The aim of the FDF is to build drought resilience, for the public good of the Australian agriculture sector, landscapes, and communities. The FDF supports broader climate resilience outcomes, where they are consistent with the principles of the Funding Plan.

Projects should support the following objectives:

• managing natural capital on farms, and the ecosystem services it provides that underpins agricultural productivity and profitability and contributes to building economic, environmental and social resilience before, during and after drought
• the provision of common and public good, mainly as ecosystem services. These services not only underpin or are co-benefits to agricultural productivity and profitability, but also have flowon effects to landscapes and communities.

The practices, technologies or approaches to be demonstrated should target improved drought resilience for the public good of the Australian agriculture sector, landscapes, and communities as a primary focus. Projects should prioritise activities which achieve multiple outcomes including across the 3 strategic objectives (building economic, environmental and social resilience) and broader climate resilience.

The Resilient Landscapes Program (the Program) will focus on demonstrating how implementing and scaling of practices, technologies or approaches to manage natural resources on farm, build drought and climate resilience through improving landscape function and ecosystem services. The Program will support activities that identify tipping points or thresholds beyond which the land and natural capital may deteriorate. Tipping points or thresholds can be environmental (such as, soil nutrient concentrations, soil moisture content and water table depth, groundcover, or woody vegetation), social (such as, wellbeing, personal values, community cohesion) or economic (such as, revenue, cash flow, profit, and debt ratio, prior to, during and following drought).

Eligibility criteria

To be eligible, you must be an Australian-based organisation, capable of entering into a legally binding and enforceable agreement with the Commonwealth. This includes the following entity types:

• Company
• Cooperative
• Corporate Commonwealth Entity
• Corporate State or Territory Entity
• Incorporated Association
• Indigenous Corporation
• Local Government
• Non-corporate State or Territory Entity
• Non-corporate State or Territory Statutory Authority
• Statutory Entity

Aboriginal Land Council, Aboriginal Land Trust or Torres Strait Islander Land Trust (or equivalent entity) established under Commonwealth, state or territory legislation may apply.

Projects must include a consortium arrangement, that is 2 or more entities working together to develop and deliver an eligible project. You must appoint a ‘lead organisation’. Only the lead organisation can submit the application form and enter into a grant agreement with the Commonwealth. The lead organisation must be an eligible entity type. Eligible organisations can form consortia with ineligible organisations. The application must identify all other members of the consortium.

Organisations can be part of more than one application. However, each individual application will be assessed on its own merits – there will be no collective consideration of applications. We actively encourage increased participation and outcomes for a diverse range of people, businesses and landscapes involved in the agricultural sector and rural, regional, and remote communities, including First Nations people.

A person or sole trader will not be eligible to lead but can be part of a consortium.

If you are applying as a trustee on behalf of a trust, the trustee must be one of the eligible entity types as listed above.

• Phone: 1800 020 283
• Email: support@communitygrants.gov.au