WE SWIM Community Programs

Partnerships may apply for funding of up to $50,000 excluding GST.
Cash and/or in-kind co-investment is expected. Contributions may include venue access, lane space, staff time, outreach support, translation, transport or communications support. No minimum contribution amount or percentage is specified.
No more than 20 percent of the grant may be used for coordination costs.
Activities are expected to run from 1 November 2026 to 31 May 2027.
Applications close 24 September 2026

WE SWIM Community Programs supports targeted, community-led swimming and water safety projects for refugees, recently arrived migrants, international students and broader multicultural communities. Funding is intended for locally anchored projects that address a specific barrier, cohort or community within a single local government area, defined community or focused local catchment.

Projects may improve swimming and water safety skills, increase access to aquatic education, strengthen connections between multicultural communities and aquatic providers, create culturally welcoming environments, deliver multilingual safety messages or develop workforce and leadership pathways. Applications must be submitted by an eligible lead organisation on behalf of a partnership that includes a community-based organisation and a water safety organisation or aquatic provider. Projects must be co-designed with the communities they intend to support and contribute to practical improvements in safety, access, participation and belonging around water.

Key Requirements

Reduce drowning risk: Improve swimming capability, water safety skills, hazard awareness and safe behaviours among refugees, recently arrived migrants, multicultural communities and, where relevant, international students.
Increase access and equity: Remove financial, cultural, language, gender and geographic barriers that can prevent priority communities from participating in swimming and water safety education.
Strengthen community connections: Build relationships between multicultural communities and local aquatic centres, swim schools, swimming and lifesaving clubs, councils and other local services.
Support cultural safety and belonging: Create welcoming aquatic environments and culturally responsive participation models that help participants feel safe, respected and included.
Develop workforce pathways: Create opportunities for people from multicultural backgrounds to participate as swimming instructors, lifeguards, volunteers, ambassadors, trainees and community water safety leaders.
Build sustainable local capability: Establish partnerships, referral pathways and delivery models that can continue supporting culturally responsive water safety activities beyond the funded period.
Activate at least one program pillar: Projects must align with one or more of the WE CONNECT, WE WELCOME, WE PROMOTE or WE LEARN pillars.
Meet safety and reporting requirements: Successful applicants must comply with aquatic risk management, child safeguarding, cultural safety, privacy, incident reporting and monitoring, evaluation and learning requirements

What is eligible for funding?

Referral pathways connecting schools, settlement services, faith groups, universities and community organisations with aquatic participation opportunities.
Local partnership activities connecting multicultural communities with pools, aquatic facilities, swim schools, surf clubs or councils.
Family swim days, pool familiarisation visits and orientation-linked community outreach.
Culturally responsive participation models, including women-only or gender-sensitive sessions.
Family-centred scheduling and low-pressure orientation sessions for first-time participants.
Improvements to venue practices that create safer and more welcoming aquatic environments.
Community-led water safety awareness sessions.
Multilingual communications and trusted-voice water safety messaging.
Seasonal and locally relevant water hazard education.
Subsidised or free swimming and water safety lesson blocks.
Introductory beach or inland water safety sessions where relevant.
Beginner swimming and water safety skill development.
Small-scale workforce, volunteering and leadership pathways connected to aquatic participation.
Transport, swimwear, translation and interpreting support where these directly enable participation.
Short-term project staffing and sessional workforce costs.
Pool entry, lane hire, venue hire and local delivery costs.
Instructor, facilitator, bilingual worker, interpreter, translator and cultural support costs.
Training related to project delivery, cultural responsiveness, aquatic safety, volunteering or workforce participation.
Monitoring, evaluation, participant feedback and case study development directly related to the project.

What companies are eligible for funding?

An incorporated not-for-profit organisation.
Another incorporated body with the governance and financial capability to manage the grant and deliver the partnership activity.
A lead organisation applying on behalf of a partnership.
The partnership must include at least one community-based organisation serving multicultural communities, refugee-background communities, settlement cohorts or other priority groups facing participation barriers.
The partnership must include at least one water safety organisation and/or aquatic provider, such as a public pool, aquatic facility or swim school.
The project must demonstrate co-designed planning with the community or communities it intends to support.
The project must focus on a single local government area, defined local community or tightly focused local catchment.
The partnership must commit to applicable safety, cultural safety and monitoring, evaluation and learning requirements.
The lead applicant must provide evidence of incorporated status and appropriate insurance.
Commercial or for-profit businesses cannot apply as the lead applicant.

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.

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