Future Drought Fund: Strengthening Drought Resilience on Country Program

  • Applications open until 16 December 2025.
  • Funding up to $2M is available.
  • Activities are expected to run from 1 June 2026 to 30 June 2028.

The Future Drought Fund Strengthening Drought Resilience on Country Program provides $12 million to support First Nations-led, community-driven projects that build resilience to drought and climate impacts. Running from 2025–26 to 2027–28, up to six Delivery Partners will co-design and support place-based initiatives that strengthen connection to Country and empower communities. The program reflects the Australian Government’s commitment to Closing the Gap by investing in First Nations-led solutions.

Key Requirements

Key aims include:

  • Supporting place-based, co-designed initiatives to help communities prepare for dry times and climate variability.

  • Strengthening connection to Country through locally designed cultural and environmental projects.

  • Encouraging inclusive engagement—including women, youth and people with disability.

  • Aligning with the Closing the Gap Priority Reform 2: Building the Community-Controlled Sector, and supporting Outcomes 8, 15 and 16 under the National Agreement.

To be eligible as a Delivery Partner, an applicant must be one of the following entity types:

  • Company
  • Cooperative
  • Corporate Commonwealth Entity
  • Corporate State or Territory Entity
  • Incorporated Association
  • Indigenous Corporation
  • Local Government
  • Non-corporate Commonwealth Statutory Authority
  • Non-corporate State or Territory Entity
  • Non-corporate State or Territory Statutory Authority
  • Statutory Entity

Trustees applying on behalf of a Trust must themselves qualify as one of these types. They must also hold an account with an Australian financial institution set up for grant funding.

This is a targeted competitive grant. Up to six Delivery Partners will be selected to manage and deliver funding.

Timeline:

  • Assessment within 8 weeks of closing
  • Approval within 14 weeks
  • Notification of outcomes within 16 weeks
  • Grant agreements finalised by 24 weeks from closing

Project Duration: Activities are expected to run from 1 June 2026 to 30 June 2028.

What is eligible for funding?

Eligible funding is split into two streams per region:

  1. Administrative funding for Delivery Partner project coordination and co-design.
  2. Project funding distributed to sub-grantees (community-led projects) for on-ground activities such as:
    • Cultural land management
    • Sustainable agriculture
    • Knowledge sharing to support cultural continuity

These are examples and not exhaustive. Projects must be co-designed with communities and led by First Nations entities.

What companies are eligible for funding?

Eligible applicants (Delivery Partners) include:

  • First Nations businesses
  • First Nations organisations
  • Consortia with a First Nations lead (non-Indigenous partners are permitted, but the lead must be First Nations)

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.