The NSW Ministry of Health is seeking responses to an Expression of Interest (EOI) to deliver additional low-no cost abortion care services to address access barriers for women in NSW to access abortion care in a timely, safe and accessible manner.
Key information
- Status: Open
- Grant amount: From $300,000 to $2,050,000
- Application opened: 26 November 2025
- Application closes: 16 February 2026, 5:00 pm
Program objective
The allocation of funding under the Supporting Safe Access to Abortion Care Grant Fund (Grant Fund) is available to individual NGO and community-based service providers and consortium-based models. Both not-for-profit and for-profit entities are eligible to apply.
The intended outcome of the Grant Fund is women in NSW who may experience barriers to safe and affordable abortion care services, particularly for socially, economically and geographically disadvantaged women, have greater access to additional community-based low-no cost abortion care (both medical and surgical abortion services).
This program is funded and administered by NSW Health.
Eligibility
Who can apply
To be eligible for grant funding under the Supporting Safe Access to Abortion Care Grant Fund you must:
- Be a non-government organisation/community-based service provider (not-for-profit or for-profit)
- Be an organisation incorporated under relevant legislation. Responses to the EOI must be submitted by a legal entity with the capacity to contract (includes by one legal entity if a consortium). The Ministry will only enter into a proposed contract with such legal entity.
Where a consortium proposal is submitted, a single organisation is required to submit the EOI response as the Lead Applicant. If successful in receiving funding, the Lead Applicant will be the Lead Agency of the consortium and will receive the grant funding to administer the grant, with any required third party arrangements also the responsibility of the Lead Agency.
Who can’t apply
You cannot apply if you are:
- an individual/s
- an unincorporated organisation or group
- a Federal, State or local government agency or body.
What your application needs to include
See the EOI Guidelines for all the information on the EOI required to make an application, including the mandatory selection and assessment criteria:
Your application must:
- Address the selection criteria.
- The applicant must meet the essential criteria outlined in the EOI Cover Sheet and Respondent Information Form (available via NSW Health website)
- Letters of Endorsement from all consortium members and/or formal proposal service partners (template guide provided via NSW Health website).
- Address the weighted assessment criteria - please refer to the EOI Guidelines document.
Please refer to the NSW Health website for the full list of Supporting Documents.
Address the Eligibility criteria
Who can apply under the EOI:
To be eligible for grant funding under the Supporting Safe Access to Abortion Care Grant Fund you must:
- Be an organisation incorporated under relevant legislation. EOIs must be submitted by a legal entity with the capacity to contract (includes by one legal entity if a consortium). The Ministry will only enter into a proposed contract with such legal entity.
- Consortium proposals require a single organisation to submit the EOI response as the Lead Applicant. If successful in receiving funding, the Lead Applicant will be the Lead Agency of the consortium and will receive the grant funding to administer the grant, with any required third party arrangements also the responsibility of the Lead Agency.
- Ensure the activity or service location where grant funds will be utilised is within NSW, and that the proposed service model is aligned with the intended grant outcomes.
- Submit your application by the due date (applications received after the due date will be marked as a late submission and may only be considered by the assessment panel in extenuating circumstances).
- Submit your application in full, providing all required documents and completing all relevant fields (incomplete application forms may not be assessed), including:
- A mandatory EOI Response Cover Sheet and Respondents Information Form must be completed
- Include Letters of Endorsement from all consortium or partners to any Lead Applicant response to the EOI (Template guide)
- EOI proposal and response to the Assessment Criteria. The format of this document is at the respondent’s discretion. Responses to the assessment criteria should be concise and should be no longer than 20 pages. Respondents may wish to include references and attach further appended information to support their response. The assessment panel is under no obligation to read or consider any of the appended information
Address the Assessment criteria
This is an open and competitive grants application process. All assessment criteria must be addressed.
We want to make the process as easy as possible for applicants, please keep responses succinct and directly address each assessment criterion.
Supporting documents, in addition to any mandatory requirements, may be included in the applications and may be considered by the assessment panel, however the assessment panel is under no obligation to read or consider any of the supporting documents. Supporting documents must be of appropriate recency and relevance to the eligibility or assessment criteria, the requirements of the service model, or to demonstrate partnership with other organisations.
Proposals will demonstrate the grant funding will be utilised to support women to access abortion care and increase service provider capacity and capability, provide value for money, and in general promote women’s access to appropriate and effective community-based health services.
In addressing each assessment criterion, responses will demonstrate how the proposal will assist the Target Group. The Target Group is women from priority cohorts, as identified and determined by the respondent(s) in the proposal (Criterion 1), who face barriers, particularly cost barriers, to accessing time critical abortion care.
| Criteria | Specific information and evidence required | Weighting |
|---|---|---|
| Criterion 1: Service model | You should demonstrate this through providing an interim Service and Project Plan outlining the proposed service model and methodology to support the grant purpose, outcome, and scope. The service model will identify:
| 45% |
| Criterion 2: Service delivery experience | You should demonstrate this through identifying:
| 30% |
| Criterion 3: Personnel | You should demonstrate this through identifying:
| 10% |
| Criterion 4: Value for money | How the service model demonstrates value for money and promotes a sustainable service model across the term of the grant funding. Provide initial indicative price and budget, including:
| 15% |
Start the application
All applications must be submitted via email to MOH-womenshealthgrants@health.nsw.gov.au by the closing date, 5:00pm 16 February 2026.
After the application is submitted
Successful applications will be decided by the EOI Assessment Panel. The Assessment Panel will assess applications based on an assessment of merit against the stated assessment criteria, as well as a comparative assessment.
The Assessment Panel will put forward recommendations for the awarding of the grant to the delegated Ministry of Health Decision Maker for consideration. The Decision Maker will consider all recommendations for funding by the Assessment Panel
Both successful and unsuccessful applicants will be notified.
Support and contact
Email: MOH-womenshealthgrants@health.nsw.gov.au
Please note this email will not be monitored between 20 December 2025 and 9 January 2026.