Aboriginal Community Grants

Aboriginal Community Grants are available to schools, not-for-profit community organisations and volunteer-run community groups to work in partnership with the City of Melbourne to support the following actions:

• Provide opportunities which support cultural, social and economic development for Aboriginal Victorians.
• Provide education to the broader community about Victorian Aboriginal heritage and culture.
• Promote community understanding of reconciliation as part of National Reconciliation Week .
• Explore and deliver opportunities for truth-telling to facilitate learning, healing, and change within the City of Melbourne municipality.
• Engage with Aboriginal cultures and histories by celebrating and recognising NAIDOC Week / Sorry Day / January 26. 

Key dates

• Applications are now closed.
• Notifications of outcomes will be sent in November/December.

Eligibility criteria

To be eligible to apply for funding through Aboriginal Community Grants, applications must meet the following criteria:

• Applicants must be a not-for-profit constituted body or a school. Auspiced applications are permitted in this program.
• Applicants must be located within, or be running the project within, the City of Melbourne municipality. You can view or download the City of Melbourne boundary map.  
• Applications must have a focus on City of Melbourne’s local communities and/or communities that are considered vulnerable.  
• Activities must take place by 31 July 2026.
• Projects funded through Aboriginal Community Grants are eligible for a maximum of two consecutive years funding.

For detailed eligibility criteria, please refer to the guidelines.

Guidelines

For full details about the 2025–26 grants, including the assessment criteria and other necessary information, read the guidelines below. 

​Application assistance

If you have any questions about the program or would like advice regarding your application, please email aboriginalmelbourne@melbourne.vic.gov.au​

If you are unable to complete the application form online due to access issues or difficulty using technology, please contact us at aboriginalmelbourne@melbourne.vic.gov.au ​or phone: 03 9658 9658 and we will discuss how we can help you to complete the forms.