Indigenous Workforce and Skills Development Grant

Eligibility

The IWSDG program funds Indigenous organisations to deliver place-based projects that have a focus on assisting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people into employment while addressing local training or workforce concerns for the community. The intent of this program is not to provide direct funding to individual Indigenous businesses to assist with expenses relating to core business activity such as operating costs, recruitment costs, staff attraction, wages, staff training and business development within your own organisation.

The following entities are not eligible to apply:

• Indigenous businesses registered as an individual/sole trader
• Indigenous businesses registered as partnerships.

Applicant organisations eligible for funding must be an Indigenous organisation, and:

• be located in Queensland
• have an ABN and be registered for GST
• be an incorporated association or a public company limited by guarantee or a council
• have past experience delivering employment, training and/or workforce development services
• can provide company constitution, charitable constitution, or governance documentation
• 50% of the board of directors identity as an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander person.

Examples of eligible organisations can include:

• Indigenous councils, corporations, organisations and institutes
• Indigenous community groups and neighbourhood centres
• Indigenous social enterprises and not-for-profit organisations
• Indigenous organisations who are the only workforce or service provider in remote or discrete communities
• Indigenous groups such as chambers of commerce.

Partnership arrangements between eligible organisations are strongly encouraged as there may be benefits to connecting and collaborating to generate effective solutions.

Funding available

A maximum of $250,000 of funding is available per project, for 12 months of delivery.

The amount of funding will be dependent on:

• the location of project delivery
• nature of the training and employment support to be provided
• number of participants to be assisted
• the additional activities or specialist services to be provided.

Application process

There will be 1 funding round held each year, for 2 years up until 2023–24, under a transparent and contestable application process.

One lead Indigenous organisation is to apply for and manage funding for each project.

Applications for the 2023–24 funding round opened 13 November 2023, and closed at 5pm, Thursday 22 February 2024.

Applications must be submitted via the Training and Skills Programs Portal.

Draft project proposal

Before applying, you are encouraged to submit a draft project proposal (DOCX, 636KB) to iwsdg@desbt.qld.gov.au for review and feedback by your local DESBT Principal Indigenous Program Officer.

You can submit your draft project proposal at any time, however be aware of the funding round closing dates so that you allow enough time for feedback to be provided.

Grant writing workshops

The Queensland Council of Social Service (QCOSS) and our local DESBT Principal Indigenous Program Officers held workshops in November and December 2023 across Queensland for Indigenous organisations interested in applying. Watch a recording of the statewide online workshop.

Training and Skills Programs Portal

Register for an account

Upon registering, you'll receive an email verifying your user account. Once your email address is confirmed, you'll be able to log on to the portal to create or associate your account to your organisation.

You must read and accept the portal terms of use and privacy statement.

Completing your application

Read the guide to applying for funding (PDF, 1.1MB) to assist you in writing and completing your application.

Follow these steps to submit your application:

1. Login to your Training and Skills Programs Portal account (from anywhere and any device with internet access).
2. Navigate to the 'Applications' tab and select the application form for the IWSDG program.
3. Read and accept terms and conditions. Note you will have to accept these at the beginning of every application.
4. Complete the application form, uploading any required supporting materials and using relevant templates supplied on the portal.
   1. You can complete your application over time.
   2. When you click on the 'Save & Next' button, your application is automatically saved. The portal does not save mid-page.
   3. Attachments can be PDF, DOC or DOCX and must be less than 10MB each.
5. Review your application, ensuring it is completed, and read and accept declaration terms. From the last page of your application, you can review any part via the 'Applications' tab.
6. Click the 'Save & Submit' button to lodge your funding application.

Once submitted, you'll receive an email confirming that your application has been received.

It is recommended you submit your application no later than 2 days prior to the closing date to ensure any unforeseen issues do not prevent you from applying. Incomplete and late applications are not considered.

Training and Skills Programs Portal support

For technical and other online application assistance:

• read the frequently asked questions
• phone 1300 369 935
• email training@desbt.qld.gov.au.

Program documents

• Indigenous Workforce and Skills Development Grant – funding guidelines (PDF, 1.7MB)
• Indigenous Workforce and Skills Development Grant – frequently asked questions (PDF, 383KB)
• Indigenous Workforce and Skills Development Grant – guide to applying for funding (PDF, 1.1MB)
• Indigenous Workforce and Skills Development Grant – program fact sheet (PDF, 385KB)

Applications for the 2022–23 funding round closed 4 May 2023 – view the funded projects list (XLSX, 20KB).

Contact us

For general enquiries about the Indigenous Workforce and Skills Development Grant program, email iwsdg@desbt.qld.gov.au or phone 1300 369 935.

For specific enquiries about your application, contact your local DESBT regional office.