2027 NSW Women's Week

To be eligible, applicants must: 

• be an Australian-based incorporated legal entity 
• be one of the following: 

1. a not-for-profit organisation as specified in section 2.2 of the guidelines
2. an ACCO as defined in section 2.3 of the guidelines, or
3. an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander corporation as defined in section 2.4 of the guidelines

• have an active Australian Business Number (ABN) 
• hold or be willing to obtain appropriate public liability insurance (minimum of $10 million) if successful
• have an account with an Australian authorised deposit-taking institution 
• include an applicant co-contribution (cash or in-kind) to the value of at least 10% of the total amount of funding sought
• provide a budget for their project, outlining proposed funding of eligible expenditure items
• be a single organisation that will accept responsibility for the delivery of the project if the application is successful
• not be an ineligible applicant 
• apply for funding within the specified amount of $10,000 to $50,000
• be based in NSW, unless they can demonstrate that the project will be run in and for the benefit of women and/or girls in NSW and that the organisation meets all regulatory and business requirements.

Events must be designed with and for one of the focus communities in the NSW Women’s Strategy 2023 - 2026:

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and girls
• carers
• girls and young women living in, or who have lived in, out-of-home care
• lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, intersex, queer and/or asexual (LGBTIQA+) women and girls
• older women
• women and girls experiencing socioeconomic disadvantage
• women and girls facing homelessness
• women and girls from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities
• women and girls in contact with the criminal justice system
• women and girls living in regional, rural, remote and cross-border areas
• women and girls with disability
• women and girls with a mental illness
• women and girls who have a history of, or are currently experiencing, domestic, family or sexual violence
• women veterans (and the women partners of veterans and service members)
• young women

For this grant, ‘regional NSW’ means all parts of NSW outside Greater Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong.

Events must be held during NSW Women’s Week, from Tuesday 2 March 2027 to Monday 8 March 2027, to coincide with International Women’s Day on 8 March 2027.

Events must start on or after 2 March 2027 and finish by 8 March 2027.

If grant recipients want to change the event date, they must get written approval from Women NSW in advance.

The project should be started by 2 March 2027 and the project must be completed by 8 March 2027.

Successful events will promote gender equality and be able to show that participants:

• feel recognised and included at the event (for example, because the presenters or performers were from their community, or the activities were designed for their needs)
• are able to take part safely and freely because the right adjustments and supports are in place
• have more opportunities and choices after the event (for example, they learnt about services, tried a new sport or hobby, or saw someone from their community in a role they had not considered before)

Women’s Week Grants must only be used for expenses directly related to the development and delivery of the event or activity, such as:

• resource materials and publication costs, including art supplies and workbooks
• equipment, transport and venue hire
• publicity, communications and marketing activities and materials including photography/videography
• catering costs such as food and non-alcoholic beverages for community engagement activities
• staff, contractors and consultants, where the costs are for direct event delivery only
• guest speaker, performer, artist or coach fees
• travel costs within NSW exclusively for the purpose of the event
• evaluation activities.

Applicants are not eligible if they are: 

• an individual or group of individuals, including sole traders 
• insolvent 
• a subcontractor for the event – either for program management or for project delivery on behalf of non-eligible organisations 
• a trust or trustee 
• a partnership 
• a federal, state, territory or local government agency or body (including public trusts and government business enterprises) 
• receiving or have received NSW, Commonwealth or other state government funding for the proposed project or a similar project 
• applicants requesting 100% of project funding from Women NSW 
• applicants with outstanding acquittal requirements with Women NSW  
• NSW Government schools, area health services and public hospitals
• applicants with a Redress Obligation (or the related entity of an organisation with a Redress Obligation) under the National Redress Scheme for Institutional Child Sexual Abuse that have not joined the scheme

An incorporated not-for-profit body, such as a Parents and Citizens Association or hospital auxiliary, is eligible subject to meeting the eligibility criteria. 

Items not eligible for grant expenditure include:

• expenses not directly related to the development and delivery of the event or activity
• business capital or start-up funding
• the purchase of, or cost of infrastructure, assets and/or capital equipment and works
• permanent equipment purchases (e.g. computers, phones, tablets or other items not specific to the event)
• operating costs of the organisation or recurrent expenses (e.g. insurance, leases, bills, general office consumables and disposables)
• permanent staff pay and related costs
• organisational development costs for internal staff (e.g. staff training, conferences, workshops and planning days)
• prizes, competition or awards (e.g. cash giveaways, lucky door prizes and raffle prizes)
• interstate and/or overseas travel costs
• costs associated with membership of boards/councils
• retrospective costs (any money spent before a grant is approved)
• fundraising events that are for the purposes of fundraising for charities or for the organisation’s personal use
• political events or activities that promote or support a political party
• events that are run solely for commercial purposes to the benefit of the delivery partner but not the program participants
• events and activities coordinated by NSW government sector agencies
• research projects co-funded by state or federal governments and/or other organisations
• purchase of promotional/awareness raising merchandise that will be sold for profit
• fees associated with an auspice agreement
• existing debt or loan repayments
• events that encourage gambling (e.g. raffles, bingo) or the consumption of alcohol
• non-essential costs that are not related to the proposed core activity.

Please refer to the list of 2026 Women's Week recipients for an indication of the types of events that have been successful previously.

Applicants must make a co-contribution (cash or in-kind) of a minimum 10% of the total amount of funding sought. 

For example, if you request $10,000 from Women NSW, you must contribute at least $1,000.

This can be a cash contribution to event costs or in-kind support such as staff or volunteer time, equipment, facilities or other support.

Requirements for not-for-profit organisations

For the purpose of this grant, an organisation is considered not-for-profit if it falls within at least one of the following categories:

• charities registered with the Australian Charities and Not‑for‑profits Commission (ACNC)
• incorporated associations registered on the NSW incorporated associations register maintained by NSW Fair Trading
• non-distributing co-operatives registered on the NSW register of co-operatives maintained by NSW Fair Trading under the Co-operatives (Adoption of National Law) Act 2012 (NSW)  
• not-for-profit, public companies limited by guarantee 
• a Local Aboriginal Land Council constituted under the Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983(NSW). 

Requirements for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Community-Controlled Organisations

For the purpose of this grant, an ACCO must deliver services that strengthen and empower Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and people, and also be:

• incorporated (provided that if it is an incorporated association, it is registered on the NSW incorporated associations register maintained by NSW Fair Trading)
• not for profit
• controlled and operated by Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people
• connected to the community or communities in which it delivers services
• governed by a majority Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander governing body.

Applicants may be required to provide evidence to support their ACCO status, such as:

• their incorporation number (i.e. Australian Company Number, Indigenous corporation number, NSW incorporation number)
• their constitution/rule book that shows their governance requirements, and/or
• letters or surveys from other local Aboriginal organisations, groups or relevant community stakeholders or outcomes from community feedback.

Requirements for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander corporations

For the purpose of this grant, ‘Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander corporation’ means a corporation registered on the Register of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Corporations maintained by the Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations.