Funding to support development of Australia’s defence policy and strategy

First we check that you meet the eligibility criteria. Then we assess your application against the assessment criteria.

The assessment criteria are a set of rules that describe how we must assess each application.

We give each criterion a certain number of points.

All eligible applications will be referred to the Defence-led, cross-agency assessment panel, which will make recommendations to Defence’s Strategic Policy Committee on the grantees and amount of funding to be awarded.

• Assessment criterion 1: Strategic alignment (50 points)
• Assessment criterion 2: Capacity, capability and resources (20 points)
• Assessment criterion 3: Impact of grant funding (15 points)
• Assessment criterion 4: Effective and efficient use of funding (15 points)

The amount of detail and supporting evidence you provide should be relative to the project size, complexity and grant amount requested.

The Deputy Prime Minister as Minister for Defence makes the final decision.

For the purposes of this grant opportunity, a university-based strategic policy centre, institute or think tank may be treated as an organisation, notwithstanding that it may operate under the legal, financial and administrative arrangements of a host university. Such an organisation may rely on the host university's ABN, GST registration, incorporation status and financial administration arrangements. References to an organisation in the grant opportunity guidelines may be taken to refer to the centre, institute or think tank rather than the university as a whole.

Where a university-based strategic policy centre, institute or think tank applies for funding, the requirement to provide Commonwealth board observer status may be satisfied through a dedicated governance, advisory or oversight board established for that centre, institute or think tank. Observer status is not required on the governing body of the host university.

Q: Are TAFEs eligible to apply for funding under the Defence Strategic Policy Research Program?

No. TAFEs are not eligible because they are government-owned training organisations operating under the responsibility of a state or territory government department or statutory authority and receive operating funding.

Q: Why are Commonwealth companies under the Corporations Act 2001 eligible to apply when other Commonwealth, state, territory and local government bodies are ineligible?

Commonwealth companies under the Corporations Act 2001 are included because they operate under a distinct corporate governance framework and may function more like commercial or independent organisations than traditional government agencies. This approach helps avoid the duplication of publicly funded government activities.

Q: Are business-as-usual activities considered the majority of existing work of an organisation? Or does it only apply to the proposed activities under the grant?

The grant opportunity is confined to activities that support the Australian Defence Force (or other defence purposes). The majority of an organisation’s business-as-usual activities must be directed towards the published annual research priorities (see section 2 of the grant opportunity guidelines). The priorities are published on the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet website.

Q: Must the majority requirement be satisfied across the organisation as a whole?

Could an organisation use the grant to establish a new Defence-focused program, provided that the program becomes the majority of the organisation’s overall activities during the grant period, even though this is not the case at the time of application?

Section 2 of the grant opportunity guidelines states that the majority of an organisation’s business-as-usual activities must be directed towards the published priorities. If it is, could an organisation with a broader remit qualify by establishing a clearly defined program whose activities are entirely directed towards Defence priorities?

To be eligible to receive funding under the Defence Strategic Policy Research Program, the majority of an organisation's business-as-usual activities should be directed to supporting the priorities of the Australian Defence Force or other defence purposes, as published by the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.

A subsidiary program would not qualify for funding as this is not considered the majority of an organisation's activities.

Q: If the majority requirement applies to the whole organisation, must that majority already exist at the time of application, or can it be demonstrated prospectively through the organisation’s proposed activities and operating model during the grant period?

So as not to disadvantage new or emerging organisations, the majority can be demonstrated prospectively across the period of the grant and negotiated during the grant agreement process.

Q: How will Defence determine “majority”— for example, through staff time, expenditure, revenue, outputs, or a combination of these?

The majority of an organisation's business-as-usual activities should be directed to supporting the priorities of the Australian Defence Force or other defence purposes as published by the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.

Q: The grant opportunity guidelines refer to "national security policy research priorities". Are these the annual priorities published by the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet? If so, would projects relating to any of those priorities be eligible for funding under this grant opportunity?

