DACS grants
The Australian Government administers grants under the DACS Fund for activities that respond to existing and emerging challenges in aged care, including:
- dementia care
- better support services targeting people from diverse social and cultural backgrounds
- special measures for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Open processes are advertised on GrantConnect. Information on how the Department of Health and Aged Care manages grants is available on our grants and tenders page.
What are grants funding rounds?
The DACS Fund is appropriated approximately $377.0 million (GST exclusive) over 4 years to 30 June 2028.
The majority of this funding is distributed through grant funding rounds.
DACS grants funding rounds can be through:
- an open competitive selection process — open to all providers operating in the market place
- a restricted competitive selection process — open to a small number of potential applicants, based on the activity or project’s special requirements
- a direct selection process — a closed process where we approach an existing provider to expand their services
- an expression of interest (EOI) process — where we call for potential applicants, then run a restricted or direct selection process
- unsolicited proposals — an applicant can send us a proposal outside of the above processes, which we can make special provision for if it fills a specific need.
Open competitive selections and EOIs are advertised on GrantConnect and other sources as required.
We assess eligible applications against set assessment criteria and in the timeframe outlined in the grant round documentation.
These criteria are in the grant opportunity guidelines, which are published with the grant opportunity.
What you can use grants for
To be considered for funding, the activities in the application must meet the aims, objectives and priorities for DACS and comply with our terms.
You cannot use grants for:
- costs incurred in preparing a grant application or related documentation
- overseas travel
- other activities the Australian Government is already delivering.
Full details of what you can and can’t use grants for will be in the grant opportunity guidelines.
Current grant funding round
If we are running an open grant funding process or EOI, you will find it on GrantConnect.