Caring for our Country

Funding

Community Coastcare - frequently asked questions

Community Coastcare general queries

Who is eligible to apply?

You must be a legal entity to be eligible to apply for Community Coastcare grants. Eligible entities include:

State or Territory government entities are only eligible to apply for larger-scale projects up to $250,000. Please note: You cannot apply for new funding if you are an applicant or sponsor that has an overdue final report and/or acquittal for previous Commonwealth Natural Heritage Trust or National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality funding, including Envirofund and Coastal Catchments Initiative projects.

Our school is registered on the ABR website as a state government entity. Can we apply for funding?

Yes. Schools (both private and public) are eligible to apply for funding through Community Coastcare even though the institution is registered as a state government entity on the ABR website.

Do I need a sponsor?

If you are not an incorporated body or a legal entity, you must nominate a legal entity, such as the local government, regional natural resource management body or an incorporated community group as your sponsoring organisation. Individuals, partnerships or trusts are not eligible to sponsor a Community Coastcare application.

You and your sponsor should agree on the arrangement for the distribution of the project funds. For example, you both may decide that the sponsor will pass the funds directly to the applicant, or that the sponsor will retain the funds and pay suppliers directly.

Can my local government apply on my behalf?

You may ask a local government agency to sponsor your application if you are not an incorporated group or legal entity. We also encourage you to form partnerships with your local council and other groups who can assist you with your project activities and contribute to the project either with cash or in-kind.

What is the role and responsibility of the sponsoring organisation?

If your organisation sponsors a project, it will have contractual and administrative responsibilities.

The sponsoring organisation becomes the proponent and will enter into a contract with the Australian Government. By signing the contract you will receive the project funding and become legally responsible for the project under the terms of the contract.

A sponsoring organisation must be a legal entity and must provide the signatures of two representatives on the project application form. The representatives of the sponsoring organisation who sign the application form must be authorised to bind the organisation. A sponsoring organisation can sponsor more than one application.

The responsibilities of the sponsoring organisation in regard to keeping appropriate accounting records, monitoring the activities and results of the project, and submitting the final report within the specified timeframe are the same as those of an unsponsored applicant.

Who is the proponent?

The proponent is the group or individual that enters into a contract with the Australian Government and receives and administers the Community Coastcare project funding. Where there is a sponsor, the sponsor is the proponent. The applicant is the proponent where there is no sponsor and provided the applicant is a legal entity.

How much funding is available for Community Coastcare in 2008?

Up to $20 million is available for Community Coastcare in 2008. We are seeking the best mix of proposals between small and larger-scale grants within that amount.

The application

How much funding can I apply for?

Community Coastcare will provide two levels of funding:

Both small and larger-scale projects are required to contribute to the Caring for our Country national priorities. However, larger-scale projects requesting up to $250 000 must demonstrate they will make a substantial contribution to national priorities in areas of high conservation value, such as nationally significant coastal wetlands, and deliver substantial outcomes in terms of improved water quality, rehabilitation and/or protection of nationally significant coastal zones and coastal hotspots for water quality and biodiversity.

Proposals requesting funding up to $50,000 will be assessed against other small grant applications and larger-scale grant applications will be assessed against others requesting up to $250,000.

How many applications can I submit?

There are no limits to the number of Community Coastcare applications an applicant or sponsor may submit. However, where an applicant or sponsor submits a number of similar applications, the collection of projects may be assessed competitively against other larger-scale projects rather than as individual small grant applications.

How much detail should I put in the budget?

All budget items should be reasonable and justifiable. You should include justification to support the costs indicated in the budget.

You must ensure that all project costs are included in the budget. The value for money of an application will be assessed on the budget requested and the other contributions indicated. If permits or licenses, or cultural heritage searches or surveys, will be required as part of the project then you must ensure that all of these costs are incorporated into the budget.

You can show other contributions to the project in the budget table, including cash and in-kind support from the applicant, sponsor, other community groups, local businesses, state or local governments, regional bodies or other community organisations.

Please note that there will be no opportunity to request additional Community Coastcare funding for items that were not included within the original application budget. Ensure that all budget calculations are correct as any errors will be the responsibility of the applicant and there will be no further Community Coastcare funding to account for these errors.

All costs must include GST. This is normally included in the price that a supplier quotes, so you will not need to add an extra amount. Do not put GST as a separate line item.

Do I need to provide multiple budgets for multiple sites?

No. You should provide one budget with your application that provides justification to support the entire costs of the project activities.

Applications for projects that will be undertaken in one location or on adjacent sites may be considered more cost effective, potentially providing greater environmental outcomes than a series of projects across a number of different sites, particularly where the application does not demonstrate good linkages between sites or justification for the dispersed activities. For example, weeding and revegetation for the rehabilitation of an entire foreshore might be considered a better environmental outcome than weeding in one area of the foreshore where the control of weeds from adjacent sites has not been addressed.

What do you mean by value for money?

All costs indicated within the project budget should be reasonable and justified. Provide evidence to support the costs with your application in the form of a quote, invoice or a description of how costs were estimated.