Yes. The national security policy research priorities referred to in the grant opportunity guidelines are the annual priorities published by the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. These priorities should be considered through a Defence lens.

Q: Do the annual national security policy research priorities need to relate specifically to defence purposes, or can they relate to any of the published national security priorities?

All national security policy research priorities should be viewed through a Defence lens, with the majority of an organisation’s business-as-usual activities directed towards these priorities.

Q: Does Defence want a populated skills matrix for board members or just the example of the skills matrix that is used?

Section 7.1 of the grant opportunity guidelines requests evidence of a skills matrix.

So as not to disadvantage new or emerging organisations, it is not required for the skills matrix to be populated for the application process.

Q: Is the requirement for risk and governance frameworks defined outside the grant documents?

Section 6.2 of the grant opportunity guidelines assesses your ability to resource, manage and deliver on stated projects and initiatives. This criterion preferences organisations that are able to demonstrate an ability to reduce/limit administrative spending, adopt transparent enterprise policies, and provide adequate governance structures including risk minimisation.

Section F of the sample application form outlines the required project information.

Section H outlines the assessment criteria and associated word count.

Q: Can you give guidance on how detailed project plans should be on activities year to year?

You must attach supporting documentation to the application form in line with the instructions provided within the form and grant opportunity guidelines.

Q: Can you clarify what you are looking for in the "Milestones" section? Is that an annotated timeline or more about measuring outcomes?

Section F.7 of the grant opportunity guidelines asks for "measurable milestones you will reach while undertaking your project" with up to 10 allowed. Are you able to give some guidance on this - is that an annotated timeline or more about measuring outcomes?

You must submit reports, which include progress against agreed project milestones and outcomes, in line with the grant agreement. DISR will provide the requirements for these reports as appendices in the grant agreement, and remind you of your reporting obligations before a report is due.

Q: How will the Annual Project Plan process (section 12.2.3 of the guidelines) be managed? Is such a plan sought as part of the grant response, or will these be developed by successful grant applicants after winners are announced?

Section 12 of the grant opportunity guidelines relates to the monitoring of the grant activity once the grant is awarded.

Section 12.2.3 outlines an annual project plan that must identify how your work will align to the annual national security policy research priorities set by SCNS and published by the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. The annual project plan will be submitted to DISR, and assessed and approved by Defence.

Q: Can you give us more details about the reporting requirements? Twice a year? Do we report on activities or milestones? What financial reporting do we need to provide?

Section 12 of the grant opportunity guidelines relates to the monitoring of the grant activity once the grant is awarded, and outlines the reporting requirements.

Q: An eligibility requirement includes evidence of a funding strategy (e.g. financial statements, loan agreements, cash-flow documents). Will the last year financial statement cover this? What do you mean by cash-flow document in this context?

Section E of the sample application form requires the latest financial year figures from the organisation.

Section G of the sample application form provides an expenditure table to outline your Project Budget.

Cash-flow within the evidence of funding as defined within a financial statement.

Q: A detailed project budget is requested that includes all income sources, eligible expenditure, and deliverables. Is this the project budget for our Defence grant, or our centre-wide budget?

Section E of the sample application form requires the latest financial year figures from the organisation.

Section G of the sample application form provides an expenditure table to outline your Project Budget.

The definition of ‘project’ is included in the glossary of the grant opportunity guidelines.

Q: Can an organisation submit more than one application under the program?

The grant opportunity guidelines do not specify a limit on the number of applications that may be submitted by an eligible organisation for this operating funding opportunity.

Applicants must ensure that each application independently addresses all eligibility and assessment criteria and includes all mandatory supporting documentation.

Q: Can different applications involve different consortium or project partners, given that joint applications are not accepted?

Refer to section 4 the grant opportunity guidelines on eligible criteria and section 5 on what the grant money can be used for.

Q: Who is the decision maker? Will the Minister see a list of all applicants and scores or just a shortlist of recommendations?

