Aboriginal Ranger Grants Program

The Aboriginal Ranger Grants Program guidelines DOCX (797.5 KB) provide a comprehensive description of the grants program, including:

• overview and scope of funding available
• eligibility
• grant process
• application assessment criteria.

Applications for Round 8 of the Aboriginal Ranger Grants Program will be open from Monday 6 May to Friday 31 May 2024. Applications for funding under the Aboriginal Ranger Grants Program will be available through the Northern Territory Government's GrantsNT website.

All program communications regarding your applications will be through GrantsNT, so please review and update your organisational details before applying.

Please complete and upload the following templates to each of your applications.

• budget template DOCX (52.4 KB)
• milestone template DOCX (48.8 KB)

1. Conditions of funding

1.1 Funding agreement

Successful applicants must enter into a legally binding standard funding agreement with the NT Government within the timeframe specified in the letter of offer sent to applicants.

The funding agreement sets out reporting and auditing requirements under which the funding is provided. Special conditions may also apply and will be outlined in the project schedule.

1.2 Commencement date

The commencement date is the date specified in the funding agreement. Once signed by the applicant and NT Government delegate the funding agreement is executed. The department will work with successful applicants with the aim of having funding agreements in place and executed within four weeks of the approval of applications.

A copy of the completed funding agreement will be returned to the applicant for their records.

1.3 Payment of funds

Funds will be paid following the execution of the funding agreement in accordance with the commencement date and the agreed milestones and payment schedules, provided that the applicant has met conditions required before the commencement of the project, as set out in the funding agreement.

1.4 Reporting, record keeping and acquittal

All recipients of funds under the NT Aboriginal Ranger Grants Program will be subject to financial and performance monitoring and evaluation to ensure that they meet milestones and performance indicators specified in the funding agreement. Meeting reporting timeframes is mandatory to ensure the continuation of funding.

Monitoring and reporting requirements will be detailed in the funding agreement. This may include:

• monitoring, evaluation, reporting and improvement (MERI) plan
• regular progress reports during the term of the funding agreement
• financial reports as specified in the funding agreement
• a final project report which will evaluate the success of the project and the extent to which project outcomes were achieved.

Recipients of funding under the NT Aboriginal Ranger Grants Program will be required to acquit their grant funding upon completion as specified in the funding agreement. Final acquittal and reporting is required within four weeks of the agreed completion date in the funding agreement. Acquittal may involve an independent qualified accountant examining the recipient’s records and certifying that all funds have been expended in accordance with the funding agreement.

1.5 Tax implications

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) is generally applicable to funding agreements where the applicant is registered for GST (or is required to be) and the payment is considered subject to GST.

Applicants must provide an Australian Business Number (ABN). This must be for the applicant entity which would receive the funding and enter into the funding agreement.

1.6  Legislation and approvals

All projects must comply with relevant Commonwealth, State and Territory and local authority legislation, which may include environmental, heritage and planning laws. This requirement is specified in the funding agreement and action may be taken to cancel the project or terminate or retrieve funds where such laws have not been complied with.

1.7 Insurance

It is the recipient’s responsibility to ensure they hold appropriate insurance. The recipient may be asked to provide copies of the relevant certificates of currency prior to the payment of any funding. Use of capital items, equipment or infrastructure and any project/program activities must be covered by insurance covering legal liability (including liability assumed under contract) for loss or damage to property or injury or death to persons arising out of or in connection with carrying out the project/program for an insured amount of $10 million per occurrence and not less than $20 million in aggregate.

1.8 Promotion and publicity

Successful applicants must agree to acknowledge NT Government support. Any signage or publications directly related to the project must carry an appropriate NT Government logo (logo and the guidelines for their use will be supplied to applicants as required). The NT Government reserves the right to publicly disclose information about the project in any promotional material in a manner agreed and specified in the funding agreement.

Successful applicants under the Ichthys LNG Coastal Management Offset funding must agree to acknowledge both NT Government and Ichthys LNG support. Any signage or publications directly related to the project must carry an appropriate NT Government and Ichthys LNG logos (logos and the guidelines for their use will be supplied to applicants as required). The NT Government and Ichthys LNG reserves the right to publicly disclose information about the project in any promotional material in a manner agreed and specified in the funding agreement.

2. Rights and responsibilities

2.1 Applicant rights and responsibilities

It is the responsibility of the applicant to:

• fully and properly inform themselves of the requirements of the grants program, these guidelines and the application process
• ensure their application is complete and accurate as the department is not obliged to request additional or missing information
• ensure their application is received by the department before the closing time
• identify any information contained within their application which they consider should be treated as confidential (see section 8.1)
• keep a copy of their application and any attachments
• after submitting their application, promptly inform the department of any changes to their circumstances, which may affect their application or eligibility for funding under these guidelines.

Applicants are entirely responsible for the accuracy of all information submitted in their application. If applicants knowingly provide false or misleading information, the application will be excluded from the assessment process. Funding may be terminated if false or misleading information is provided in an application.

2.2  NT’s rights and responsibilities

The NT Government is committed to ensuring the process for providing funding under the Aboriginal Ranger Grants Program is fair and in accordance with these guidelines.

