NSW Protecting Our Places 2026

Total funding available: $1 million.
Grant amount per project: $150,000 to $250,000.
- Stage 1 Planning: up to $20,000 over 6 to 12 months.
- Stage 2 Implementation: up to $115,000 over 12 months.
- Stage 3 Implementation final payment: up to $115,000 over 12 months.
- Financial certification: $3,000 of grant funds must be set aside for an independent accountant at project end.
- Matched funding: not required. Co-contributions are not mandatory, but financial and in-kind co-contributions may improve the chances of success.
Applications close: July 31 2026

The Protecting Our Places 2026 - NSW Government program is a competitive NSW grant program that supports Aboriginal organisations and groups to protect, conserve and restore landscapes and waterways that are important to them. The program is designed to help Aboriginal communities care for Country, preserve and restore culturally significant places, and deliver long lasting environmental outcomes across New South Wales. Projects are delivered in two core phases, planning followed by implementation, with funding structured across Stage 1 Planning and two implementation payments. The program focuses on strengthening Aboriginal leadership, safeguarding and sharing cultural knowledge, and supporting local groups to manage culturally important land and waterways in ways that foster Healthy Country. It also encourages employment of Aboriginal people and engagement with Aboriginal owned businesses during project delivery. Funding is available for projects that demonstrate positive and measurable environmental outcomes linked to cultural priorities and local community benefit.

Key Requirements

Deliver clear environmental and cultural outcomes Projects must address a defined environmental issue and show how proposed actions will protect, restore or improve culturally important land and waterways in NSW. Cultural projects are supported where they also demonstrate a positive and measurable environmental outcome.
Align with the program objectives Projects should strengthen Aboriginal autonomy in project delivery, promote sharing and safeguarding of cultural knowledge, and support the protection, restoration and management of culturally important land and waterways by local Aboriginal groups and other stakeholders.
Show project readiness and delivery capability Applicants must demonstrate capacity to deliver, involve appropriate partners, show community involvement, and commit to meeting project management, monitoring and reporting requirements. Projects must also prioritise employment of Aboriginal people and Aboriginal owned businesses where possible.
Meet value for money requirements Budgets should be reasonable, viable and aligned to project activities. The likely environmental benefit should be proportionate to the grant amount requested, and budget items should reflect current market rates.
Comply with staged delivery conditions Stage 1 funds can only be used for planning and preparation. Projects are not automatically guaranteed to proceed to implementation. Progression depends on satisfactory completion of Stage 1 requirements. A project manager or coordinator is essential, with those costs capped at 30 percent of the total project budget.

What is eligible for funding?

Stage 1 planning activities such as project implementation plans, site action plans, project budgets, environmental assessments, monitoring plans, partnership agreements, community support processes, required permits and planning workshops.
Project staff, project management, project related administration, capacity building, community engagement, environmental and ecological assessment, research linked to on ground outcomes, AHIMS assessment, partnership negotiation, site mapping and essential surveys.
On ground implementation activities such as bush regeneration, canopy connection, consultants, contractors, ecological and cultural burns, educational resources and signage, equipment hire, erosion control, fencing and barriers, habitat creation, materials, native seed collection and propagation, pest animal management through non-lethal methods, protection of cultural assets, revegetation, seed production areas, threatened species actions, track management for conservation, transport, waste management and weed management with environmental benefit.

What companies are eligible for funding?

Eligible entities include:

NSW Local Aboriginal Land Councils.
NSW Aboriginal corporations registered under the Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Act 2006.
NSW incorporated associations registered under the Associations Incorporation Act 2009.
Non-distributing NSW co-operatives registered under Co-operatives National Law and associated Acts.
NSW Registered Native Title Bodies Corporate.
Australian public companies limited by guarantee operating as registered charities, where the primary objective is to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in NSW.
Other Aboriginal organisations and groups, where supported by another organisation acting as External Manager.

Other considerations:

Associations and co-operatives will undergo additional checks to confirm they are not for profit or non-distributing and that their objectives and activities benefit and involve local Aboriginal people and communities.
Relevant charities must provide constitutional evidence of their primary purpose and, where possible, a supporting letter from an Aboriginal organisation
If overseen by a board or management committee, the project must be endorsed by that governing body

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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