Disaster Ready Fund - Round 3

To be eligible for DRF funding Applicants must:

• have an Australian Business Number (ABN), or
• be a First Nations organisation or not-for-profit organisation as defined in the Glossary, and
• be an entity with the capacity to enter into a legally binding agreement.
• not be an entity listed in section 4.3 of the Guidelines.

NEMA can only accept applications where Applicants provide evidence of their entity type for eligibility and co-contribution purposes as follows:

• Businesses must provide a current ABN. Prospective Applicants can find out how to register for an ABN by visiting: Register for an Australian Business Number (ABN) | business.gov.au
• First Nations organisations must provide evidence that they meet the definition of an ‘Aboriginal Community-Controlled Organisation’ (ACCO) or other ‘Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisation’ as set out in the National Agreement on Closing the Gap such as an Indigenous Corporation Number (ICN), evidence of Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Organisations (ORIC) registration and/or a declaration that the Applicant is a Traditional Owner or that the organisation is at least 51 per cent owned or controlled by Indigenous persons or the Indigenous Enterprise has 50 per cent Indigenous ownership.
• Not-for-profits must provide evidence of their not-for-profit status such as current Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission’s (ACNC) Registration, or Constitutional documents and/or Articles of Association that demonstrate the not-for-profit character of the organisation.
• Local councils in ‘very remote’ and ‘remote’ locations and other ‘low rate-based councils’ will be verified using the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ Remoteness Structure and ratio of Financial Assistance Grant to Net Rate Income, as per the lists and methodologies at Appendices A and B within the Program Guidelines, and do not need to provide separate evidence that they qualify for reduced co-contributions.

Failure to provide the required evidence may result in an application being deemed ineligible or assessed for eligibility against the highest co-contribution category (i.e. at least 50 per cent of total project costs).

Please refer to the Australian Government Program Guidelines and NSW DRF webpage for detailed eligibility criteria.

To be eligible projects must:

• have the primary purpose of increasing understanding of disaster impacts, building resilience to future disasters and/or reducing disaster risk, in line with the DRF’s objectives 
• be risk informed, aligned with plans and priority targeted, in accordance with the DRF’s Investment Principles 
• target one or more eligible natural hazard types
• involve one or more eligible activity types in the built, social, natural and/or economic domains 
• deliver ‘enduring benefits’ for a community or communities at risk of being affected by future disasters, in an eligible location 
• meet requirements for eligible expenditure, minimum project values, co-contributions  and maximum project duration, where applicable

and must not:

• have commenced activities for which Commonwealth funding is being sought, or be completed, before Implementation Plans are endorsed
• have received Commonwealth funding from other sources to undertake the same activities
• be ‘business as usual’ as defined in the Glossary.

The minimum total project value is $0.5 million for infrastructure projects, and no minimum amount for other project types. There is no maximum grant amount, but grants cannot exceed the total amount available ($197 million).

Please refer to the Australian Government Program Guidelines and NSW DRF webpage for detailed eligibility criteria.

Lead Agencies and Applicants can only spend Australian Government funding on eligible expenditure incurred on approved project activities as defined in Schedules and Implementation Plans.

Eligible expenditure could include, for example:

• construction and/or procurement of materials, including supply costs, to deliver the project;
• staff (incl. contractor and consultancy) salaries and on-costs, including administration costs such as training, utilities and travel that are directly attributed to the provision of the project;
• writing, reporting, consultation and engagement costs insofar as they are directly relevant to the delivery of the project;
• upgrading of existing materials and assets so long as the upgrades meet the intent of the DRF objectives;
• community engagement and communications initiatives directly related to the delivery of the project;
• planning costs;
• reasonable project administration costs incurred by the Applicant, and/or administration costs incurred by Lead Agencies to administer the DRF in their region.

Escalation costs including expected increases in labour and supply costs should be factored into budgets for each project. Contingency costs to account for unforeseen financial circumstances should also be factored into budgets for each project and be commensurate with the size and complexity of the proposed project. The $200 million available in 2025-26 is expected to be fully allocated - the Australian Government will not provide further top-up funding or fund project cost overruns.

Please refer to the Australian Government Program Guidelines and NSW DRF webpage for detailed eligibility criteria.

You are not eligible to apply if you are:

• an organisation, or a delivery partner that is an organisation, included on the National Redress Scheme’s website on the list of ‘Institutions that have not joined or signified their intent to join the Scheme’ (nationalredress.gov.au)
• an Australian Government body (including government business enterprises) or other entity that is wholly funded by the Australian Government
• an individual
• an overseas resident/organisation
• an entity type not included in the eligible applicants.

Please refer to the Australian Government Program Guidelines and NSW DRF webpage for detailed eligibility criteria.

Applicants cannot spend the Australian Government’s funding on ineligible expenditure, including:

• projects that have already received full funding or a commitment of full funding, including projects that have received funding from another source for the same purpose, as articulated in the application (i.e. ‘double-dipping’);
• activities that do not have the primary purpose of increasing understanding of disaster impacts, building resilience to future disasters and/or reducing disaster risk
• retrospective costs and costs incurred prior to the relevant Schedule and Implementation Plan being finalised
• purchase of land or existing infrastructure and essential services, including the costs associated with sub-division of land
• repair or replacement of existing infrastructure where there is no demonstrated significant increase in benefit.
• ‘business as usual’ activities as defined in the Glossary. Applicants must justify why an activity is not ‘business as usual’ as part of their application.
• wages that are not related to the direct delivery of the funded activities;
• costs incurred in the preparation of a grant application or related documentation
• maintenance of existing machinery or infrastructure, including roads
• costs incurred by Applicants in the preparation of a DRF project proposal;
• activities conducted outside of Australia;
• subsidy of general ongoing administration of an organisation such as electricity, phone and rent
• overseas travel;
• interstate travel, where that interstate travel is not undertaken as part of a multi-jurisdictional project (see section 7.3.3);
• the introduction of plants, animals or other biological agents known to be, or that could become, environmental or agricultural weeds and pests; and
• activities undertaken primarily for commercial (profit-generating) purposes

This list is not exhaustive. Other costs may be ineligible where the Program Delegate (from within the Australian Government) determines they do not directly support the achievement of the planned outcomes for the project or that they are contrary to the objectives of the program.