You should demonstrate that the chosen methodology is the most cost effective option. For example, fencing and revegetating a sand dune may be more cost effective than reshaping the foreshore with earthmoving equipment, and may be just as effective as an erosion control measure.

As value for money and demonstrated high public benefit are Community Coastcare assessment criteria, the extent of other cash and in-kind contributions to a project, including from the applicant and sponsor, will be considered in the grant assessment and its competitiveness against other applications. Funding may be offered above the level of the applicant contribution, particularly where the environmental outcomes are high and the applicant has made a genuine effort to offer a reasonable level of in-kind or cash contribution.

Do I need to provide quotes?

You do not have to provide quotes for all budget items. However, all costs indicated within the project budget should be reasonable and justified. You should provide evidence to support the costs with your application in the form of a quote, invoice or a description of how costs were estimated. For further details regarding budget components and how to complete the project budget see the

I can't get all of the landholders' signatures, what should I do?

You should ensure that the application is complete and all signatures and other attachments have been received by the closing date for applications 5pm on Friday 25 July 2008. If you are unable to provide all signatures on the signature page of the application, the agreement from the land holder or land manager may be provided as a copy of an email or other correspondence. However, funding will not be paid until all land holder or land manager signatures have been received. Please note that incomplete applications may not be assessed.

What is the EPBC Act?

The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (the EPBC Act) is the Australian Government's central piece of environmental legislation. It provides a legal framework to protect and manage nationally and internationally important flora, fauna, ecological communities and heritage places defined in the Act as matters of national environmental significance.

Project activities

What is considered to be a coastal site?

Community Coastcare project activities may target all coastal environments including intertidal zones, beaches, dune ecosystems, estuaries and coastal wetlands, islands and reefs and coastal vegetation. For the purpose of applying for Community Coastcare funding, coastal environments also include coastal waters and those areas immediately landwards of coastal waters where there are processes or activities that affect the coast and its values.

Community Coastcare grants are designed to support communities to undertake coastal protection and rehabilitation projects. If a project is located in-land but it can be demonstrated that there are strong coastal impacts involved in undertaking the proposed works, the project may be successful for funding.

The Community Coastcare Overview fact sheet provides further information about project types.

What sort of activities can I undertake?

Activity types that could be undertaken for small grants of up to $50 000 and larger-scale grants up to $250 000 may include:

In addition to the activities and outcomes described above, applications for larger-scale grants must also demonstrate a substantial contribution to national priorities in areas of high conservation value, such as nationally significant coastal wetlands.

Applications for larger-scale projects in identified coastal hotspot areas must clearly identify the matter of national environmental significance and the key threatening process or processes to be addressed. Larger-scale projects must also demonstrate a substantial contribution to the protection of matters of national environmental significance, threatened species and ecological communities. For further details on the different levels of grant funding and relevant activity requirements see:

What can I fence?

Fencing to protect and preserve habitat and ecosystems, manage access to coastal areas, stabilising dunes and prevent coastal erosion, or control stock access to watercourses to protect streamside habitat and improve water quality, are some of the eligible activities of the Community Coastcare.

What do you mean by watercourses?

A watercourse is any river, creek, stream, spring or wetland in which water can be expected to flow naturally.

I have already protected a watercourse from stock; can I still apply for funding for water infrastructure?

In certain circumstances, you may be able to apply for the funding of water infrastructure if you can demonstrate that you were responsible for protecting the watercourse. You will, however, have to be able to explain why your proposal is the only method of achieving the intended outcome and that the proposal is the most cost effective option. Evidence of expert or technical advice will be favourably considered. Where expert or technical advice is provided, it should be from an independent source (i.e. not a contractor undertaking the work). You should get your expert or technical adviser to complete the pro-forma letter of support and forward this with your application.

Do the species of plants need to be native to the area?

Yes. Community Coastcare prefers activities that use local native species of plants in favour of projects which involve the use of non-native species. If you propose to plant non-native species, your application must explain why these plants are necessary to your project, why a local native alternative cannot be used and what the environmental and sustainable land management outcomes will be.

How do I find out if the species of plants are native to my area?

You should seek advice from a regional natural resource management body, local nursery, Coastcare or Landcare group or another local expert for advice on the best revegetation methods and species mix for your area.

Can I use advanced tube stock to help establish some of the plantings?

In some cases, advanced tube stock can provide a quicker solution and provide protection to smaller plants while they are establishing. You should seek advice from groups such as your regional natural resource management body, local nursery, Coastcare or Landcare group or another local expert for advice on the best revegetation methods and species mix for your area.

Do you recommend a minimum planting width for wildlife corridors?

The effectiveness of a wildlife corridor is greatly attributed to its width and will depend on the particular terrain. It is generally accepted that a corridor of 30 metres width and a range of species has a higher quality of habitat, provides more protection from predators, increases the area for foraging and reduces wind erosion. To maximise the effectiveness of plantings intended as wildlife corridors, plantings should be a minimum of 30 metres wide.

Large-scale grants up to $250 000

What information must I provide in my application for a larger-scale grant up to $250 000?

