These tools and templates will assist entities to implement the Commonwealth Grants Rules and Principles 2024 (CGRPs). Officials should use these tools and templates as a helpful guide to better practice.
The Grants Decision Tree is available to help officials determine if the financial arrangement is a grant.
Officials must develop grant opportunity guidelines for all new and revised granting activities.
Grant opportunity guidelines contain information for potential grantees including:
- the purpose, outcomes and objectives of a grant
- the application and assessment process
- governance arrangements (including roles and responsibilities).
Grant opportunity guidelines also include related documents:
- application guidelines and forms
- invitations to apply
- supporting documentation
- frequently asked questions, draft grant agreements
- templates for reporting or acquittals.
Considerations
There are a number of considerations when determining which grant opportunity template to use.
These considerations may include:
- determining the eligibility criteria
- whether the selection process considers eligibility and assessment
- whether potential grantees are compared against each other
- whether the grant meets the ‘one-off ad hoc grant’ definition in the CGRPs.
Further information on developing grant opportunity guidelines is available in the CGRPs.
Grant opportunity guidelines must be consistent with the CGRPs and be published on GrantConnect. They should be fit-for-purpose and align with the nine key principles of the CGRPs.
The following checklist and templates have been updated to reflect the CGRPs, which came into effect on 1 October 2024.
A checklist is provided to help when preparing grant opportunity guidelines.
| Grants checklist |
The Grants Template Wizard is available to help officials determine which grant opportunity guideline template to use.
Officials developing grant opportunities that use an open competitive, non-competitive, targeted competitive or closed non-competitive selection processes should use:
| Competitive/non-competitive template |
Officials developing grant opportunities that require only eligibility criteria and do not have a merit process using assessment criteria should use:
| Demand driven template |
Officials developing one-off or ad hoc grants should only use them if there is an urgent need for payment to a person or body to address an unexpected or unforeseen need. These guidelines should at a minimum include the purpose or description of the grant, the objectives, the selection process, any reporting and acquittal requirements and the proposed evaluation mechanisms.
One-off ad hoc guidelines must be published on GrantConnect, unless the Minister for Finance agrees to an exemption.
| One-off or ad hoc template |
The following checklist and templates have been updated to reflect the CGRPs.
Officials must include certain information in briefs to ministers.
Checklist
| Ministerial briefing checklist for officials briefing a minister who is an approver of a grant |
Ministers must report to the Minister for Finance when they approve:
- a grant or group of grants in their own electorate
- a grant or group of grants that officials ‘recommended be rejected’ for funding.
Ministerial reporting letter templates
| For grants a minister has awarded in their own electorate (4.11) |
| Where a minister has approved a grant that officials recommended be rejected (4.12) |
RMG-410 outlines briefing requirements that apply to grants administration, including ministerial reporting requirements. The RMG also includes GrantConnect publication and reporting requirements.
Grants Prioritisation Guide
Please refer to the National Indigenous Australians Agency’s Grants Prioritisation Guide. The Guide provides Commonwealth agencies with suggested approaches to prioritise funding to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations during grant design and administration.
There are several grant agreements that can be used for different situations. Officials can use the agreement templates when providing a grantee with one or more grants.
A user guide for each template has been developed to provide officials with detailed guidance.
Letter of agreement
A letter of agreement may be the best option to use with straightforward, low risk grants.
| Letter of agreement template | Letter of agreement User Guide |
Simple grant agreement
This is for use for low risk grants that require an agreement with simple terms and conditions.
The following resources have been updated reflect the CGRPs, which came into effect on 1 October 2024.
| Simple grant agreement | Simple grant agreement User Guide |
Standard grant agreement
This template is for grants which are rated as medium to high risk and includes a standard set of terms and conditions. The Clause Bank (link) may be used to supplement the standard clauses as appropriate given the nature of the grant or grantee.
The following resources have been updated to reflect the CGRPs, which came into effect on 1 October 2024.
| Standard grant agreement | Standard grant agreement User Guide |
| Clause Bank - Standard agreement supplementary clauses | |
Notice of change
This template has been developed for either the grantee or accountable authority to notify each other of minor administrative changes that do not have the effect of increasing the grantees' obligations under the agreement.
| Notice of change |
Letter of variation
This template may be used for less complex alterations to obligations or terms established through a Letter of Agreement, or under a Commonwealth Simple Grant Agreement or Commonwealth Standard Grant Agreement.
| Letter of variation | Variation User Guide |
Deed of variation
This template may be used to agree more complex alterations to obligations or terms established through a letter of Agreement, or under an existing signed Commonwealth Simple Grant Agreement or Commonwealth Standard Grant Agreement.
| Deed of variation | Variation User Guide |
