Key information
- Status: Open
- Grant amount: From $30,000 to $5,000,000
- Application opened: 5 November 2025
- Application closes: 12 December 2025, 4:00 pm
Program objective
To deliver initiatives that make it easier, safer and more convenient for people of all ages and abilities to choose walking and riding as a preferred mode of transport.
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:
- walking, riding or active travel strategies/plans*
- feasibility assessment
- concept design
- detailed design
- project construction.
For Get Kids Active, funding is available for:
- project construction within 2000m of a school
- Active Routes to School initiative.
* Funding is not available for development of strategy/plans in the Unincorporated Far West Area. Only design or construction projects are eligible in the Unincorporated Far West Area.
What costs you can't apply for
No portion of the funding request can be for:
- Deliverables that are funded under a previously awarded Get NSW Active grant.
- Deliverables already funded by the NSW Government.
- Supplementary or ‘top-up’ funding for an existing project where there are funding shortfalls.
- A project, project stage, or part of a project that has already commenced.
- Projects which propose multiple stages (for example concept and detailed design) or both a design and construction stage (for example D&C projects).
- Maintenance, remediation or renewal of existing facilities.
Types of projects not funded under this grant
Items that are ineligible for funding under the FY2026/27 Get NSW Active program include:
- Painted on-road bicycle lanes.
- Mixed traffic cycling projects with designs 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. You will need to provide a rationale in your application).
- Maintenance, remediation or renewal of existing assets.
- Projects that primarily deliver bike parking, for example bike storage cages.
- Closed loop recreational projects, for example 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 for applications made under the Active Routes to School initiative).
- Projects that predominantly focus on car traffic management.
- Standalone signage or wayfinding projects.
- Applications for multiple stages. For example concept and detailed design, or design and construction.
- Standalone lighting projects or lighting of an existing facility.
- Upgrades to stormwater systems or road surfacing works not directly required for the active transport component of a project.
- Construction projects with new or modifications to Traffic Control Signals (TCS) are ineligible unless a signed Approval in Principle (AIP)document or stamped approved TCS plans are attached to the application.
Example projects
Funding is available for the following project stages:
- strategy/plan (for example walking, riding or active transport plan)
- feasibility assessment or route options assessment
- concept design
- detailed design
- project construction
- Active Routes to School initiative.
Funding is available for the following facility types:
- walking connections
- separated bicycle paths
- quietways
- shared paths.
Additional eligibility requirements
- 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.
What 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 the following, plus additional documents specific to the project.
- a map showing the project alignment and trip attractors
- 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 via a link within the application form, or your own cost estimate with an equivalent, or greater, level of detail
- evidence of relevant approvals
- project schedule
- three to six images that show the project setting and any known project constraints.
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
Applicants via the NSW Grants and Funding website.
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.
All projects:
- Eligibility screening - not scored, applications confirmed they meet all eligibility criteria
- Project details - not scored.
Get NSW Active and Get Kids Active projects:
- Mandatory requirements - assessed as either ‘satisfactory’ or ‘unsatisfactory’. Applicants must receive a satisfactory rating for each of the mandatory requirements to be considered for funding.
- 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 - 40% weighting
Active Routes to School initiative:
- Potential for active transport mode shift - 60% weighting
- Complexity and completeness of the network - 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 2026
Anticipated date for funding deed execution with successful applicants is Before 1 July 2026
Support and contact
activetransport@transport.nsw.gov.au