You should complete the same Community Coastcare application form whether you are applying for a small grant up to $50,000 or a larger-scale grant up to $250,000. However, if you are applying for a larger-scale grant you should include further information in your application describing how your project will contribute to the protection of matters of national environmental significance, threatened species and/or ecological communities; improve resilience of biodiversity, contribute to the management of aquatic ecological values of coastal stiles; and how your project relates to existing local/regional/state environmental plans and threat management responses.

My project site is not in a listed priority coastal hotspot location - can I apply for a larger-scale grant up to $250,000?

Yes. If your site is under pressure but is not listed as a priority coastal hotspot, you can still apply for a larger-scale grant.

Larger-scale projects must deliver substantial outcomes in terms of improved water quality, rehabilitation and/or protection of biodiversity. If your site fulfils some of these criteria it may still be considered for a larger scale grant. Your application will be assessed more favourably if it fulfils one or more of the criteria outlined in the Community Coastcare grant types fact sheet.

What are matters of national environmental significance?

Matters of National Environmental Significance (NES) are defined by the Commonwealth's environment protection legislation (the Environment Protection Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999) and include:

What is a key threatening process?

A key threatening process threatens or may threaten the survival, abundance or evolutionary development of a native species or ecological community. The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 provides for the identification and listing of key threatening processes.

Where do I find local/state/regional planning documents?

Planning documents can be accessed by contacting the relevant state and local agencies.

What are the major issues in my priority coastal hotspot location?

Further details about each of the currently identified priority coastal hotspot locations including linkages to Water Quality Improvement Plans, Ecological Character Descriptions, Ramsar sites, Ramsar management plans and other documents where available electronically are available on our priority coastal hotspots page.

Seeking advice

What are the Cultural Heritage requirements?

Indigenous places are a unique, irreplaceable part of Australia's heritage and we must ensure that activities do not unwittingly affect the values and importance of these places to Indigenous people. In the planning and preparation of your project you should liaise with local indigenous communities who can provide local advice and assist you to develop your project.

Heritage legislation across Australia recognises that Indigenous Australians are major stakeholders in the management and protection of Australia's cultural heritage. As a part of developing your application, you have a duty of care to ensure that the project complies with State, Territory and Australian Government legislation to protect these values. In most cases this will involve a search of registered sites databases maintained under State and Territory legislation. On-ground projects may also require approvals or permits from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander site authorities. Your local Heritage Agency can advise you on whether this is required. Some agencies charge a small fee to undertake a search, which you should include in your project budget.

A list of National, State and Territory Heritage Contacts is located in the Community Coastcare Heritage fact sheet.

How do I get in touch with my local Indigenous community?

Involvement of Indigenous people during the development of projects and in subsequent project activity can be a valuable aspect of Community Coastcare projects, whether the project is on public or private land. Indigenous consultation during the planning process may involve sending a copy of the proposal to the local Indigenous organisation or discussing the proposed activities and location.

We encourage you to invite representatives of the local Indigenous community organisation to visit the proposed project site during preparation of the application. Indigenous people may be able to provide advice on plants and animals, the geography and history of the area, and how to protect sites of significance. It is important to ensure both men and women with rights and interests in the area are identified because men and women may be responsible for different heritage places and values.

The Native Title Representative Bodies  in your state/territory, or a Caring for our Country facilitator, can assist you to determine which local Indigenous organisation to contact.

You should also consult Ask First: A guide to respecting Indigenous heritage places and values  for guidance before you apply for funding.

Do I need technical advice?

Evidence of expert or technical advice will be favourably considered. Where expert or technical advice is provided, it should be from an independent source (i.e. not a contractor who would be undertaking the work). You should get your expert or technical adviser to complete the pro-forma letter of support and forward this with your application.

After proposals have been submitted

I have submitted an application - now what happens?

Applications will be assessed by a community-based grants review panel, who may also consider technical advice from Indigenous and environmental experts. The grants review panel will make recommendations to the Ministers for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts, the Hon. Peter Garrett AM, and for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, the Hon. Tony Burke MP. Ministers will make funding decisions and announce successful projects in late 2008.

Will all grants be assessed against each other?

No. Small grants will be assessed against other small grants up to $50 000 and larger-scale grants will be assessed against other larger-scale grants up to $250 000.

When can I start my project?

If you are successful you could anticipate commencing project activities in January 2009. Successful applicants or sponsors will receive a contract which must be signed and returned before the project can commence. Any conditions of funding (which are set out in the contract) must also be met before the funding can be paid and the project commence.

When will the funding be in the bank?

Project funding will be paid when the contract is signed and returned and all conditions of funding set out in the contract are met. Funding will usually be paid within four weeks of receiving the completed documents. You will receive a recipient created tax invoice once your payment has been processed.

How long do I have to complete the project?

Projects that receive up to $50 000 must be completed within 18 months. The project does not necessarily have to last for 18 months and you may find that you are able to complete the project activities in less time.

Larger-scale projects (receiving up to $250 000) have 24 months for completion.

Community Coastcare fact sheets

Further information

Other sources of funding

Key

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