Louise Arkles
Senior Program Manager
A sustainable natural environment is fundamental to a healthy and prosperous society. Continuing and expanding on thirty years of science, environmental and conservation funding, the Sustainable pillar responds to the global focus on urgent issues such as climate change and biodiversity loss.
The Environment program supports ambitious and transformative environmental initiatives, including:
The Foundation recognises that a thriving environmental sector, underpinned by a well-resourced scientific research community, is essential for a healthy natural environment. Through the Sustainable pillar, the Foundation is committed to investing in efforts to better manage our natural resources and preserve threatened biodiversity and ecosystems in the face of challenges such as land degradation, limited water resources, invasive species, and climate change.
The Foundation is interested in applications that are strategically important, nationally significant, and highly collaborative. This funding area considers large grants ($100,000+ and multi-year) for work taking place within Australia and across multiple areas including land, freshwater, marine, and coastal.
The Environment program area supports ambitious and transformative environmental initiatives, in particular:
Those initiatives should seek to manage better our natural resources and preserve threatened biodiversity and ecosystems in the face of challenges such as land degradation, limited water resources, invasive species, and climate change.
The Foundation is interested in applications that are strategically important, nationally significant, and collaborative.
We prioritise projects that employ several of the following approaches:
For research projects, preference will be given to projects that engage early or mid-career researchers.
Open Thursday 7 December 2023
Close Friday 15 March 2024, 5PM AEDT
Close Thursday 6 June 2024, 5PM AEST
mid September 2024
All available call bookings for Round 2, 2024, have now been allocated.
Grantseekers who have not been able to secure a phone call booking will need to wait until 2025 when this program area next opens. Please monitor future funding round dates on the Funding Rounds page.
The Foundation does not fund pure research in the Environment program area.
We are currently not funding:
Auspicing refers to the practice of an ineligible organisation (one that does not have DGR and TCC status) applying to the Foundation via an eligible organisation. Auspicing arrangements are excluded under the Foundation's guidelines. The organisation applying to the Foundation must be the organisation that will run the project or program for which a grant is being sought.
The Foundation is limited to providing money, property or benefits for public charitable purposes in the Commonwealth of Australia. However, the Foundation is able to provide a grant for activities outside the Commonwealth if the grant is made for a public charitable purpose in the Commonwealth. For example, a grant might be made to an Australian university to enable it to fund an overseas study tour by an Australian researcher engaged by the university.
Please note there are specific instructions you need to follow if you are from a research institution.
What happens next?
All grant applications are considered by the Board of Governors at the Foundation’s board meetings, which are held three times a year in line with the Funding Rounds.
You will be advised of the outcome of your application by phone or email.
To assist your organisation with the application process, we have provided Word templates of the EOI and full application online forms below.
Expression of Interest stage
Full application stage
Please note these are NOT the live application forms. All EOIs and full applications MUST be completed online via the GvingData link sent to you. A link to complete an Expression of Interest form will be sent if your proposal meets the Foundation's criteria after you've spoken to the Program Manager.