Key information
- Status: Closed
- Grant amount: From $5,000 to $50,000
- Application opened: 17 September 2026
- Application closed: 9 October 2026, 5:00 pm
Program objective
The Companion Animal Welfare and Rehoming Grant has the below objectives:
- Achieve value for money
- Improve animal welfare outcomes in NSW
- Support sustainable delivery of companion animal rehoming service
- Support eligible organisations to build capability and capacity for companion animal rehoming in NSW.
This program is administered by Office of Local Government.
Eligibility
Who can apply
To be eligible you must:
- Have an Australian Business Number (ABN) or Australian Company Number (ACN) for an entity that is registered and based in NSW
- Have a bank account with an Australian financial institution
- Operate animal welfare or rehoming services within NSW.
- Currently hold public liability insurance cover for $10 million and can upload a copy of the certificate of currency to your application or be willing to attain cover prior to entering into a funding agreement.
You must be one of the following non-government organisations:
- A designated rehoming organisation under section 88B of the Companion Animals Act 1998
- A rehoming organisation or approved animal welfare organisation as defined under section 5 of the Companion Animals Act 1998 (except for a council or any other operator of a council pound) and which is actively involved in companion animal rehoming activities.
- A registered charity predominantly involved in companion animal welfare or rehoming activities, including work that assists in preventing companion animals entering the rehoming system or providing support in an emergency or crisis.
- A registered charity or not-for-profit that provides low-cost veterinary services, including free or low-cost desexing.
- A registered charity or not-for-profit that promotes responsible pet ownership education and awareness-raising.
- A registered charity or not-for-profit involved in building and maintaining community foster care networks.
For the avoidance of doubt, a companion animal refers to a cat or a dog only, as per the Companion Animals Act 1998.
For the avoidance of doubt, a registered charity or not-for-profit refers specifically to an ACNC-registered organisation.
Types of projects funded under this grant
The Grant can be used across any of the below projects and activities.
- Rehoming of companion animals, or reuniting companion animals to their owners.
- Supporting the prevention of animals entering the rehoming system in the first instance.
- Training, services, systems or equipment that improve the efficiency and effectiveness of companion animal rehoming.
- Provision of animal relief services during an emergency or crisis.
- Veterinary treatment, including desexing, microchipping, vaccinations and other medical treatments.
- The provision of services to deliver training or rehabilitation for a dog or cat to enable future rehoming opportunities.
- Education programs on responsible ownership of animals, including consideration of ethics, sentience and duty of care.
- Upgrade or extension of current facilities to improve the welfare of companion animals
When the project can start and end
Funding must be expended by 31/12/2029
The project must be completed by 31 December 2029.
What costs you can apply for
The Grant can only be used for eligible project and activity costs.
Eligible project costs include:
- Costs associated with the provision of veterinary treatment and medical care to companion animals
- Costs associated with the rehabilitation and training of companion animals
- Costs associated with the upgrade or expansion of rehoming and welfare services for companion animals
- Costs associated with the reasonable repair or capital works upgrade and/or build new animal care facilities
- Costs associated with the provision of animal rehoming services
If your application is successful, we may ask you to verify the project cost and provide evidence of costs such as supplier contracts, quotes, invoices and receipts. We may request financial reports and credit checks from independent third-party service providers.
Who can’t apply
You are not eligible to apply if you are:
- An organisation that has already applied under Round 2 (one application per organisation only)
- insolvent
- an individual
- a sole trader
- partnership
- a local council
- an organisation that predominantly works with animals other than cats and/or dogs
- an animal welfare charity not currently registered with the ACNC, or a rehoming organisation not currently approved as a designated organisation by OLG as at 1 September 2026
- a Commonwealth, state, territory or local government agency or body, excluding government corporate entities.
Additionally, any organisation is ineligible to apply if they have any members, staff or carers who:
- have ever been charged, convicted or been subject to a penalty notice in respect of, an offence against the:
- Animal Research Act 1985
- Companion Animals Act 1998
- Companion Animals Regulation 2018
- Exhibited Animals Protection Act 1986
- Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1979
- have ever operated premises where animals have been kept or controlled and been subject to a Council order relating to the care and control of animals.
- have been declared bankrupt within the past ten years or been subject to any other insolvency administration or fraud convictions.
Types of projects not funded under this grant
The grant cannot be used for the following:
- the purchase of land or property
- the purchase or maintenance of vehicles
- operational costs associated with the ordinary course of business, such as utility costs
- routine maintenance costs
- the purchase and upgrade of IT equipment, software or licenses
- office supplies or equipment
- rental fees or leases
- licenses or insurance costs
- administration costs/fees
- costs incurred in the preparation of a grant application or related documentation
- overseas travel
- the covering of retrospective costs
- salaries or wages
- depreciation expenses
- projects or activities outside of NSW
- projects requiring ongoing funding from the NSW Government
- activities that will not be delivered prior to the end of the grant funding period
- legal fees
- cash prizes or commercial gifts
What your application needs to include
Prepare your application with this checklist
Applications must be submitted through Smartygrants prior to the closing date to be considered for funding.
You will need to upload the below to your application in order to submit it.
- A bank statement for an Australian financial institution in the applicant organisation's name
- A completed Vendor Form (where applicable)
- Evidence of Public Liability insurance (where applicable)
- A letter of support from the Council that project/activities will be run in
When your application has been submitted, you will receive an automated email from Smartygrants confirming your application has been received, with a copy of your submission.
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.
Address the assessment criteria
Assessment criteria are in place to enable an objective review of an application. Applications will be assessed as to how well they meet the assessment criteria.
- Consistency of the proposal with the policy principles, objectives and outcomes of the grant program
- How value for money will be achieved
- Capability, experience and skills of the applicant organisation in the rehoming and animal welfare space
- The project is feasible, realistic and deliverable by the organisation within the proposed timeframe and budget
Start the application
To submit an application, organisations need to complete the application form via Smartygrants.
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: Minister for Local Government
This grant program is open AND competitive.
This means that any eligible organisation is able to apply. All applications will progress through a staged assessment process.
Stage 1 is an eligibility check to confirm the applicant organisation meets the eligibility criteria.
All eligible organisations' applications will then progress to Stage 2.
Stage 2 involves an eligible application being assessed against the assessment criteria so an Assessment Panel can give each application a funding recommendation outcome.
Funding recommendations will be put to the Minister for Local Government as the Grant decision maker to make a final funding determination.
Support and contact
Alex Bellamy - grants@olg.nsw.gov.au