Community Heritage Grants - 2026 Round

The Community Heritage Grants 2026 Round is now open. Please read the Guidelines (PDF, 405.74KB) for further information. The Guidelines is supported by resources on:

• CHG website (this landing page, Preparing an application, Preparing for an assessment, Recipients and reports and Other resources); 
• Trove Partner Learning Hub (select the 'Login as a Guest' option at the bottom left corner) and click on Community Heritage Grants 2026.

Applications are made via the SmartyGrants online platform. Depending on previous CHG grants, your organisation will complete one of three forms: New Applicants, Repeat Recipients or Training Projects. More details are provided below. 

All applicants should contact the CHG Program to confirm that the organisation and project are eligible, prior to receiving a link to the appropriate SmartyGrants form.

Send an email with: 

• name of your organisation and entity type (eg incorporated association, local government);
• nature of the collection;
• brief details of previous CHG projects; and
• proposed project and budget items (estimates are fine).

Who can apply for a Community Heritage Grant?

CHG is open to non-profit, incorporated organisations, government agencies and university groups. The program has a strong focus on supporting local groups with limited funding who would benefit from access to professional cultural heritage expertise. Applications from Indigenous and multicultural organisations are encouraged.

Organisations progress through a three-stage journey, over multiple rounds, to learn about their collection, how to care for it, and plan for its future. Projects also aim to build the knowledge and skills of paid and volunteer staff to increase their capacity to share valuable heritage collections with all Australians.

CHG is funded by the Australian Government through the:

• Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts,
• National Library of Australia,
• National Archives of Australia,
• National Film and Sound Archive, and
• National Museum of Australia.

What can be funded by a Community Heritage Grant?

The annual round offers cash grants of up to $20,000. The first two stages support organisations to work with heritage practitioners to:

• Explain the meaning and value of their collections (a significance assessment)
• Outline the condition of their collections and create a plan to manage it (a preservation needs assessment)

In the third and final stage, organisations can apply for funding to:

• Undertake conservation and collection management activities as recommended in the preservation needs assessment

Funding is also available for:

• Collection management training projects

Further details about eligible projects are available in the CHG Guidelines.

All allocations of grants are based on the recommendations of assessors and availability of funds. No applicant can be guaranteed funding nor can any applicant be guaranteed funding to the full amount requested. Funding varies from year to year and it is not possible to fund all worthwhile projects.

More about the Community Heritage Grants program

The following resources are available:

• Register for the CHG New Applicants Q&A forum at 1pm (AEST), Thursday 16 April 2026. Attendees will learn more about the program and can ask CHG staff specific questions about their proposal.
• Register for the CHG Consultants Information Session at 12 noon (AEST), Thursday 19 March 2026. This live session is targeted to consultants who deliver CHG funded significance assessments and preservation needs assessments. CHG staff will provide a refresher on the program structure and guidance on the consultant’s role during applications and project delivery.
• Significance 2.0 - A Guide to Assessing the Significance of Collections (2009) - 2nd revised edition (online version) is the recognised industry guide which outlines the process and methodology of significance assessments and applies to a range of case studies.
• Community Heritage Grants provides a range of resources, online recordings and case studies for applicants on the Trove Partner Learning Hub (select the 'Login as a Guest' option at the bottom left corner). This includes: 
  • Are You Ready for a Significance Assessment or Preservation Needs Assessment? Essential reading for groups starting on their CHG journey.
  • Guide to Addressing Significance Criteria. A useful document when completing the Significance of Your Collection heading in the application.
  • Online presentations by professional heritage staff explaining the concept of significance and significance assessment activities. 
  • Online case studies of past recipients sharing their experiences of the CHG journey. Also visit the Project summary documents from previous funding rounds. 
  • Templates to be used by consultants for Significance Assessment and Preservation Needs Assessments reports.
  • Conditions of Grant. An example of the standard agreement signed by grantees.

Contact the Community Heritage Grants team

For more information or to discuss your application, contact:

CHG Program Team
National Library of Australia
chg@nla.gov.au