• Fairness and impartiality: all applicants will be treated equally and have the same opportunity to access information and advice.
• Consistency and transparency of process: applications will be evaluated in a systematic manner against explicit predetermined assessment criteria.
• Security and confidentiality: the process adopted for receiving and managing applicant information will ensure security and confidentiality of intellectual property and proprietary information.
• Identification and resolution of potential conflicts of interest: staff involved in the application and assessment process are required to declare and address any actual or perceived conflict of interest prior to providing any advice or assessment.
• Circumstances for waiving/amending criteria: the NT Government is committed to ensuring the process for providing funding under the grants program is transparent and in accordance with the published program guidelines. Guidelines may be varied from time to time by the NT Government as the needs of the grants program dictate. Amended guidelines will be published on the NT Government website.

The NT Government reserves the right to vary, suspend or terminate the guidelines and/or the assessment process at any time and at its absolute discretion. The NT Government also reserves the right to invite applications outside of the timeframes outlined in these guidelines to meet emerging priorities.

The NT Government will not accept any liability in relation to the failure by an applicant to comply with these guidelines or arising from any discrepancies, ambiguities, inconsistencies or errors in their application.

The department may contact an applicant or applicants during the assessment process to seek clarification about their application, especially where the information provided in the application is ambiguous or where contradictory statements are made, or to request evidence in support of any declaration made in the application. The department reserves the right to accept or disregard additional information provided by the applicant and will not allow responses which materially improve or amend an applicant’s original application.

The department reserves the right at its absolute discretion to exclude from further consideration applications that do not contain sufficient information on which to make an assessment.

3 Disclosure of information and privacy

3.1 Disclosure

The NT Government is collecting the information contained in the grant application form to assess the application for funding.

Applicants must identify any information contained within their application which they consider should be treated as confidential and provide reasons for the request.

The department will only consider a request for confidentiality where:

• the information to be protected is identified in specific rather than global terms
• the information is by its nature confidential
• disclosure would cause detriment to the parties concerned.

The department is subject to legislative and administrative accountability and transparency requirements of the NT Government.

Notwithstanding any obligation of confidentiality, the department may disclose, or allow at any time the disclosure of, any information contained in or relating to any application:

• to its advisors, employees or internal management for purposes related to the application and assessment process
• to the responsible Minister
• in response to a request by the Parliament of the NT
• within the department , or with another agency, where this serves the NT Government’s legitimate interests
• with respect to applications under the Ichthys LNG Coastal Management Offsets funding, to Ichthys LNG
• where this is required to meet reporting requirements under the Ichthys CMO and the IPVOA Program Four agreement between the NT Government and Ichthys LNG
• where information is authorised or required by law to be disclosed, noting that information submitted to the NT Government is subject to the Information Act 2002 and its requirements
• where information is already in the public domain.

In submitting an application, applicants consent to the department using the information submitted for the above mentioned purposes, for administering the grants program, any other relevant programs and any other incidental or related purpose.

Applicants should be aware that if they are successful, the department may publish information on its website about recipients, including but not limited to:

• the name of the entity receiving the funding
• title and purpose (project/program) for which funding awarded
• amount of funding awarded
• term of the funding
• locations where funding awarded.

By submitting an application under the grants program, the applicant consents to publication of the above information by the department if they are awarded funding.

The department will store and use personal information collected by it in compliance with its obligations under the Information Act 2002. Applicants may access or correct personal information by contacting the department via the contact details in section 9.

3.2 Privacy

All personal information included in an application is protected by law, including the Information Act 2002, and is collected by the department for the assessment and administration of the grants program. This information is required to process the application.

The personal information may be used by the department or given to other parties where the applicant has agreed or is required or authorised by law.

Round 8 2024/2025

Round Eight funding for:

• Land and Sea Management Fund DOCX (57.9 KB)
• Ichthys LNG Coastal Management Offset DOCX (57.5 KB)

Round 7 2023/2024

Round 7 funding for:

• Capital grants DOCX (67.5 KB)
• Land and Sea Management Fund DOCX (64.1 KB)
• Ichthys LNG Coastal Management Offset DOCX (65.2 KB)

Round 6 2022/2023

Round 6 funding for:

• Land and Sea Management Fund grants DOCX (64.1 KB)
• Ichthys LNG Coastal Management Offset grant DOCX (61.9 KB).

Round 5 2021/2022

Round 5 funding for:

• Capital grants DOCX (56.3 KB)
• Land and Sea Management Fund grants DOCX (55.2 KB)
• Ichthys LNG Coastal Management Offset grants DOCX (54.6 KB).

Round 4 2020/2021

Round 4 funding was limited to single year projects only. Due to COVID-19 impacts these projects may extend into 2021-2022.

To view a list of successful round 4 recipients PDF (469.2 KB).

Round 3 2019/2020

Due to funding commitments from rounds 1 and 2 only a single project could be funded in round 3.

The project was selected from round 2 applications for which the Aboriginal Land Management Advisory Group had requested additional information

To view a list of successful round 3 recipients PDF (416.1 KB).

Round 2 2018/2019

To view a list of successful round 2 recipients for Capital PDF (59.1 KB) and Land Management and Conservation Fund PDF (56.8 KB) projects.

Round 1 2017/2018

To view a list of successful round 1 recipients PDF (300.6 KB).

Dhimurru rangers

Larrakia rangers

Muru-warinyi Ankkul rangers

Yugul Mungi rangers

Adjumarllarl rangers

Read the Northern Territory Aboriginal Ranger Grant Program independent review of program outcomes:

Independent review of program outcomes - report PDF (1.9 MB)
Independent review of program outcomes - summary PDF (1.6 MB)