Protecting Our Places

Program objectives

The program has 3 key objectives:

• Enabling Aboriginal communities to gain more autonomy over their projects, strengthening their ability to deliver favourable results for their cultural heritage, cultural practices and the environment. 
• Promoting the sharing and safeguarding of cultural knowledge among Aboriginal groups, government agencies and the community. This enables Aboriginal people to influence the management and preservation of their cultural and environmental resources on their ancestral lands.
• Ensuring land that is culturally important to Aboriginal communities is protected, restored, improved and managed by local Aboriginal groups, land managers and other stakeholders in a way that fosters Healthy Country. This approach deepens the connection between Aboriginal people and their traditional lands and waterways.

Funding available

Grants of up to $120,000 are available over 2 stages:

• Stage 1 Planning – up to $20,000 for project planning.
• Stage 2 Implementation – up to $98,000 to complete the project on-ground works, plus $2,000 quarantined for the mandatory financial audit, totalling $100,000.

Note: Funding must be allocated towards the employment of a project manager (capped at up to 30%) to manage and coordinate all project activities across both stages of the project.

See the Protecting Our Places grants program guidelines 2025 for more information.

For each grant recipient, we will coordinate and deliver face-to-face workshops for 2 key staff/participants in your project at the beginning of Stage 1. In addition, proposed grantees are strongly encouraged to invite an Elder to participate in these workshops to act as a community representative, knowledge holder and relevant cultural authority.

These workshops will provide you with:

• support and guidance to develop a plan specific to your project
• mentoring, advice and networking opportunities
• an understanding of the Trust's reporting requirements.

Eligibility

Who can apply

The following NSW Aboriginal community organisations/groups may apply:

• NSW Local Aboriginal Land Councils (LALCs)
• NSW Aboriginal Corporations registered under the Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Act 2006
• NSW incorporated associations registered under Associations Incorporation Act 2009
• Non-distributing NSW co-operatives registered under Co-operatives National Law and associated Acts*
• NSW Registered Native Title Bodies Corporate (RNTBC).
• Australian public company limited by guarantee operating as a registered charity under the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission.
  Note: applicants under this category must also demonstrate** that their organisation's primary objective is to support members and/or persons of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent in New South Wales.

Other Aboriginal organisations and groups are eligible to apply, however, these entities will need the support of another organisation that will perform the role of External Manager.

*Associations and co-operatives will undergo additional eligibility checks to ensure they are not-for-profit/non-distributing and that the organisation's objectives and activities seek to provide benefits for and involves the participation of local Aboriginal people and communities.

**Charities registered under the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission must provide a copy of their constitution to prove that their primary objective is to support Aboriginal persons and, where possible, a letter of support from either the NSW Aboriginal Land Council, their Local Aboriginal Land Council or another registered Aboriginal organisation listed above.

Who can’t apply

We won't fund applications from:

• non-Aboriginal groups, organisations, or companies
• individuals
• industry joint ventures
• profit-distributing corporations or co-operatives (limited by shares).

If you are unsure if your organisation can apply, contact us.

Project partners

All projects must be led by an Aboriginal organisation. However, you should consider partnering with relevant groups or individuals. These could be:

• other Aboriginal groups
• local councils
• state agencies (for example, the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water)
• non-government organisations
• local community groups
• universities
• private businesses
• landholders.
   

Types of activities funded

Protecting Our Places grants program guidelines 2025 explains what activities we will and will not fund.

Different activities are eligible in each stage – planning and implementation. No on-ground works will be funded during the Stage 1 Planning stage.

Past recipients

You can see who has received funding under this program previously, including the 3 recipients from last year:

• Project summaries

How to apply

Read and follow:

• Protecting Our Places grants program guidelines 2025
• Protecting Our Places grants 2025: application guide

Complete and submit: 

• Protecting Our Places application form 2025 (DOCX 146KB)
• Letters of support: Protecting Our Places tips and sample (DOCX 88KB)
• Letter of endorsement: Protecting Our Places tips and sample (DOCX 89KB)

All applications are assessed by an independent technical review committee with members from the general community, industry, and government. Most members of the committee are Aboriginal. The technical review committee recommends eligible projects to be funded to the NSW Environmental Trust.  Both successful and unsuccessful applicants will be notified.

Program evaluation

The Protecting Our Places program was independently evaluated in 2024 as part of its regular evaluation cycle. The evaluation report and the Trust’s administration response will be published here during 2025.

Support and contact

Need help? If you have any questions, please contact us before the closing date of 31 July 2025.