The Minns Labor Government has underlined its ongoing commitment to improving outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, announcing more than $15 million in grant funding to help close the gap across NSW.
The Minns Labor Government has underlined its ongoing commitment to improving outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, announcing more than $15 million in grant funding to help close the gap across NSW.
Nearly 80 Aboriginal community organisations will share in the Community and Place Grants, to help realise their aspirations to improve education, wellbeing, environmental and social outcomes.
The successful grant recipients were selected for their ability to deliver real benefits against the Closing the Gap socio-economic targets.
The grants are part of the government's investment of more than $221 million over four years to 2027, under the Closing the Gap Implementation Plan.
The funding will support a wide range of initiatives all over NSW, including:
- Koori Youth on the Move, a Bega Local Aboriginal Land Council program of tailored workshops to equip Aboriginal young people with driving skills.
- Yarkuwa Indigenous Knowledge Centre Aboriginal Corporation refurbishing a Deniliquin youth space for mentoring, study, and community meetings.
- A program to redirect young offenders from the justice system into a pathway of cultural training and mentoring in Malabugilmah, near Grafton.
- A new art gallery, workshop, and retail space at Saltwater Freshwater Arts Alliance in Coffs Harbour to support more than 120 Aboriginal artists and cultural practitioners.
- Training program in Aboriginal traditional ecological knowledge and cultural burning that gives graduates opportunities to work as rangers on Gandangara Country in south-west Sydney.
- Development of a Nursery near Dubbo connecting Aboriginal people to culture by teaching skills in seed collection, plant propagation, plant use and language.
Grant recipients
In May 2024, a total of $15,520,282.39 was awarded across 77 Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations and/or Unincorporated Groups in NSW under the 2023-2024 Community and Place Grants Program.
A list of recipients as at 11 June 2024 is available below, noting that some recipients are in the process of executing agreements (list will be updated to reflect this as required).
File
AANSW Community and Place Grants 2023-2024 summary (XLSX 29.38KB)
Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Treaty David Harris said:
"Based on extensive evidence, we know Aboriginal communities do best to close the gap when it is their people shaping and driving outcomes, alongside government.
"There are so many wonderful Aboriginal-led programs that work every day to make real, lasting positive impacts to the lives of people in their communities.
"The NSW Government's $15 million Community and Place Grants investment is a highly targeted way to partner with these organisations to maximise outcomes."
