Open call funding

Eligibility requirements

Caring for our Country is available to legal entities for work that will contribute to achieving one or more of the Caring for our Country targets.

Eligibility criteria

To be eligible for Caring for our Country investment you must meet all of the following:

• be a legal entity. If your organisation is not a legal entity you will need to partner with an organisation that is. In broad terms, a legal entity is an organisation that can legally enter into a contract
• clearly identify in your application which targets you seek to address
• have, or be able to obtain before agreed commencement, all necessary planning, regulatory or other approvals, to ensure all activities are completed by 30 June 2013
• have no overdue reports or acquittals from previous Australian Government funding
• have the agreement of the lead partner organisation and key partner organisations to submit the application (for example, chief executive officer of the company, president of the community group, chief executive of the government department).

Individual targets may have additional specific eligibility requirements, including ineligible activities. The relevant target information in section 2 details any additional specific criteria. Applicants for projects under the Sustainable Farm Practices and Coastal Environments and Critical Aquatic Habitats priority areas should also refer to the information sheets available for additional eligibility requirements.

Exclusions and ineligible activities

Caring for our Country funding is not available for:

• activities that cannot be completed by 30 June 2013
• activities that fail to deliver against one or more targets
• activities that have a significant negative impact on any matter of national environmental significance under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999
• the introduction of plants, animals or other biological agents known to be, or that could become, environmental or agricultural weeds or pests
• activities that are not considered good value for money or integral to achieving project outcomes
• activities that are the core responsibility or business of state/territory/local governments and land managers/farmers/fishers
• activities that are the legislative and regulatory responsibility of others, such as managing or controlling certain weeds or compliance activities
• activities that are inconsistent with key national, state, territory or regional natural resource management strategies or plans
• retrospective activities—activities that have been undertaken before the signing of Caring for our Country contracts, with the exception of land purchased in the past two years that is proposed for inclusion in the National Reserve System
• the direct subsidisation of commercial activities, business start-up or where the primary purpose is commercial gain
• activities that are more appropriately funded by other initiatives or programs such as the Australian Government's Water, Future and Australia's Farming Future and the Clean Energy Future plan.
• water use efficiency, water savings, water quantity activities, development and implementation of water sharing plans such as those that are eligible under the Australian Government's Water for the Future Program
• major water infrastructure such as large salt interception or engineering works
• large capital works that do not directly achieve the targets, such as the construction of buildings and car parks
• public amenity projects where the primary purpose is for recreation, safety, or tourism including toilet blocks and amenity plantings
• administration or legal costs other than those directly related to the delivery of the project
• activities outside Australia.