Key information
- Status: Closed
- Grant amount: $86,548,154
- Application opened: 22 August 2025
- Application closed: 17 October 2025, 12:00 pm
Program objective
Applications for the CLS Open Grant Opportunity are open from 12pm Friday 22 August 2025 to 12pm Friday 17 October 2025.
The Ministry of Health welcomes applications from eligible community managed organisations (CMOs) and/or Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHOs) who would like to apply to deliver CLS in partnership with NSW local health districts (districts).
The CLS program provides community-based, psychosocial support to people with severe mental health conditions so that they can live independently in their communities. It is a holistic and culturally responsive service that builds on the strengths and aspirations of people with severe mental health conditions, working together to create and achieve meaningful goals and personal change for a fulfilling life within their communities.
The objectives of CLS are to:
- Deliver individually tailored, and person-led psychosocial supports that help people to create meaningful goals, build independence in daily life and contribute to recovery within their communities.
- Reduce the frequency of hospital admissions and length-of-stay for people with severe mental health conditions.
The CLS Open Grant Opportunity follows a comprehensive review of the service model and pricing structures which merged the existing Housing and Accommodation Support Initiative (HASI) and CLS into a single program known as ‘Community Living Supports’ from 1 July 2026. Applicants must carefully review the CLS Service Model as it forms the core specification against which grant responses will be assessed.
This program is administered by NSW Health.
Eligibility
Who can apply
To be eligible, applicants must meet all of the following requirements:
- Must be a not-for-profit non-government organisation (NGO), specifically:
- Incorporated Association registered with NSW Fair Trading (Fair Trading)- external site
OR
- A not-for profit company limited by guarantee (must be registered with ACNC and/or have DGR status) Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission- external site
OR
- NSW based Indigenous Corporation (must be registered with the Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations (ORIC)- external site
2. Must hold public liability insurance with a reputable insurer with a value of at least $10 million.
3. Must have a registered Australian Business Number (ABN).
4. Must have a minimum of three (3) years’ experience delivering community-based, recovery-focused psychosocial support for people with complex mental health needs in Australia.
5. Must be solvent and not under external administration.
6. Must be able to and agree to meet the requirements of the Long Form Grant Agreement and Proforma Contract Standard Terms and Conditions.
7. Must be able to address all requirements of the Grant Guidelines.
Types of projects funded under this grant
Not Applicable
Outcomes for projects funded under this grant
The objectives of CLS are to:
- Deliver individually tailored, and person-led psychosocial supports that help people to create meaningful goals, build independence in daily life and contribute to recovery within their communities.
- Reduce the frequency of hospital admissions and length-of-stay for people with severe mental health conditions.
What your application needs to include
Prepare your application with this checklist
Before applying all applicants are required to review the Grant Guidelines and all attachments. These are accessible through the Application Portal (Smarty Grants) once you have clicked 'apply now' below.
All applicants must submit as part of their application:
- Attachment C1 - Application form
- Attachment C2 - Application form - Per Districts
- Attachment D - Budget Template
- Evidence of current financial standing including funding expenditure and revenue for the last two financial years
- Any other documentation to support the application.
Address the eligibility criteria
Each applicant, as part of an application response, must confirm that they meet the eligibility criteria.
Applicants that do not address the eligibility criteria in full may be excluded from the application process at the department's discretion.
Start the application
Applications for the CLS Program 2026 must be submitted online via the Smartygrants platform. The application portal will open at 12:00PM Friday 22 August 2025 and close at 12:00PM Friday AEST on 17 October 2025. Late applications will not be accepted unless exceptional circumstances apply and are approved at the discretion of the Ministry.
Applicants may be contacted for clarification or to provide further information to verify claims made in their application. However, applicants will not be permitted to make significant changes or submit additional material once the application period has closed, unless explicitly requested by the Ministry.
Upon submission, applicants will receive confirmation of receipt via Smartygrants. It is the responsibility of applicants to ensure their application is complete and submitted on time.
Applications that are considered by the Ministry to contain false or misleading information may be deemed ineligible and excluded from further consideration. The Ministry reserves the right to verify any information contained in an application at any stage of the process.
Note: If you are a new applicant to SmartyGrants, you will need to register and create a password. If you are already registered, you can log in with your existing username and password.
Apply now
After the application is submitted
Successful applications will be decided by: The NSW Minister for Mental Health
Applications will undergo a three-stage assessment process:
Stage 1 - Mandatory Requirements Review: Applications will first be assessed against the Mandatory Requirements outlined in Section 2 of the Grant Guidelines. Applications that meet all mandatory requirements will proceed to the merit-based assessment stage.
Stage 2 - Merit-Based Assessment: Applications passing the Mandatory Requirements Review will be assessed by Local Health District Evaluation Committees against the selection criteria outlined in Section 2.2 of the Grant Guidelines. Assessment will be comparative across all applications to that district, consistent with a competitive grant model.
A Ministry Evaluation Committee will review recommendations made by Local Health District Evaluation Committees and apply an overarching program lens to determine the best overall recommendation.
Stage 3 - Due Diligence: The Evaluation Committees may conduct further due diligence as outlined in Section 2 of the Grant Guidelines.
Evaluation Committees
Evaluation Committees comprise of representatives from the Ministry, local health districts and subject matter experts who will review and score the applications and make recommendations to the Governance Committee and Project Sponsor for review. The Project Sponsor will make recommendations to the decision maker for this grant program. The decision-maker for this grant program will be the NSW Minister for Mental Health.
A Probity Advisor will oversee the process to ensure procedural fairness, impartiality, and consistency, and may provide written advice to inform decision-making.
All assessments will be documented, and all decisions and recommendations of the Evaluation and Governance Committees will be made based on merit and alignment with program objectives.