Grants roadmap into 2022*

The most common question Section51 has been asked over the past few months is: ‘where will the grants and funding roadmap take us to in 2022’.

The answer we provide is ‘even governments don’t have the roadmap’. But there are some key signs Section51 uses that provide a powerful map of what may happen.

We have started at the top with the National Cabinet plan to transition Australia’s National COVID-19 response.

We can see that this plan provides phases of transition which will align with when funding changes from being open and available to limited and highly competitive.

Timing is everything when planning for grants to open and how you frame your application. We have looked at the pattern of grants in the last 18 months and how these have been allocated, both federally and statewise. This analysis provides an idea of how rocky the road will be if governments effectively run out of money and become very selective in grant programs.

The events in New South Wales, with the resignation of the Premier and Deputy Premier, will have a significant impact on grants around the country.

These resignations may not seem relevant to other states, but they are, as they lead to a fork in the road for all governments in relation to how decisions on grants are made.

Then there is the Australian Government election and how the road map for that leads to decisions on what is happening with Building

Better Regions Fund and other Australian Government Grants.

Just like the National roadmap, the grants roadmap into 2022 shows that the path you take with project selection and preparation will be critical to success in a very different funding landscape.

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