Key information
- Status: Closed
- Grant amount: From $500,000 to $2,000,000
- Application opened: 30 September 2025
- Application closed: 1 December 2025, 5:00 pm
Program objective
The second round of High Impact Partnership grants aim to build a cohort of leaders to spearhead change in the primary industries and land sector. Grantees will be organisations or land managers that are active in the sector, have a vision and commitment to act on climate change, and are willing to co-invest with the NSW Government to deliver on their commitments.
The High Impact Partnership Round 2 grants focus on emissions reduction and increased sequestration in the primary industries and land sector, with an emphasis on immediate implementation. All funded projects will explore ways to deliver additional benefits alongside carbon abatement.
As a condition of funding, funded projects will need to share information and help build capacity within the sector. This will help other organisations understand the potential benefits, risks, and costs of getting involved in carbon projects.
Successful applicants will receive between $500,000 and $2 million (up to 50% of the total project costs), which they must match. These projects will drive abatement at scale, deliver additional co-benefits, and use innovative delivery to create value for land managers. Examples of other benefits include environmental, social, Aboriginal cultural outcomes, and productivity co-benefits.
Grant funded activities must result in carbon projects being registered under the national Australian Carbon Credit Unit (ACCU) Scheme administered by the Clean Energy Regulator.
This program is administered by The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water.
Eligibility
Who can apply
- Farmers or agribusiness
- Aboriginal landowners/managers including Traditional Owner groups, land councils or Registered Native Title Body Corporates
- Not-for-profit organisations
- Government entities
- Community natural resource management/conservation organisations
- Peak body or industry organisations
- Producer associations
- Research institutions
- Co-operative/mutual organisations
Types of projects funded under this grant
The scope of the High Impact Partnership Round 2 grants supports innovative projects delivering abatement at scale, that also create co-benefits.
The grants will be offered for carbon projects using one or more of the following Australian Carbon Credit Unit (ACCU) scheme methods:
- Reforestation by environmental or mallee plantings FullCAM method 2024
- Estimation of soil organic carbon sequestration using measurement and models method
- Tidal restoration of blue carbon ecosystems method
- Plantation forestry method
- Animal effluent management method
A suitable project might be:
- boosting soil carbon to improve soil health and agricultural productivity
- managing animal waste to reduce emissions through installing animal waste recycling facilities
- establishing plantation forest to improve land productivity and sustainability
- reforesting native species to increase biodiversity co-benefits
- restoring tidal flow to wetlands for environmental and productivity gains
Who can’t apply
Carbon service providers operating for-profit are not eligible to be applicants.
What co-contributions are required
Applicants must contribute at least 50% of the eligible costs of the project. Applicants must also ensure that at least 30% of project expenditure in any given financial year is through co-contributions (i.e. applicants cannot plan to utilise the bulk or all of their grant funding at the start of the project, and co-contributions only towards the end of the project).
Co-contributions can be provided by the applicant’s organisation or through arrangements with partner organisations. Applicants will be required to declare all sources of funding, including details of partners contributing to project costs.
What your application needs to include
Prepare your application with this checklist
The application process for the High Impact Partnership grants is competitive. Details on the application and assessment process are provided in the grant guidelines.
Applications must include:
- copies of relevant insurances
- completed outcomes spreadsheet
- completed budget spreadsheet
- completed communications and capacity building plan
- other supporting documentation as stated in the application form
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
- Confirm you meet all eligibility requirements before applying.
- Review the High Impact Partnership Round 2 information in the grant guidelines and on our website, including the FAQs, to guide your application.
- Fill out the application form in the Grants Management System (SmartyGrants) and submit it before the closing date for assessment, along with the required documentation.
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: Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water
- Applications will be assessed on a competitive basis against merit criteria and other applications.
- The Department will conduct the eligibility assessment and send a Request for Information if further details are required at this stage.
- If your application is deemed eligible, an independent assessment panel will assess your application against the merit criteria outlined in the grant guidelines.
- The assessors may seek the advice of technical advisors.
- Once assessment is complete, the independent assessors will recommend projects to the Department, who will make the final determination of grants to be awarded.
- If your application is successful, we will send you a written offer and the High Impact Partnership funding deed.
- If your application is not successful, we will notify you and include reasons why it was not approved for funding.
Support and contact
Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water - Net Zero Land
Email: netzero.land@environment.nsw.gov.au
Website: https://www.energy.nsw.gov.au/high-impact-partnerships