Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment Services – Grant guidelines (GO7025)

Alcohol & Other Drug Treatment Services – Grant Opportunity Guidelines (GO7025) for Ceduna, Bundaberg-Hervey Bay, East Kimberley & the Goldfields: A summary of key information for applicants

This is a summary of key information about a grant opportunity for funding in the regions of Ceduna (SA), Bundaberg-Hervey Bay (QLD), East Kimberley & the Goldfields (WA).

For full details of what’s involved and how to apply, please refer to the published Guidelines for this grant opportunity (GO7025) at www.grants.gov.au.

The Department of Health and Aged Care acknowledges the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the lands we are standing on today. We pay our respects to elders past, present and emerging. We extend this acknowledgement and respect to any Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples viewing this presentation.

We recognise those in our communities with lived experience of mental illness drug and alcohol use and suicide. We acknowledge those who love and care for them.

We understand it takes time to apply for a grant. Application guidelines and forms can be hard to understand.

This presentation provides some important elements of this grant opportunity, such as:

• the purpose of the grant funding
• the definition and role of a brokerage organisation
• what is meant by a community design plan
• what funding is available, when it will be received, and
• who can apply.

If you have more questions after viewing this presentation, please let us know by sending an email to grant.atm@health.gov.au.

Any responses to your questions will be published on Grant Connect for everyone to access.

So, what’s it all about? The goal of the Drug and Alcohol Program is to achieve better health and social outcomes for individuals, families and communities affected or at risk of being affected by alcohol and other drug (AOD) use.

What’s the objective of this grant?

This is to address gaps in alcohol and other drug treatment services in the four regions of Ceduna, Bundaberg-Hervey Bay, East Kimberley and the Goldfields.

We’ll do this by increasing access to evidence-based, culturally safe and appropriate AOD treatment and support services. Increasing the AOD workforce capacity and resource capacity of non-government AOD treatment and support services with a focus on employment, education and training and retention of local First Nations staff and increasing awareness of AOD related harms to encourage people to get help and treatment when they need it.

This will also be done by reducing the harms associated with alcohol and other drug use on individuals, families and communities including the stigma associated with seeking AOD treatment that prevents people accessing the help they need.

How are we going to get there? 

By selecting four BROKERAGE ORGANISATIONS who will:

PARTNER with the four regions on the design, decision making and management of funding for alcohol and other drug treatment activities. 

What is a Brokerage Organisation?

A suitable Brokerage Organisation is a locally based organisation that has a good understanding of the AOD issues on the ground.

It's an organisation with strong local connections and ability to work in partnership with community organisations to design a plan of AOD treatment activities in their specific region. It’s an organisation that is has strong managerial capacity and is culturally safe.

It may be an organisation currently operating as a brokerage organisation, 

It may be, or have a partnership with an Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisation or another local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisation with a significant role in the delivery of programs.

What does a Brokerage Organisation do?

The four Brokerage Organisations will:

• develop a community design plan of alcohol and other drug (AOD) treatment related activities in partnership with relevant community stakeholders in each region;
• manage a grant opportunity to fund suitable organisations to deliver the AOD treatment activities identified in the Community Design Plan, in consultation with the department and in alignment with the Commonwealth Grant Rules and Guidelines (CGRGs).
• manage funding agreements with organisations who are delivering the activities in their region.

What outcomes will the community funding support?

Community Funding will support:

• improved access to needs based, community led, holistic and culturally safe AOD treatment and related programs and services in the four regions; 
• activities to reduce harms associated with AOD use in the four regions; 
• access to safe and accessible AOD treatment services through fit-for-purpose health infrastructure; and 
• recruitment and retention of health professionals, especially of First Nations staff.

Who is the funding for?

The funding is for AOD treatment related services to deliver alcohol and other drug (AOD) treatment activities included in the community design plans of the four regions of Ceduna, Bundaberg-Hervey Bay, East Kimberley and the Goldfields.

A portion of the total grant funds will go directly to each of the Brokerage Organisations to support their role in managing the funding to the four regions in line with the Commonwealth Grant Rules and Guidelines (CGRGs).

NOTE: Brokerage Organisations will receive some administrative funds for their role in helping design and manage the project, but will not be eligible for funding as AOD treatment service providers themselves.

In summary, the successful applicants for the role of brokerage organisation will have a big role to play in leading the design and funding of AOD Treatment service activities in their communities.

The Brokerage Organisations will receive financial support for their role (such as expenses to develop the community design plan) but are not eligible to receive funding as AOD treatment service delivery organisations.

When assessed as suitable, Brokerage Organisations will enter into a grant agreement with the department, and this will be managed by the Community Grants Hub.

How much money will each BROKERAGE ORGANISATION receive? 

Up to $1.2million (GST Exclusive) will be delivered to each Brokerage Organisation to support costs associated with their role for the duration of the grant period.

You will have a grant agreement with the department that will outline the activities associated with your role. 

A full list of these activities is provided in Section 5.1 of the Grant Opportunity Guidelines (or GOGs).

