Reconnection, Employment and Learning (REAL) Innovation Fund

Total funding available (Phase 2): No maximum grant funding request, however most grant requests are expected to be from $430,000-$5.1 million
Funding streams/components:
- Program funding delivered via a Grant Payment Model based on capped caseloads, covering mentor salaries and a Participant Fund to support participants to achieve goals in their Individual Action Plans.
- Right Fit For Risk (RFFR) cyber security accreditation costs (some grantees only): Funding capped at $30,000 per eligible organisation
Matched funding / co-contribution requirement: Not mandatory
Activities expected to run: Earliest start date November 2026, end date 30 June 2030.
Applications close: May 4 2026

The Reconnection, Employment and Learning (REAL) Program Phase 2 provides funding to organisations to deliver a culturally responsive employment service for First Nations people transitioning out of the justice system. Phase 2 expands delivery across multiple correctional and youth justice facilities, providing up to 6 months of pre-release support and up to 12 months of post-release mentoring and case coordination.

The program supports participants to reconnect with health, housing and other social services, and to build pathways to employment, education and training, while facilitating connections to culture, Country and language where appropriate.

Key Requirements

Deliver a three-stage mentoring and support model (pre-release, on-release, post-release) tailored to participant needs and local contexts, including correctional facility engagement and referral pathways.
Provide culturally safe, participant-driven support that strengthens pathways to employment, education and training, while supporting reconnection to community and services (health, housing and other supports).
Demonstrate capability and experience to deliver services effectively in youth and/or adult facilities, including governance, IT, risk, reporting and program management arrangements.
Support participant outcomes aligned to the program’s intended outcomes, including culturally safe access to supports and progress toward self-defined reconnection, education, training and/or employment goals.
Participate in monitoring, reporting and evaluation requirements as set out in the grant agreement and guidelines.

What is eligible for funding?

Eligible grant activities must directly relate to the program and may include:

Working with adult correctional facilities and/or youth justice facilities to identify and engage participants.
Providing mentoring and case coordination, including Individual Action Plans, to support transition out of the justice system.
Engagement with local Commonwealth agencies (e.g., Services Australia) to support income support obligation awareness and compliance (as applicable).
Engagement with local Community Correctional Services to support participants on parole and community-based orders.
Managing caseloads and participant needs, including continuity of service where participants relocate (virtual support or referral).
Community collaboration and communication, including forums and Communities of Practice
Supporting connection to services (health, housing, rehabilitation), employment services, education and training, life skills, and connection to Country/kin/community/culture
Program management activities required for delivery (governance, administration, record keeping and reporting, mentor supervision and training)

What companies are eligible for funding?

To be eligible, applicants 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
Partnership
Sole Trader
Statutory 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.

This grant is open

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