Community Heritage Grants
Wooden handmade toy bus made for Thomas Archer VI (1917–1994) alongside a picture of Thomas VI as a young child, courtesy of the Woolmers Foundation
Wooden handmade toy bus made for Thomas Archer VI (1917–1994) alongside a picture of Thomas VI as a young child, courtesy of the Woolmers Foundation
Community Heritage Grants - 2025 Round
The Community Heritage Grants 2025 Round is now open. Please read the Guidelines for further information.
All applications should be made via the SmartyGrants online platform. To apply or view a sample application form (for either a new applicant, repeat recipient, training project), follow the instructions below.
This includes first time applicants and those who have not had a CHG project in the past five years (since 2020).
- Form preview: 2025 New Application (PDF, 312.17KB)
- Closing date: Thursday 8 May 2025
After reading the Guidelines, new applicants should contact the CHG Program Team to confirm that their project is eligible, prior to receiving a link. Please send an email to chg@nla.gov.au, state the name of the organisation, nature of the collection, proposed project and budget items (estimates are fine).
Once the Team has confirmed that the organisation and project is eligible, you will be sent a website link to the application form. If you are new to SmartyGrants, you will need to register as a user.
Organisations who have completed a previous CHG stage in the past five years (since 2020).
- Form preview: 2025 Repeat Application (PDF, 318.19KB)
- Closing date: Tuesday 3 June 2025
Organisations can apply for training projects at any time (ie regardless if they have completed a Significance Assessment or Preservation Needs Assessment).
- Form preview: 2025 Training Application (PDF, 280.31KB)
- Closing Date: Tuesday 3 June 2025
Who can apply for a Community Heritage Grant?
CHG is open to non-profit, incorporated organisations. 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 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.
Community Heritage Grants Guidelines
Applicants must read the CHG Guidelines prior to commencing their application.
More about the Community Heritage Grants program
The following supporting documents are also available:
- A live Q&A forum for new applicants will be held at 12 noon (AEST), Thursday 10 April 2025. Attendees will learn more about the program and can ask CHG staff questions about their project. Register for the webinar.
- New applicants are encouraged to consider whether the organisation, staff/volunteers and collection are ready for a significance assessment. To understand what preparation is required please complete the questionnaire Are You Ready for a Significance Assessment below
- Project summary documents from previous funding rounds
- Community Heritage Grants webinar and tutorial pages are on the Trove Partner Learning Hub. (Select the 'Login as a Guest' option at the bottom left corner.)
- Successful applicants will sign a standard grant agreement. View the CHG Conditions of Grant, 2024 Round below.
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
Translating and Interpreting Service
People of non-English speaking background are welcome to apply for a grant. If you have difficulty with English, please contact the Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS) for assistance.
Learn more
Punu objects, courtesy of Maruku Arts (2020 and 2021 Community Heritage Grants recipient). Find out more about Maruku Arts
Image courtesy of Miss Porter's House - National Trust (NSW), a 2020 & 2022 Community Heritage Grants recipient
Spines of rare books from the Mrs Aeneas Gunn Memorial Library, courtesy of Monbulk RSL (2020 Community Heritage Grant recipient). Find out more about Monbulk RSL.