Open call for ACCAN Grants Program – Australia

The Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) Grants Program (the Program) is administered as part of the funding agreement with the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts (the Department), to fund projects that help achieve the aim.

Aims

• They seek to help consumers navigate the communications market, and to establish a sound body of evidence for consumer representation and advocacy. The Program is designed to:
  • support ACCAN’s ongoing consumer education objective;
  • represent and maintain diverse consumer interests at the core of policy developments and industry initiatives; and
  • support the provision of well researched, evidence-based input into government and industry consultations.

Priority Themes

These priorities are selected by ACCAN after consultation with key stakeholders and may change each Round.

• Reliable, resilient and robust infrastructure
  • informing policy settings that provide for reliable, resilient and robust infrastructure, including improving the coverage, capacity and reliability of regional, rural and remote infrastructure.
• Digital inclusion
  • supporting consumers who may face barriers to being digitally included. E.g.:
    • those experiencing domestic and family violence
    • people with disability
    • regional, rural and remote consumers
    • First Nations Australians
    • young consumers
    • people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds
    • older Australians
• Connecting the community
  • examining barriers to getting and staying connected, regardless of location, particularly for people who may face digital exclusion due to a lack of affordable access to communications services. For example, people who are:
    • experiencing homelessness
    • renting
    • residents of caravan parks
    • residents of social, affordable and public housing
    • in residential villages or aged care
    • living in supported accommodation for people with disability
• Consumer protections and a fairer telco market
  • Projects that help consumers to engage confidently in the communications market and/or drive strengthened consumer protections. For example, exploring issues relating to:
    • financial hardship
    • credit assessment
    • domestic and family violence
• Frontiers in technology-facilitated consumer harm
  • Projects that identify emerging issues and support the development of forward looking policy settings, including in relation to technology-facilitated abuse.
• Accessible roadmap
  • Projects that inform the Ideal Accessible Communications Roadmap to deliver a fully accessible communications sector.

Streams

• Education & Representation Stream
  • Your project qualifies under this Stream if:
    • the bulk of your work is consumer education and/or representation; and
    • the lead applicant is from the community sector, or your application demonstrates strong and genuine community sector partnership.
  • Education projects might develop consumer education tools, conduct workshops or peer education initiatives to address systemic or emerging communications consumer issues.
  • Representation projects may undertake advocacy or representation of the interests of consumers in relation to communications issues.
• Research Stream
  • Your project qualifies under this Stream if:
    • the bulk of your work is consumer-focused research; and
    • it addresses one or more of this year’s Priority Themes

Funding Available

• Applicants can apply for up to $100,000 per project.
• Approximately $270,000 is available for distribution.

Project Durations

• The maximum duration for a project is 2 years.
  • Projects can begin after 1 July 2024.
  • Projects must be complete and acquitted by 30 June 2026.
• All projects need to demonstrate they are appropriate in length to the activity proposed and may span any period within the above timeframe.
• Short projects, for example of 6 months or less, are welcomed.

Eligibility Criteria

• Applications must:
  • Be for a project that seeks to explore communications consumer issues in Australia and be consistent with ACCAN’s scope.
  • If applying under the Education and Representation Stream, be from a community sector applicant, or demonstrate a strong community sector partnership.
  • If applying under the Research Stream, address one or more of the Priority Themes.
  • Be for a project that begins after 1st July 2024 and that is completed before 30th June 2026.
  • Be able to provide a valid ABN in the Applicant’s name.
  • Declare that should they be successful they will provide evidence of Public Liability Insurance with coverage up to $5 million.
  • Have successfully acquitted any previous funding under the ACCAN Grants.
• Any person or entity with an ABN is able to apply. This may include community organisations, businesses, universities, research agencies, local councils or individuals. The majority of the applicants come from the community sector and universities.
• Partnerships
  • They encourage applications from individuals or groups that have formed partnerships, especially projects partnering with the communications industry and/or community organisations promoting communications issues.
  • When multiple individuals or organisations are involved, one party is nominated as the applicant (the entity with which ACCAN will enter into contract), while the others are listed as partners.

For more information, visit Commonwealth Department of Communications.