What can the Brokerage Organisation use this money for?

Brokerage Organisations will fulfil mainly administrative functions over the project period. For instance, things like:

• partnering with AOD related stakeholders to develop a community design plan for the region where it is based (for instance, meeting room hire, transport and communication costs)
• employing support staff such as an independent grants liaison officer who can help organisations with their funding applications;
• building the cultural capability and administrative capacity of its staff
• administering a grant opportunity for funding distribution to community organisations to implement the design plan.

These kinds of expenses will be listed in the grant agreement between the brokerage organisations and the department. 

More information is provided in Section 5.1 and 5.3 of the GOGs.

Who will support the Brokerage Organisations in this work? 

Throughout the project, Brokerage Organisations will be supported by the department. 

The best form of support will be decided between the department and the Brokerage Organisations themselves and included in grant agreements.

This may mean there are regular meetings, both in person and online, and grant agreements may include details of how and when these things would happen. 

Having supportive arrangements in place, will help the department and Brokerage Organisations build a strong working relationship.

The department can help ensure the activities align with legislation and grant processes.

This will also help the department strengthen its understanding of the local AOD challenges in each community and how to better respond to AOD treatment needs.

Local organisations will be supported to take the lead on design and delivery of outcomes, as intended under the National Agreement on Closing the Gap.

The community design plan is an opportunity to involve local stakeholders in the AOD treatment activities in response to their local needs. 

Community Design is an approach to planning that empowers local stakeholders make decision on issues that affect them, and help make sure the plan of activities meet their needs.

It involves partnering with local community organisations and the users or target group of the services including First Nations communities, so they have an active role in the design of the activities that impact them.

The department will arrange a briefing for the selected Brokerage Organisations to explain the underlying principles, the process and expectations of the Community Design Plan prior to commencement.  A definition of community-design is included in Section 15: Glossary

How much money will each region receive for AOD treatment related activities?

The total amount of funding of up to $49.256 million (GST Exclusive) is expected to be fairly evenly split across the four regions over approximately three years, however the final budgets for implementation of the Community Design Plans in each region may differ slightly.

See Section 3.1 of the Grant Opportunity Guidelines for more details on funding.

Can we use the funding for infrastructure projects? 

Yes. Funds can be utilised to contribute to major capital works / infrastructure, as well as minor capital works / infrastructure.

• A definition of minor and major capital works is provided in the GLOSSARY at Section 15 of the Grant Opportunity Guidelines. 
• Consideration of costs identified for ongoing maintenance will be made during the assessment of applications.

As discussed, applicants can apply to be one of four Brokerage Organisations (one per region).

Once selected, these Brokerage Organisations will enter into a funding agreement with the Australian Government. 

The Brokerage Organisations will then start work to facilitate the Community Design Plan of AOD treatment related activities in partnership with their local communities over a period of three (3) months.

Once the community design plans have been completed and approved by the department, the Brokerage Organisations will manage a grant opportunity for local organisations to apply for and receive funding to implement the plans they have developed within the community design.

Brokerage Organisations will provide guidelines to community organisations on how to apply for funding to implement activities in the Community Design Plan.

The funds provided to each community can only be used for activities that are identified in the Community Design Plans.

Successful grant applicants will enter into a grant agreement with their local Brokerage Organisation to implement their projects.

Funding to the community organisations will be provided over the duration of the project period.

This flow chart also helps explain these steps.

[This is a flowchart diagram of the three main stages of the grant delivery: 1. Select & establish agreements with the Brokerage Organisations, 2. Develop a Community Design Plan  of AOD treatment activities 3. Brokerage Organisations manage Grant Opportunity to deliver the Community Design Plan”].

What are the next steps for applicants? 

1. Check the eligibility criteria to see if you can apply. If in doubt, send an email as directed to Grant.ATM@health.gov.au.
2. Read through the Grant Opportunity Guidelines and the Frequently Asked Questions to find out if you’re eligible to apply or if your questions have been answered.
3. Complete your application on the templates that are provided for you and submit your application and required attachments by the due date.
4. Make sure you answer all the assessment criteria in order to be considered suitable for this role as a Brokerage Organisation.
5. Make a start on your application as soon as possible so you can clarify questions and be ready to submit by the due date and time.

Make a start on your application as soon as possible so it can be ready by the due date.

Don't forget, if you have any more questions about the grant, technical issues or process during the application period, please email Grant.ATM@health.gov.au. 

The department will respond to emailed questions within three working days. 

If you have technical problems using GrantConnect, you can call the GrantConnect Helpdesk:

Phone: 1300 484 145 or Email: GrantConnect@finance.gov.au 

Thank you for your interest in this important grant opportunity.

The Australian Government is committed to reducing the impact and harms of alcohol and other drug use on these communities and recognises the importance of working in partnership with community organisations and the AOD sector to reduce these impacts. 

We look forward to working together on localised approaches to fund alcohol and other drug treatment activities that complement existing services, address service delivery gaps, and are consistent with the needs and expectations of the communities.