch?

The Hub will assess each application in the current batch. Following the assessment of a batch, the Hub will prepare an assessment report for the Department.

The Department will then convene a panel of experts (expert panel) to shortlist applications and provide recommendations to the decision maker, the Minister for Social Services. Shortlisted applications that are not funded in a particular batch may be reconsidered at a later stage. The Department reserves the right to recommend to the Minister for Social Services any suitable applications from any batch at any time.

4. Is there a benefit to submitting my application earlier rather than later in the application period? The Department intends to distribute funding across different groups at risk of long-term welfare dependence, including the four priority groups, and across the five assessment batches in January, March, May, July and September 2018. The distribution of funding will also depend on the volume and quality of applications received for this grant opportunity.

1 | Questions and Answers The Department will update the grant guidelines and other materials on GrantConnect and the Community Grants Hub to communicate its approach to selection and distributing funding over time. Additionally, information on grants that have been awarded through this grant opportunity will be published on GrantConnect and the Community Grants Hub websites. The best approach to gaining grant funding for your project is to submit a high quality application that addresses the selection criteria and is supported by evidence and data.

5. Can I submit multiple applications or resubmit an application? Yes, you are able to submit multiple applications and also withdraw and resubmit an application.

If you submit an application that is intended to replace a previous application submitted to the Tranche 2 grant opportunity (including an application that was shortlisted), please notify the Community Grants Hub by calling 1800 020 283 or emailing [email protected]. Please be ready to quote your application’s Submission Reference Numbers upon request.

A Feedback Summary will be provided to offer general feedback related to the grant process and will include the main strengths and areas of improvement for the applications received in this process. Please note that individual feedback will not be provided.

The Feedback Summary will be published on the GrantConnect and Community Grants Hub websites when the grant process has been completed for each regular assessment batch.

Applicants who were unsuccessful in applying for grants may reapply later in the Tranche 2 application period. Even if applicants address the issues raised by the Feedback Summaries released over the course of Tranche 2, there is no guarantee that they will receive funding in the next assessment batch.

6. If I am not able to submit my application by the due time and date, can I be granted an extension? No, extensions will not be given.

The Community Grants Hub late application policy applies only to applications received after the final closing date of Tranche 2 at 2:00pm AEST on 28 September 2018. If an application is late or the Community Grants Hub is requested to approve a lodgement after this final closing date then the late application policy available on the Community Grants Hub website will apply.

7. How much funding is available for this grant opportunity?

There will be around $50 million available to support projects over the course of Tranche 2 of the Fund. Multiple grants will be available through this grant opportunity. Individual grant amounts will be guided by project design and complexity. The approximate budget range for grants under this grant opportunity will be between $0.5 million and $5 million. The length of project trials will be up to two years.

8. Is the funding per project capped? The approximate budget range for grants under this grant opportunity will be between $0.5 million and $5 million. While funding is not capped to $5 million per project the aim is to fund trials of up to 2 years in duration and part of the assessment process will consider value for money.

2 | Community Grants Hub – Questions and Answers 9. Is the funding ongoing? No, projects funded under Tranche 2 of the Try, Test and Learn Fund are small scale trials and the funding will cease when the projects are completed. Small scale means that the trials will run for six months to two years with a budget less than $5 million.

10.Do we need to support the priority groups identified in the Grant Opportunity Guidelines? No, Tranche 2 of the Try, Test and Learn Fund will support any group at risk of long-term welfare dependence to improve their workforce participation or capacity to work, including the four priority groups outlined in the Grant Opportunity Guidelines. You will be able to describe the group that you propose to support as part of your application. It may be one of the priority groups, a subset of one of the priority groups (e.g. based on a particular age range, location, or other characteristics), or another group that you identify.

Applications to support the priority groups will not be given a higher weighting in the assessment process.

11.What is a lead organisation of a consortium? If you submit a joint application with multiple organisations or entities, then you must nominate a lead organisation for the application. The lead organisation for the project will, if your application is successful, sign the grant agreement, receive the funding and take legal responsibility for performing the activities and meeting the outcomes of the grant agreement. The lead organisation, as well as consortium members, must be eligible to apply under this grant opportunity under section 3.1 of the Grant Opportunity Guidelines.

12.What are the contract conditions for this grant? A copy of the Terms and Conditions for the Grant Agreement is included in the Grant Opportunity Documents, available on the GrantConnect and Community Grants Hub websites.

13.What if I find a mistake in my application after it has been submitted? If you find a mistake in your application after it has been submitted, you should contact the Community Grants Hub by phone on 1800 020 283 or by email at [email protected] straight away. The Community Grants Hub may ask you for more information, as long as it does not change the substance of your application. The Community Grants Hub does not have to accept any additional information, nor requests from applicants to correct applications after the closing time.

14.What if the selection process identifies unintentional errors in my application? If the selection process identifies unintentional errors in your application, you may be contacted to correct or explain the information.

15.Where should I go for further information? Please email your enquiries to [email protected]. Enquiries must be submitted before the round closes.

3 | Community Grants Hub – Questions and Answers