Key information
- Status: Closed
- Grant amount: From $30,000 to $5,000,000
- Application opened: 14 October 2024
- Application closed: 25 November 2024, 11:00 pm
Program objective
The objective of the Get NSW Active program is to support the development and delivery of walking and riding projects that:
- deliver continuous and connected walking and cycling paths that take people on journeys and to destinations
- enable more people to comfortably walk and ride as part of their everyday travel
- facilitate children’s and young people’s independent mobility by improving safe walking and bike riding options for travel to and from school
- deliver quality place and public space outcomes that encourage walking and riding and contribute to vibrant and liveable neighbourhoods
- use innovative and creative design solutions that model best practice, and drive improvement in the quality of walking and riding facilities
- enable and encourage behaviour change, and shift community perception towards greater recognition of walking and riding as everyday travel options
- deliver walking and riding connections that enable all people, regardless of age and gender to move freely within their communities.
This program is administered by Cities and Active Transport.
Eligibility
Who can apply
The Get NSW Active program is open to all NSW local councils, Lord Howe Island Board, and the Far West Unincorporated Region.
Types of projects funded under this grant
For Get NSW Active, funding is available for strategy/plan development*, project design, or project construction of walking and riding projects.
For Get Kids Active funding is available for project construction and an education and behaviour change initiative.
*Funding is not available for development of strategy/plans in the Unincorporated Far West Area. Only design and construction projects are eligible.
When the project can start and end
The project should be started by 1 July 2025 and the project must be completed by 30 June 2028.
What costs you can apply for
Up to 100% of the project cost can be funded under Get NSW Active.
Value must be (excluding GST):
- Strategy/plan development project: between $30,000 and $100,000.
- Design project: between $50,000 and $1,000,000.
- Construction project: between $100,000 and $5,000,000.
- Get Kids Active (construction project): between $100,000 and $800,000.
What costs you can't apply for
The below items, and any labour and material associated with these items (e.g. sand, concrete, rebar) are excluded from funding under Get NSW Active:
- stone/granite kerbs and paving
- multifunction poles and associated private meters and switchboards, e.g., smartpoles
- street furniture with advertising
- bus shelters
- artworks
- rain gardens
- pedestrian fencing or any vehicle barriers to be delivered as part of a project
- upgrades to stormwater systems or road surfacing works not directly required for the active transport component of a project.
If the above items form part of a project, they must be separately funded. The funding source and amounts must be identified separately in cost estimates submitted with the application.
Types of projects not funded under this grant
Projects that are ineligible for the FY2025/26 Get NSW Active program include:
- Painted on-road cycling lanes and mixed traffic cycling projects with design speeds above 30km/h and/or unsuitable street environments.
- Stand-alone pedestrian refuge projects (note: in some cases, pedestrian or cycling refuges may be acceptable as part of a broader walking or cycling upgrade project where providing for a low demand movement and where an alternative facility type likely cannot not be provided).
- Maintenance of existing assets.
- Projects that primarily deliver bike parking (for example bike storage cages).
- Closed loop recreational projects, e.g., walking/riding circuits within open space that do not contribute to the broader network.
- Non-infrastructure projects such as behavioural change campaigns, events, promotions, or maps (except where made under the Get Kids Active program and consistent with the relevant eligibility criteria).
- Projects that predominately focus on vehicular traffic improvements.
- Standalone signage or wayfinding projects.
- Projects that include both the design and construction stage under one grant (‘D&C projects’) or projects that include both the concept design and detailed design stage under one grant.
- Standalone lighting projects or lighting of an existing facility.
- Projects with new or modifications to Traffic Control Signals (TCS) are ineligible unless a signed Approval in Principle (AIP) form, or stamped approved TCS plan, is attached to the application.
- A project, project stage or part of a project that has already commenced and requires supplementary or top-up funding.
Example projects
Funding is available for strategy/plan development, project design, and project construction for the following facility types:
- Walking connections
- Raised pedestrian or shared crossings
- Continuous footpath treatments
- Kerb extensions
- Separated bike paths
- Quietways
- Shared paths
- Shared zones
Most recent recipients
What was approved
Approved for Bayside Council
The Recipient has agreed to work with Matraville Public School. This Active Routes to School Initiative Grant program will fund the Recipient to work with Year 5 students from a local public primary school, to undertake mapping and wayfinding work with the students and their school. Over the life of the initiative (i.e. before the lessons and 12 months after final active routes to school map and wayfinding), Transport will be monitoring and evaluating it using hands up surveys conducted by classroom teachers to capture changes in mode share, parent/carer surveys, and stakeholder interviews.
