Vanuatu-Australia Community Grants Program

The Vanuatu-Australia Community Grants program is a new, small grants program administered by the Australian High Commission in Port Vila, Vanuatu. It builds on the legacy of the Direct Aid Program, which the High Commission delivered over the past decade, and is designed to support community-led projects that improve quality of life. We strongly encourage applications for projects that would benefit disadvantaged groups including women, youths, those with disabilities, and those from isolated communities.

Applicants may apply for projects that take up to one year to complete. The Australian High Commission does not fund projects above VUV4,700,000.

Who can Apply?

Communities, individuals, local registered NGOs, academic institutions or other organisations engaged in development activities in Vanuatu. Projects should preferably originate from communities. It is important that communities demonstrate their support of the project, and should ideally be involved in its design, development and implementation. Funding is not available to any projects where there is government involvement, including provincial governments.

How much can I apply for? 

The Australian High Commission funds projects up to VUV4,700,000.

What activities are eligible for support? 

Applications should primarily aim to achieve practical and tangible outcomes of high development impact.

We will favourably consider projects that: 

• are located in disadvantaged rural areas 
• support communities to become self-reliant 
• have a significant local contribution, for example labour, materials, freight or additional financial contributions made by the community 

This year, we welcome applications under two key streams:

• The Community Infrastructure stream will primarily support small-scale community projects that seek to achieve practical and tangible outcomes of high development impact for communities. We welcome applications in the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) sector (including innovative solutions such as solar water panels and composting toilet designs), along with high impact community infrastructure such as school or community playgrounds, market houses, cooperatives, solar lighting (including in schools and market houses), climate change mitigation infrastructure and sports facilities. We also welcome applications for items such as cement, for retrofitting existing community buildings to make them more accessible. We will prioritise projects which support disadvantaged and vulnerable groups, including people with disabilities, women and children.
• The Decentralisation Fund stream facilitates the procurement of high‑quality equipment appropriate for community use for preparing for and responding to natural disasters. This could include community-owned gardening, land clearing, basic building and repair, food storage, food preservation and storage related items. Applicants would need to demonstrate how the tools will benefit the community, and how the assets will be maintained. We also fund sporting equipment and uniforms.

We will generally NOT fund the following: 

• commercial ventures (except if profit generated flows to the community rather than an individual or family) 
• trucks and other vehicles
• boats and outboard motor engines
• spare parts or maintenance and repairs
• wages for project workers
• travel (domestic or international)
• office rental costs, telephones or any routine or recurring running costs
• school/course fees
• government offices (including provincial governments)
• promotional events

Expectations for accountability, transparency and reporting 

We require a high degree of transparency and accountability in all projects. Applications must demonstrate that the risk of wastage, administration costs and other costs not delivering direct benefit to the target community will be minimised.   

Should your project be successful, you will be required to: 

• sign a contract specifying the terms and conditions of the grant
• keep full financial records of all expenditure, including receipts
• submit a progress report within six months of receiving your funding
• submit a final report at the project’s completion
• allow and facilitate a visit by Australian High Commission representatives to the project site.