Call for Submissions: Women in Industry Grant Program (Australia)

The purpose of this WII grants program is to support women to enter, remain, succeed and lead in male-dominated industries by providing funds towards projects that:

• challenge entrenched gender bias, negative attitudes and behaviours towards women
• change recruitment, retention, and upskilling practices to be more inclusive of women
• improve practices and policy to increase respect, and ensure safety for women
• challenge structural barriers that inhibit women from staying or advancing in industry
• increase the overall industry participation of women (on tools and in leadership) and
• progress leadership development and increase the representation of women in senior leadership roles.

Funding Information

• A total of $625,000 is available in 2024 for Women in Industry grants.
• The WII grants program aims to address this diversity by offering two funding categories:
  • Category 1: Up to $150,000 to deliver longer-term organisational and/or industry change projects designed to reduce barriers and increase inclusion, workplace safety, respect, and advancement for women. These types of projects may be delivered in partnership with other organisations.
  • Category 2: Up to $20,000 for smaller scale projects and or events to support networking, mentoring programs and leadership development, awareness campaigns, industry career promotion and attraction.
• Projects are to be delivered within 18-months of receipt of grant funding.

Ineligible Funding 

• Items not eligible for funding:
  • purchase of infrastructure, assets and/or capital equipment
  • business-as-usual operating costs of the organisation, or costs not directly related to the project
  • salaries or organisational costs for staff not directly working on the project
  • prizes and/or gifts (e.g. cash giveaways, lucky door prizes, raffle prizes, thank you gifts)
  • interstate and/or overseas travel
  • retrospective costs (i.e. any money spent before the grant is approved)
  • fundraising activities, unless the funds raised are also spent on delivering the project or event
  • acquittal, auditing or reporting costs
  • fees associated with a partnering agreement
  • existing debt or loan repayments.

Eligibility Criteria

• Applications must satisfy the following eligibility criteria.
  • Organisations must currently be working towards or delivering projects – i.e. programs, events, resources – that seek to support women entering, participating in, or to become leaders in male-dominated industries. This may include but is not limited to:
    • Peak advisory bodies (organisations will need to demonstrate their peak body status).
    • Women-led networks in male-dominated industries.
    • Industry driven projects that support and encourage the progression, participation and leadership of women in male-dominated industries.
  • To be eligible for this grant, applicants must:
    • have established operations and/or network in Queensland
    • have an ABN and be registered for GST
    • have an account with an Australian financial institution
    • be in good standing with the Queensland Government and have all necessary financial reporting obligations up to date (with the Office of Fair Trading). N.B. Applicants may be required to provide audited financial statements to ensure financial viability
    • hold or plan to hold appropriate insurances which will cover the period of delivery
    • have a web/online presence (business or organisation website and/or social media pages)
  • Not eligible to apply:
    • State, Territory and Australian Government Agencies such as statutory bodies or government owned corporations
    • Local Government
    • Sole Trader
    • Person

For more information, visit Queensland Government.