Funding

The minimum funding amount is $500,000 and the maximum amount is $2.5 million.

Yes. A single organisation can make more than one application via Smarty Grants if you are applying for unique initiatives. These applications will be assessed separately.

Examples of justice Reinvestment activities should seek to improve justice outcomes of a particular community and have strong local Aboriginal community leadership, or seek to grow that community leadership.

Eligible activities will be unique to each location, and include a range of activities involved in setting up, running and evaluating community designed, based and led justice reinvestment activities.

Other eligible activities to support justice reinvestment initiatives may include (this list is not exhaustive): 

• Activities associated with community-led implementation of justice reinvestment activities, including creating and maintaining a local project team or ‘backbone’ team, systems and frameworks to support local leadership, governance and community engagement, and justice reinvestment plans and strategies.
• Initiatives that address possible drivers of contact with the criminal justice systems and improve justice outcomes. For example: improving school attendance, improving local and regional employment opportunities, building connections to culture and community, addressing community and family safety, empowering young people, supporting sustainable leadership, improving health outcomes and so on.
• Supporting activities that may be eligible include initiatives:
  • that build support for and understanding about justice reinvestment within a community, including communications products, community engagement sessions and learning/education activities to build capacity and capability for justice reinvestment
  • related to data, including collecting and working with community data, stories and knowledge, setting up local data platforms and working with government data
  • to develop and implement monitoring, evaluation and learning to ensure community-led projects and programs contribute to the program’s outcomes and objectives
  • associated with collaboration and working with stakeholders to advocate for changes to justice systems.

No. The application process is competitive for the limited funding available. Successful applications will be those that meet the eligibility criteria and best address the assessment criteria in Stage 2.

Not necessarily. DCJ may approve a different level of funding than the amount requested in an applicant’s Full Grant Application.

If partial funding is offered, applicants will need to assess whether the activity is viable or needs to be modified due to the reduced funding. In this case the applicant will be advised prior to contracting and may choose whether to accept this offer. Alternatively, applicants may decide to fund the balance themselves, include in-kind support, or seek funding from other sources.

DCJ staff may request additional information and/or clarification from applicants at any time during the assessment process.

Independent probity advisors will provide guidance on issues concerning integrity, fairness, and accountability that may arise throughout the application, assessment, and decision process. This helps to ensure decisions are made with integrity, fairness, and accountability, while delivering value for money for NSW.

No. There are no capital expenditures allowed for this Grant Program. Please contact the Justice Reinvestment team if you would like information on programs that do fund vehicles.

Grant funds cannot be used for:

·         Services delivered outside NSW.

·         Wages, salaries, and on-costs for ongoing staff.

·         Sitting fees, travel allowance, or costs associated with membership of boards/councils.

·         International travel costs. Proposals for domestic travel costs need to demonstrate the benefits of travel to the project, organisation, and community.

·         Costs that are not directly associated with the delivery of the proposal that is funded by the grant.

·         Proposal costs that are supported by another grant, subsidy or financial assistance.

·         Proposal works or costs that have been or will be covered by insurance claims (for example, repairs following weather events).

·         Proposal costs incurred before the earliest possible start date of 30 June 2024.

·         Costs to cover existing debts or budget deficits.

·         General operational or business as usual costs.

·         Maintenance or construction of residential infrastructure.

·         Infrastructure (capital works), equipment purchases and other assets, including the purchase of vehicles

·         Commercial activities

·         Cash payments

·         Management or administration fees

If you have questions about what funding can, or can not, be used for, contact the Justice Reinvestment team at: justicereinvestment@dcj.nsw.gov.au.

An auspicing organisation means that another organisation, which is an eligible organisation under this grant program, agrees to apply for and be responsible for the grant funding on behalf of your unincorporated association or group.

For more information on auspicing you may wish to refer to Justice Connect’s NFP Law online portal.

Yes, however the Assessment Panel will consider whether the auspice fees in any Stage II: Full Grant Application budget are reasonable

No. You can not include general ‘operating fees’, ‘management fees’, ‘administration fees’ etc in your Stage 2 Full Grant Application budget.

No. Refurbishments, renovations, or new housing builds are ineligible.

This won’t be needed until Stage 2 of the Justice Reinvestment Grants Program.

For Stage 2, we have provided a budget template via the SmartyGrants application form. Your budget should exclude GST.

Maximum grant amounts will be determined and published in the Stage 2 Grant Guidelines, following community input during Stage 1.