SA Experience Nature Tourism Fund

  • Funding to South Australian businesses investing in nature-based tourism experiences.
  • Grants from $10,000-$50,000
  • Applications open until August 19th, 2025

Grants are available for new and improved nature-based tourism products and experiences in or near a national park, reserve, wilderness protection area or marine park.

Key Requirements

Projects MUST:

  • Deliver an experience that enters a national park OR
  • Be located within 20 kilometres of a national park, and clearly demonstrates visitation to a specified national park(s)

The ENTF supports:

  • The creation of new tourism products and experiences.
  • The development of new tourism infrastructure* that will attract domestic and international visitors to national parks.
  • Applicants must clearly demonstrate how their project will encourage visitation to a park and/or natural assets, while demonstrating care for the natural environment and sustainable practices.

Applicants must ensure they have adequate funds to meet the costs of any ineligible expenditure associated with the delivery of the project, on top of a 20% co-contribution.

What is eligible for funding?

What is eligible for funding?

Grants are available for new and improved nature-based tourism products and experiences in or near a national park, reserve, wilderness protection area or marine park.

There are two streams of funding available:

  • Quick Activation Projects – $10,000 to $20,000 for projects ready to be activated, including one-off purchases
  • Innovative Development Projects – $20,001 to $50,000 for bigger projects that have longer duration and/or multiple components.

Eligible projects are restricted to the following initiatives:

  • Purchase of equipment required to operate a new tour or experience (e.g. diving/ snorkelling equipment).
  • Purchase of vehicles/transportation to operate new tours or experiences. This could include a new tour vehicle or a vehicle to transport people/equipment to and within national parks (e.g. bikes, e-bikes, coaches, kayaks, boats and aircraft).
  • Development of tourism product located on private property, that connects visitors to national parks, including new accommodation, glamping, and tiny homes.
  • Professional services for product and experience development assistance.
  • Staff training programs to support the development of appealing nature-based experiences (e.g. mentoring, coaching, tour guide training, Aboriginal cultural education, flora and fauna education, storytelling or interpretation expertise, responsible/ sustainable travel best practice awareness).
  • Marketing activities (e.g. website, content creation

Examples of eligible projects include:

  • purchase of equipment for experiences such as snorkelling, kayaking, cultural tours, wildlife viewing
  • new or refurbished off-grid accommodation such as tiny homes, cabins and glamping tents
  • safety equipment e.g. satellite phones and radios
  • staff training related to the tourism product
  • website development, including online booking engine functionality and website management training
  • infrastructure such as toilets, and solar power generation.

Applicants for accommodation development projects that are not located immediately adjacent to or within walking distance of a national park, must clearly demonstrate how their accommodation will facilitate visitors’ connection with the park.

What companies are eligible for funding?

Applications are open to legal entities, including:

  • Individual/Sole Traders
  • Partnerships
  • Companies
  • Trusts
  • Not-for-Profit Organisations registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission
  • Incorporated Community and Progress Associations.

Recipients of ENTF grants from previous rounds are eligible to apply for Round Four and will be evaluated alongside all other applicants in this round.

To be eligible, applicants must be:

  • financially viable
  • operating a business with an Australian business number (ABN) for a minimum of 12 months
  • legal entities
  • able to demonstrate the capability and capacity to complete the project
  • undertaking nature-based tourism projects in or near a national park, or similar entity.

 

Is this grant competitive or entitlement based?

Competitive. Your application will be assessed among other applications by a judging panel.

How can I increase my chances of winning this grant?

By engaging an accredited government grants consultant, such as Avant Group.

Competitive grants often require significant business case development and project analysis to support the application, this may include detailed presentations supporting the project’s merit, projected sales, cost-benefit analysis and more.

As part of your engagement with Avant Group, your account manager will assess the required documents and will provide the following as needed to support your grant submission.

Grant application writeup including a detailed presentation illustrating how the grant funding will contribute to your project, how the funding will contribute to the project’s budget, a project milestone plan, delivery timeline, impact on employment if applicable and a breakdown of the management and leadership team for the project

  • Industry analysis presentation
  • Competitor Analysis Presentation
  • Marketing and Sales Analysis Presentation
  • 3-5 year Cashflow Forecast
  • 3-5 year Balance Sheet Forecast
  • Cost-Benefit Analysis of Grant Funding
  • End-to-end grant application including information collating, analysis and application writing
  • CAPEX (Capital Expenditure) cost-benefit analysis
  • Stakeholder relations and Risk Mitigation Plans
  • Any other relevant forecasting that will support your application

How can I get help with my application? Or know if I’m likely to win funding?

Avant Group offers a no-obligation assessment of your eligibility for funding and will assess your likelihood of a successful grant application.