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Stronger Communities Programme Round 10

About the Programme

The Stronger Communities Programme supports the Australian Government’s commitment to deliver social benefits in communities across Australia by funding projects in each of the 150 federal electorates. The program provides grants for community projects to strengthen and benefit local communities and is part of the Government’s 2026-27 Budget initiatives. 

Through an expression of interest process, the Office of Dr Monique Ryan MP will identify potential projects and invite applications from the electorate of Kooyong.

Up to $150,000 is available in each federal electorate.
Round 10 of the program aims to support projects that provide social benefits for local communities. For this round, grant funding will provide up to 100 per cent of eligible project costs except for local governing bodies where grant funding will provide up to 50 per cent of eligible project costs. Local governing bodies must provide matched funding contributions towards their eligible project.
  • The minimum grant amount is $2,500
  • The maximum grant amount is $20,000
  • The maximum cost of your project cannot exceed $50,000.

Check if you can apply

You can apply if you:

  • are invited to apply by your MP
  • have an Australian Business Number (ABN)
  • meet the eligibility requirements in section 4.1 of the grant opportunity guidelines

How to apply

This is a two-stage process. The first stage is the Expression of Interest (EOI) process, detailed below:

Stage 1: Expression of Interest (EOI)

  1. Submit an EOI to the Office of Monique Ryan MP by 5:00pm on Friday 30 October 2026: We recommend that you submit your EOI form as soon as it is complete. Before submitting an EOI, applicants should review the eligibility requirements and grant guidelines available on the business.gov.au website.
  2. Community Committee Review: A local Kooyong Community Committee will review eligible EOIs and develop recommendations for projects to be nominated.
  3. MP Nomination: Dr Monique Ryan MP will consider the Committee's recommendations and nominate projects to the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts (The Department). Nominations must be submitted to the Department by 30 November 2026.
  4. Notification: Organisations will be advised whether their project has been nominated to proceed to Stage 2.
Please note: Nomination by Dr Ryan does not guarantee funding. Only nominated organisations will be invited to submit a formal application to the Department.

Stage 2: Application Process (for nominated organisations only)
  1. Invitation to Apply: Nominated organisations will receive an invitation to submit a formal application through the Department grants process.
  2. Application Assessment: The Department will assess applications against the program guidelines and eligibility requirements.
  3. Funding Decisions: The Department will assess applications and notify successful and unsuccessful applicants.
  4. Grant Agreements: Successful applicants will enter into a funding agreement before grant payments are made.

 Applicants should not commit expenditure in anticipation of receiving funding.

Questions?

For information about the Stronger Communities Programme Round 10 guidelines and eligibility requirements, visit business.gov.au or call 13 28 46.

For information about the EOI process, please contact [email protected] or call 9326 2900.