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Commonwealth Grant Agreements
The Department of Finance has published a suite of template grant agreement documentation which is to be used by Commonwealth entities when entering into grant arrangements.
These templates are designed to be used by Commonwealth agencies conducting grant programs (and replace agency-specific grant agreement templates). These templates, which include a Letter of Agreement, a Simple Grant Agreement, and a Standard Grant Agreement, have been published by the Commonwealth to streamline the grant process and ensure that the terms and conditions of grant agreements are consistently applied by Commonwealth entities.
Note
The Commonwealth Simple Grant Agreement and Commonwealth Standard Grant Agreement are not just one document - they are made up of a number of documents. Funded organisations must make sure they are aware of the terms of all the documents as, together, they make up the Commonwealth Simple Grant Agreement or the Commonwealth Standard Grant Agreement.
Organisations should seek independent legal advice about the terms and practical implications of any Commonwealth Grant Agreement that they intend to sign or which they have entered into.
More information
See the Department of Finance website for more information about Commonwealth grants.
Commonwealth Letter of Agreement
The Commonwealth Letter of Agreement is used for straightforward, low risk grants.
The sections that make up the Commonwealth Letter of Agreement between the Commonwealth government entity and the funded organisation will vary and include:
- the Covering Letter, and
- the Schedule
Our fact sheet on the Commonwealth Letter of Agreement provides guidance on some of the important terms for funded organisations to be aware of. The fact sheet will make more sense if you read it with your grant documents at hand.
The fact sheet includes information on:
- what the Commonwealth Letter of Agreement is, and
- important terms in the Commonwealth Letter of Agreement
Commonwealth Simple Grant Agreement
The Commonwealth Simple Grant Agreement is used for low risk grants that require an agreement with simple terms and conditions.
The documents that make up the Commonwealth Simple Grant Agreement between the Commonwealth government entity and the funded organisation will vary and may include the following documents:
-
Commonwealth Simple Grant Agreement template, including:
- introductory information
- the Grant Details, and
- any Supplementary Terms (some, all, or none of these may apply – organisations will need to check)
- the schedules, including the Commonwealth General Grant Conditions, and
- other documents referred to in the Grant Details (as applicable)
Our fact sheet on the Commonwealth Simple Grant Agreement provides guidance on some of the important terms for funded organisations to be aware of. The fact sheet will make more sense if you read it with your grant documents at hand.
The fact sheet includes information on:
- what the Commonwealth Simple Grant Agreement is
- important terms in the Commonwealth Simple Agreement, and
- tips to help organisations be prepared for operating under the Agreement
Commonwealth Standard Grant Agreement
The Commonwealth Standard Grant Agreement is used for grants which are rated as medium to high risk and include a standard set of terms and conditions.
The documents that make up the Commonwealth Standard Grant Agreement between the Commonwealth government entity and the funded organisation will vary and may include the following documents:
-
Commonwealth Standard Grant Agreement template, including:
- introductory information
- the Grant Details, and
- any Supplementary Terms from the Clause Bank (some, all, or none of these may apply – organisations will need to check)
- the schedules, including the Commonwealth Standard Grant Conditions, and
- other documents referred to in the Grant Details (as applicable)
Our fact sheet on the Commonwealth Standard Grant Agreement provides guidance on some of the important terms for funded organisations to be aware of. The fact sheet will make more sense if you read it with your grant documents at hand.
The fact sheet includes information on:
- what the Commonwealth Standard Grant Agreement is
- important terms in the Commonwealth Standard Grant Agreement, and
- tips to help organisations be prepared for operating under the Agreement
NSW Government funding agreements
The Human Services Agreement is a NSW Government document that sets out the standard terms and conditions that apply to organisations (referred to as non-government organisations on ProcurePoint) that deliver human services funded by NSW government agencies.
From 1 August 2017, the Human Services Agreement applies to all organisations funded by a NSW government agency to deliver ‘human services’. Human services are defined by the NSW Government as programs, facilities or services provided to meet the health, welfare and social needs of individuals, families and communities.
We were forced to start removing our resources for NSW-based community organisations.
We developed a guide to the Human Services Agreement that provided information on the key obligations of organisations under the Human Services Agreement and included checklists to help organisations comply with their obligations. We also developed a fact sheet for organisations funded by the Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ). This fact sheet helped organisations understand the supplementary conditions contained in the DCJ schedule to the Human Services Agreement.
Last year we told you that, since the NSW Government had stopped funding our work, we had no choice but to cut off our NSW advice services completely and remove our tailored legal information resources for NSW-based community organisations from our website.
We’re grateful to have secured short-term support from another funder which means we can get our NSW-specific resources back on our website for the time being. This particular resource will be back online soon. Find out more.
The content on this webpage was last updated in October 2025 and is not legal advice. See full disclaimer and copyright notice.
