Australian Government Grants News – November 2017 Edition

Welcome back to Grants News!

It’s been a while since we last published an edition of Grants News but so much has been happening in the grants space!

In this edition read about:

• The latest Commonwealth Grants Rules and Guidelines - released on 30 August 2017.

• GrantConnect - the Australian Government’s whole-of-government grants information system - which went live with the discovery phase on 6 February 2017 and is now entering the reporting phase.

• The whole-of-government grant opportunity guidelines and grant agreements templates helping entities streamline administration.

• Two Grants Hubs designing and delivering grant opportunities on behalf of thirteen Commonwealth entities.

• The ACNC Annual Information Statement Hub - a one-stop shop for charities wishing to complete their reporting, which links directly to the Annual Information Statement.

• Taxable payments reporting for government entities, which started on 1 July 2017.

Grants Rules and Guidelines

The Commonwealth Grants Rules and Guidelines (CGRGs) establish the Australian Government’s overarching grants policy framework. The revised Commonwealth Grants Rules and Guidelines 2017 came into effect on 30 August 2017 as a legislative instrument under section 105C of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013.

Read about the grants policy framework

What’s new in the 2017 CGRGs?

Changes to the CGRGs include:

• a requirement to publish all grant opportunity guidelines on GrantConnect;
• a requirement to publish grants awarded to a central reporting area on GrantConnect from 31 December 2017; 
• 21 calendar days to report grants awarded;
• a requirement to provide additional briefing information for Ministers on demand-driven grant opportunities.

The CGRGs updated glossary includes new standardised grant terms, which have also been added to a suite of grant opportunity guidelines and grant agreement templates. See related article below.

The responsibility of officials to advise ministers of the requirements of the CGRGs has not changed. Any questions? Email us, grants@finance.gov.au

Find your grant on GrantConnect

Until recently the process to discover a suitable grant program for an individual or organisation had been challenging.

The Australian Government has developed GrantConnect, the new whole-of-government grants information system. GrantConnect (grants.gov.au) is now the single point of discovery of all Commonwealth granting opportunities.

Phase 1 of GrantConnect went live from 6 February 2017. It provides the centralisation of publication of Australian Government grants, including the facility for Commonwealth agencies to forecast, publish and amend their grant opportunities, and publish related grants documentation.

By centralising and standardising the grants discovery processes and associated terms, the administrative burden on the grants community and potential grant applicants will be reduced, and accessibility and visibility of new programs easier.

Phase 2 of GrantConnect is now available, enabling entities to publish grants awarded. For the first time, this will bring the reporting of all awarded grants into one location, in a consistent format, that will promote effective and transparent reporting of the outputs of grants rounds across Government.

From 31 December 2017, it will be mandatory for entities to report grants awarded on GrantConnect.

Grant templates for testing

A suite of whole-of-government Grant Opportunity Guideline Templates and Grant Agreement Templates have been developed in consultation with government and non-government stakeholders, to improve consistency across government, programs and grant opportunities.

For Commonwealth entities, these templates will help streamline grants processes and timeframes for developing and publishing grant guidelines and grant agreements, while remaining consistent with the Commonwealth Grants Rules and Guidelines. The templates are assisting the two Grants Hubs and other agencies to administer grants in a clear and consistent way.

The Grant Opportunity Guidelines Template suite have been trialed by a number of entities to ensure they are fit for purpose. Following feedback, Finance is in the process of updating the templates. The Grant Agreement Template suite is at the user testing stage and is expected to be finalised in early 2018. 

The Grant Opportunity Guidelines Template suite consists of three templates and a User Guide to support the following grant processes:  

• standard grant processes (for those opportunities which have eligibility and assessment criteria);
• demand driven grants processes (for those opportunities which only have eligibility criteria); and
• one-off ad-hoc grants.

The Grant Agreement Template suite consists of a Standard Grant Agreement, Simple Grant Agreement (previously known as Low Risk), Letter of Agreement, Letter of Offer, Letter of Variation, and User Guides.

An update on the progress of both projects will be included in the next edition of Grants News.

