National Landcare Program – Smart Farms Small Grants

This program aims to support projects to increase farming, forestry and fishing communities’ awareness, knowledge, skills and capacity to adopt best practice sustainable agriculture. It forms part of the Australian Government's $134 million Smart Farms Program, a component of the sustainable agriculture element of the National Landcare Program (NLP).

The purpose of the program is to support land manager practice change that will deliver more sustainable, productive and profitable food, fibre and forestry business while protecting Australia’s biodiversity; protecting and improving the condition of natural resources; and assisting Australia meet its international obligations. It will be achieved by supporting projects that contribute to achieving one or both of the program outcomes:
- Increased adoption of best practice sustainable agriculture.
- Increase the capacity of land managers to adopt best practice sustainable agriculture.

Grants between $5,000 and $50,000 (GST exclusive) are available.

A total funding pool of $43.5 million (GST exclusive) is available over six years from 2017-18 to 2022-23, of which $5 million is available for Round 3.

Eligible applicants must be individuals or organisations capable of entering into a legally binding and enforceable agreement with the Commonwealth and one of the following entity types:
- Commonwealth company
- Company
- Cooperative
- Corporate Commonwealth entity
- Corporate State or Territory entity
- Incorporated association
- Indigenous corporation
- International entity
- Local government
- Non-corporate State or Territory entity
- Non-corporate State or Territory statutory authority
- Partnership
- Person
- Sole trader
- Statutory entity
- Trustee on behalf of a Trust

Applications from consortia are eligible, as long as they have a lead applicant who is solely accountable to the Commonwealth for the delivery of grant activities and who is an eligible entity as per the list above. Eligible organisations can form a consortium with ineligible organisations.

Please refer to the Guidelines for the complete eligibility requirements.

Eligible projects must contribute to achieving at least one of the two Round 3 outcomes, including:
- Outcome 1: Increased adoption of best practice sustainable agriculture
a) Undertaking activities that directly improve eligible natural resources and improve on-farm adoption of best practice sustainable agriculture.
- Outcome 2: Increase the capacity of land managers to adopt best practice sustainable agriculture
a) Undertaking activities that will increase land managers’ awareness, knowledge and skills to sustainably manage eligible natural resources by adopting best practice sustainable agriculture.
b) Undertaking activities that will increase the capacity and capability of community and Landcare groups to assist in the adoption of best practice sustainable agriculture.

Please refer to the Guidelines for the complete list of eligible activities/expenditure.

The main assessment include:
- Appropriateness of the proposed project objective and proposed project activities.
- Effectiveness of the proposed project activities to achieve the proposed project outcomes.
- Project proposal suitability for public funding and value for money.
- Applicant suitability.

Please refer to the Guidelines for the complete list of the assessment criteria.

The following are ineligible for funding:
- Non-corporate Commonwealth entity.
- Non-corporate Commonwealth statutory authority.
- Unincorporated association.
- Business-as-usual activities for the participants or beneficiaries of the project.
- Activities that are reasonably considered to be the same as ones which are already underway, or activities that are so closely related that they could not be reasonably considered to be additional to those already underway or completed.
- Activities (including purchases of equipment or materials) that could reasonably be considered to be part of a land manager’s ordinary responsibility unless you demonstrate:
a) A substantial public benefit that would not occur without the grant.
b) The private beneficiary’s contribution to the cost of the project is at least proportional to the private benefit obtained.
- Research activities and trials of methods that are already well-established best practice for industries or regions relevant to the project.

Please refer to the Guidelines for the complete list of ineligible activities/expenditure.