$50,000 was approved by
Transport for NSW Deputy Secretary Planning Integration and PassengerDate approved
October 2025Location of the recipient
BaysideAbout the grant
Applications approved
85
Applications received
333
Get NSW Active 2025-26
Program term
30-Jun-28What was approved
Approved for Bourke Shire Council
The Recipient has agreed to work with Wanaaring Public School. This Active Routes to School Initiative Grant program will fund the Recipient to work with Year 5 students from a local public primary school, to undertake mapping and wayfinding work with the students and their school. Over the life of the initiative (i.e. before the lessons and 12 months after final active routes to school map and wayfinding), Transport will be monitoring and evaluating it using hands up surveys conducted by classroom teachers to capture changes in mode share, parent/carer surveys, and stakeholder interviews.
$50,000 was approved by
Transport for NSW Deputy Secretary Planning Integration and PassengerDate approved
October 2025Location of the recipient
BourkeAbout the grant
Applications approved
85
Applications received
333
Get NSW Active 2025-26
Program term
30-Jun-28What was approved
Approved for Camden Council
The Recipient has agreed to work with Oran Park Public School. This Active Routes to School Initiative Grant program will fund the Recipient to work with Year 5 students from a local public primary school, to undertake mapping and wayfinding work with the students and their school. Over the life of the initiative (i.e. before the lessons and 12 months after final active routes to school map and wayfinding), Transport will be monitoring and evaluating it using hands up surveys conducted by classroom teachers to capture changes in mode share, parent/carer surveys, and stakeholder interviews.
$50,000 was approved by
Transport for NSW Deputy Secretary Planning Integration and PassengerDate approved
October 2025Location of the recipient
CamdenAbout the grant
Applications approved
85
Applications received
333
Get NSW Active 2025-26
Program term
30-Jun-28What was approved
Approved for Dungog Shire Council
The Recipient has agreed to work with Dungog Public School. This Active Routes to School Initiative Grant program will fund the Recipient to work with Year 5 students from a local public primary school, to undertake mapping and wayfinding work with the students and their school. Over the life of the initiative (i.e. before the lessons and 12 months after final active routes to school map and wayfinding), Transport will be monitoring and evaluating it using hands up surveys conducted by classroom teachers to capture changes in mode share, parent/carer surveys, and stakeholder interviews.
$50,000 was approved by
Transport for NSW Deputy Secretary Planning Integration and PassengerDate approved
October 2025Location of the recipient
DungogAbout the grant
Applications approved
85
Applications received
333
Get NSW Active 2025-26
Program term
30-Jun-28What was approved
Approved for Kempsey Shire Council
The Recipient has agreed to work with South West Rocks Public School. This Active Routes to School Initiative Grant program will fund the Recipient to work with Year 5 students from a local public primary school, to undertake mapping and wayfinding work with the students and their school. Over the life of the initiative (i.e. before the lessons and 12 months after final active routes to school map and wayfinding), Transport will be monitoring and evaluating it using hands up surveys conducted by classroom teachers to capture changes in mode share, parent/carer surveys, and stakeholder interviews.
$50,000 was approved by
Transport for NSW Deputy Secretary Planning Integration and PassengerDate approved
October 2025Location of the recipient
KempseyAbout the grant
Applications approved
85
Applications received
333
Get NSW Active 2025-26
Program term
30-Jun-28What your application needs to include
Prepare your application with this checklist
The information and documentation requirements will vary based on project scale and type but will likely include some or all of the following, plus additional documents specific to the project:
- a map of the project
- coordinates for the start and end point (latitude and longitude)
- relevant strategy document(s) where the project has been identified
- design documentation
- consultation summaries/reports
- cost estimate for the total project value using the cost estimate template available on the Get NSW Active web page, or your own cost estimate with an equivalent, or greater, level of detail
- evidence of relevant approvals
- project schedule.
Applicants will also be required to identify and attach any specialist studies or other project specific information that is critical to the assessment of 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
Councils apply via the NSW Grants and Funding website. It is recommended that applicants familiarise themselves with the questions and prepare their answers and documentation ahead of the closing date. Applicants can begin their application, save their progress, and return to complete the application at a later time.
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.
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: Deputy Secretary Planning, Integration and Passenger
Each application is given a score so they can be ranked. The score is based on the answers to application questions.
- Eligibility screening - not scored, mandatory requirement
- Project details - not scored
- Project design and strategic merits (for design project or construction project) OR Aims and objectives of the strategy/plan (for strategy/plan development project) - 60% weighting
- Project management approach and ability to deliver project - 40% weighting
Eligibility criteria is set out in the guidelines and embedded in the application questions. If a response to a question indicates an ineligible project, the application will not progress through the application process and the applicant will be notified of the reasoning why.
Anticipated assessment outcome date is April-May 2025
Anticipated date for funding deed execution with successful applicants is May-June 2025
Support and contact
activetransport@transport.nsw.gov.au