Refer to sections 8.2 and 8.3 of the grant opportunity guidelines.

The Deputy Prime Minister as Minister for Defence decides which grants to approve, taking into account the recommendations of the Strategic Policy Committee, the availability of grant funds and the key principle of achieving value with relevant money.

Under the Commonwealth Grants Rules and Principles 2024, officials must provide the Minister with advice clearly indicating which applications fully, partially or do not meet the selection criteria.

Only eligible applications will proceed to the assessment stage.

Q: Does Defence have a preferred template when submitting financial and similar documents?

Does defence have a preferred format for applications?

Section G of the sample application form provides an expenditure table for your reference.

You will need to set up an account to access the Business Grants Hub portal where you will need to complete and submit the application, provide all the information requested, include all eligibility and assessment criteria and include all necessary attachments.

No individual file can be greater than 25MB, and the total of all attachments cannot exceed 50MB.

Q: Are we still eligible to apply for SPGP if found successful for DSPRP?

Do SPGP proposals need to be built into DSPRP proposal?

The Strategic Policy Grants Program (SPGP) and the Defence Strategic Policy Research Program (DSPRP) are two different grant programs, with separate eligibility criteria.

Please refer to the relevant grant opportunity and assessment criteria when applying.

Q: Will there be depth to the applications, such as specific projects like an SPGP application or will it be broader?

The sample application form asks questions that relate to the assessment criteria contained within section 6 of the grant opportunity guidelines.

The amount of detail and supporting evidence you provide in your application should be relative to the project size, complexity and grant amount requested. You should provide evidence to support your answers. The application form displays word limits for each response.

Q: You mentioned grants of up to approximately $5 million. Is this a cap per grant, an indicative amount, or an annual figure? The guidelines state there is no maximum grant amount.

At the 8 September 2026 sector briefing, grants of up to $500,000 were mentioned, for the separate, annual, fee-for-service Strategic Policy Grants Program.

For the five-yearly Defence Strategic Policy Research Program operating funding opportunity, there is no maximum grant amount, but individual grants cannot exceed the amount of available funds.

Q: For the Project Budget and other sources of funding, should we only provide Defence relevant income and expenditure, or whole of Centre financial statements?

Section E of the sample application form requires the latest financial year figures from the organisation.

The definition of ‘project’ is included in the glossary of the grant opportunity guidelines.

Q: Does the grant fund 100% of project costs, or is some level of co-contribution from us expected or looked on favourably?

Section 12.2 outlines that DISR and Defence will expect you to report on contributions of participants directly related to the project in accordance with your grant agreement.

Section G.3 of the sample application form requests the name of the contributor and the type of contribution to be included in the application.

Q: What does operating funding mean?

Operating funding is defined in the Varghese Review as ‘funding provided to an organisation to support their day-to-day operations, such as salaries, rent, and utilities.’

Q: Will Defence negotiate funding?

Section 3.1 of the grant opportunity guidelines outlines that proposed funding will be negotiated with successful grantees. Applicants will need to detail what will be delivered with the requested funding.

Applicants must also provide information on the likely impact if a reduced amount of funding was provided, specifically 75% and 50% of the grant funding sought.

Q: The grant guidelines mention interest in ‘two-way exchanges’. Does this mean the option for personnel from grantee organisations to work within Defence?

Under section 5 of the grant opportunity guidelines, eligible grant activities include two-way exchanges and secondments, subject to operational requirements. These will be negotiated through grant agreements.

This relates to Government-agreed Recommendation 9 of the Varghese Review.

Sample applications

The best way to understand what information you need to provide is to start an application. We have also provided a version to download at the bottom of this page.

Technical help

See our customer portal's frequently asked questions to help with your queries. If you can't find your answer, contact us for assistance.

If you submit your application before the close date you can retrieve it any time to make changes. But you must submit it again before the close date.

We can’t consider the application you submit after the close date under any circumstances.