The Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA) provides funding under this program for projects that have significant value in raising awareness of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, culture, society and issues.
There are two sub-outputs:
- Public Awareness
- National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee (NAIDOC) activities.
The outcome is that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are able to share and/or celebrate their culture and that activities promote wider community respect and understanding. NAIDOC is deemed to have a high public-awareness value, given its profile as the premier Indigenous celebration across Australia.
The outcome is that Indigenous people are able to share and/or celebrate their culture and that activities promote wider community respect and understanding.
Public Awareness
Purpose of Funding
This output funds selected initiatives that have significant value in raising awareness of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, culture, society and issues within the wider Australian population.
Its aims are:
- to promote to the wider community an understanding of, and respect for, Indigenous culture
- to encourage the development of positive attitudes towards Indigenous Australians
- to inform the wider community about contemporary issues that affect Indigenous people communities.
Funding Guidelines
Funding provided for each project will depend on:
- availability of grant funds
- contributions from other funding sources
- applicants must be able to demonstrate that they have secured the balance of moneys required to complete the project
- provision of a detailed project budget
- non-Indigenous people being part of the target audience.
Funding from this program is intended to supplement funding from other organisations to enable providers to:
- ensure that a project comes to fruition
- improve the quality of the presentation to provide a greater impact
- encourage wider presentation to maximise the public awareness value.
Funding may be provided for projects with an Indigenous focus or significant Indigenous component including:
- festivals
- films
- documentaries/DVDs (for local or wider broadcast distribution)
- television programs
- performing arts (dance performances, plays)
- web sites/pages
- art exhibitions
- educational materials
- publications, including literature.
Funds are not available for:
- purchase of capital items
- maintenance of assets
- ongoing administrative costs
- recurrent funding (subject to delegate’s approval)
- payment of salaries
- retrospective funding
- school excursions/cultural exchanges
- music recordings
- conferences, seminars or symposiums
- research or script development
- Harmony Day activities
- tool kits for Reconciliation groups
- war graves discovery/maintenance
- commercial enterprise initiatives, and
- overseas projects.
Projects aimed at a local, regional, state wide or national audience will be considered.
There is no closing date for applications for Public Awareness activities. Applications may be submitted at any time during the financial year.
Performance Measures
FaHCSIA will measure performance of funded projects with reference to:
- extent of the non-Indigenous audience
- media interest/coverage
- distribution of products.
Other relevant measures may be negotiated for each project.
National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee (NAIDOC) Activities
Purpose of Funding
FaHCSIA provides funding for NAIDOC activities as part of the annual community celebrations across Australia. These celebrations are usually held in July, and are based in Indigenous traditions dating back to the 1950s.
Each year the program supports the National NAIDOC Awards Ceremony and Ball, governed by the National NAIDOC Committee.
Funding is also provided for local NAIDOC celebrations across Australia.
The desired outcome is that Indigenous people and communities gain a strengthened sense of culture and self-respect through NAIDOC activities. A secondary outcome is that these celebrations are shared with the wider community.
Funding Guidelines
Funding is provided to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and/or organisations to partly or fully meet the costs of local/regional NAIDOC activities across Australia.
Non-Indigenous entities may access NAIDOC funding but priority will be given to Indigenous organisations or to activities with high Indigenous participation.
Funding for NAIDOC activities will depend on:
- availability of grant funds
- provision of a detailed project budget.
It is NOT a requirement that local events/activities address the year’s National NAIDOC theme set by the National NAIDOC Committee.
NAIDOC funds are not available for:
- purchase of capital items
- maintenance of assets
- activities that do not depend on NAIDOC Week for their existence, for example, Indigenous public artworks.
Organisations intending to apply for funding for NAIDOC activities should contact their local ICC regarding application closing dates.
Organisations may apply for funds for NAIDOC activities in July OR September/October, not both.
Performance Measures
FaHCSIA will measure performance of funded projects with reference to:
- extent of the non-Indigenous audience
- media coverage
- number of activities undertaken.
Other relevant indicators may be negotiated for each project.