A new way for grants administration

The Australian Government administers more than $30 billion in grant funding annually, delivered through around 500 programs, by 40 agencies. The Government is streamlining grants administration by standardising how grants are designed, established and managed across government for the benefit of stakeholders and the community.

The Streamlining Government Grants Administration (SGGA) Program initiative, led by the Department of Finance, is part of the Government’s vision for a smaller, smarter, more productive and sustainable public sector.

Consistent with other whole-of-government initiatives, the SGGA Program will consolidate and standardise grant services into two centres of excellence to create a common business and ICT services platform. This will improve the user experience, enable better policy development through data analytics and create efficiencies and cost reductions.

Of the thirteen participating entities currently participating in the SGGA Program,11 are consuming entities moving their new and existing grants onto two hubs.

The Business Grants Hub

The Business Grants Hub (the Business Hub), in the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science, provides program design and delivery services. Implementation solutions are designed with policy partners to be consistent with whole-of-government frameworks and best practice requirements.

Since establishment on 1 July 2016, the Business Grants Hub has been delivering programs on behalf of other agencies through end-to-end delivery services, encompassing all aspects of program administration.

The Business Hub aims to improve the experience of those accessing grants programs, lower the delivery cost for grants administered through the hub; and provide greater visibility on the total administration cost and grant expenditure to government. 

Community Grants Hub

The Community Grants Hub (the Community Hub), in the Department of Social Services (DSS) provides grant administration services to Australian Government client agencies and organisations who primarily deliver grant programs to individuals and the community sector.

The Community Hub provides a seamless transition for Commonwealth client agencies, beginning with a dedicated Account Manager working in partnership with agencies on their objectives. Agencies using the Community Hub have access to a range of grants data, which helps them in targeting and delivering improved policy outcomes.

Commonwealth agencies, service providers and the community can expect strong client focus and support from the Community Hub, as well as quality services, knowledge and experience.

To learn more about the Grants Hubs visit:

Business Grants Hub  

https://industry.gov.au/smallbusiness/Pages/Business-Grants-Hub.aspx

Community Grants Hub

https://www.communitygrants.gov.au/

Did you know…

An independent review of the PGPA Act and the accompanying Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Rule 2014 is currently underway?

You can find out more about the review in the next edition of Grant News or visit http://www.finance.gov.au/

The ACNC Annual Information Statement Hub launch

Following extensive feedback from the charity sector, the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) has developed the Annual Information Statement (AIS) Hub. Launched in July 2017, the AIS Hub is a one-stop shop for charities wishing to complete their reporting, linking directly to the AIS, as well as to a comprehensive range of other support and improved guidance materials.

These improvements are designed to make it easier for charities to fulfil their reporting requirements and provide accurate, high-quality and timely information through their AIS.  

The key improvements to the AIS are:

• easier to understand questions, especially those related to charity finances, activities and beneficiaries;
• improved auto-filling and auto-calculation of responses to certain questions, allowing charities to quickly progress through sections of the AIS;

the ability for charities to update their Responsible Persons as they complete their AIS, ensuring their organisations’ details are up to date;

• the ability for charities to preview their AIS so they can double check their responses before submission; and
• an improved layout, including a more prominent ‘Submit’ button to ensure charities don’t forget to submit their AIS after they’ve completed it.

The 2017 AIS is also a vital part of the ACNC’s work with state and territory governments to streamline reporting arrangements. It asks incorporated associations and fundraisers to provide the ACNC with additional information, which will in turn help the ACNC with their ongoing red tape reduction work. 

Taxable payments reporting for government entities started on 1 July 2017

From 1 July 2017, Commonwealth, state, territory and local government entities must report to the ATO payments they make to businesses for services. Additionally, these entities are also required to report grants they pay to people or organisations that have an ABN. Local government entities do not need to report grants.

It is important that these entities start collecting the required information from 1 July 2017, so they are ready to lodge their first taxable payments annual report for 2017-18, which is due by 28 August 2018.

The information reported to the ATO will be used in the ATO’s pre-filling service, to make it easier for individual businesses to lodge their tax returns. It will also allow the ATO to identify taxpayers that haven't included all their income in their tax return or haven’t lodged and check compliance with GST obligations.