The Program Delegate will make the final decision on what constitutes ineligible expenditure and may impose limitations or exclude expenditure through Schedules, Implementation Plans and/or otherwise by notice to the Applicant.

Please refer to the Australian Government Program Guidelines and NSW DRF webpage for detailed eligibility criteria.

Examples of projects that are out of scope for Round Three include, but are not limited to:

• maintenance and repairs to roads, buildings, drainage networks and other existing infrastructure.
• projects that do not have the primary purpose of reducing disaster risk or increasing community resilience to future disasters.
• projects that will deliver temporary or short-term (i.e. non-enduring) benefits only. 

Please refer to the Australian Government Program Guidelines and NSW DRF webpage for detailed eligibility criteria.

Projects must fall into at least one of the following activity types and at least one of the domains outlined below.

Activity types:

1. Investment in grey infrastructure
2. Investment in green-blue infrastructure (including nature based solutions)
3. Investment in social infrastructure
4. Investment in natural hazard monitoring infrastructure
5. Development of business cases and/or feasibility studies for future infrastructure (including investigation, modelling, concept planning and detailed design activities)
6. Projects that support a better understanding of risk, through a better evidence base to understand and raise awareness of risk – to improve understanding of natural hazards and their potential impacts over time (i.e. disaster risk assessments and frameworks)
7. Projects that deliver risk reduction plans at the community, regional and state levels to mitigate identified risks and impacts
8. Projects that strengthen representational and inclusive decision making by developing or improving governance networks and communities of practice, including the development and/or alignment of resilience and risk reduction strategies
9. Adaptation projects that improve land use planning and development practice projects, including but not limited to updating land use planning instruments and building codes
10. Projects, including social services and networks, that build the capacity and capability of businesses, community sector organisations and/or at-risk communities to improve their preparedness and resilience to the impacts of future natural hazards.

Domains:

1. Built domain – Those human-made assets that underpin the functioning of a community. Examples include: buildings and other structures, cities and towns and utility networks.
2. Social domain – The relationships connected by networks of communication. Examples include: individuals, families and common interest groups that form whole communities, health and wellbeing, social welfare services, social capital, emergency services.
3. Natural domain – Encompasses the natural and cultural resources of the community. Examples include: ecosystems, coasts, heritage, water resources and land.
4. Economic domain – The system whereby the affected community’s material and service needs are met through appropriate labour and employment, business development, land use, financial resources, and interaction with the broader economy. Examples include: insurance institutions, private sector, financial institutions, public sector.

Please refer to the Australian Government Program Guidelines and NSW DRF webpage for detailed eligibility criteria.

Applicants (and any delivery partners) are required to contribute towards each project. Co-contribution categories are outlined in the Program Guidelines, and the eligibility for each co-contribution category will be determined based on the Applicant type nominated in the application form, irrespective of any partners, and must be supported by evidence. 

Co-contributions can include, but are not limited to:

• a financial (cash) contribution provided at the time of project commencement;
• in-kind contributions, such as wages directly attributable to the delivery of the project, and/or supplies, materials, and specific equipment required to execute the project:
  • If it is not possible for a Lead Agency or Applicant to provide a financial co-contribution, they can instead provide an in-kind contribution. In-kind contributions can be based on existing resources, but cannot include historic work or staff time spent on a project. The Applicant must appropriately value and provide details of any proposed in-kind contribution in the project budget.
• funds the Lead Agency or Applicant has already invested in a program or project on or any time after 1 July 2023 (historical investments), only where the Australian Government’s contribution from the DRF is expected to extend or enhance that program or project subject to alignment with the DRF Objectives. The Australian Government will not fund project cost overruns.
  • No more than 50 per cent of the required co-contribution amount can be derived from historical investments.
  • Where historical investments form part of a co-contribution, the Applicant must clearly identify this in their project budget and describe how the DRF project will extend or enhance the prior investment.

All parties named on an application (Applicant and any delivery partners) must contribute to the project financially, in-kind and/or through historical investments.

With the exception of financial assistance provided to local government under the Australian Government’s Financial Assistance Grants program, Australian Government funding from any other source (including historical funding and contributions from Australian Government bodies) cannot be used to meet minimum co-contribution requirements. Co-contributions can be provided from any other source (e.g. the Applicant, Lead Agencies and delivery partners).

Please refer to the Australian Government Program Guidelines and NSW DRF webpage for co-contribution requirement details.

To ensure that only the most competitive applications are considered by the Australian Government’s Assessment Panel, the number of applications that each jurisdiction may submit has been capped in Round Three, for New South Wales, this limit is set at 60 applications. As a result, each applicant may submit a maximum of four (4)-applications under Round Three of the DRF program. 

Note, multi-jurisdictional or national projects will not count towards the baseline funding or the application cap of the coordinating Lead Agency or any Lead Agency involved in the project.