Junior ranger activities will support primary and secondary students to engage with their schooling through a combination of classroom and on-Country learning. NIAA is undertaking a targeted competitive grant opportunity in priority locations, to select new providers in every state and territory. 

The NIAA completed an open competitive grant round in 2023, establishing new junior ranger activities at over 50 locations across Australia. Through a separate, closed non-competitive grants process in 2024, the NIAA also established new activities at 5 locations in Central Australia.

To further grow the program, the Australian Government has allocated an additional $6 million for this second expansion round, a targeted competitive grant opportunity, to fund up to 10 new junior ranger activities, including at least one new activity in each state and territory. Grant agreements will be for up to 2.5 years and may be extended

To focus on need and broad geographic spread, eligibility will be limited to proposed service delivery within identified priority locations. These will be Indigenous Areas (IAREs) outside the current junior ranger footprint which have high numbers of First Nations youth who are not engaged in employment, education or training compared with other IAREs in their respective jurisdictions 

To be eligible you must:

•   have an Australian Business Number (ABN) (exemptions may apply in special cases)
•   where relevant, be registered for the purposes of GST
•   if an individual, be a permanent resident of Australia
•   have an account with an Australian financial institution

AND be one of the following entity types:

•   an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Corporation registered under the Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Act 2006(CATSI Act)
•   a company incorporated in Australia under the Corporations Act 2001
•   an incorporated association (incorporated under state/territory legislation, commonly have 'Association' or 'Incorporated' or 'Inc' in their legal name)
•   an incorporated cooperative (incorporated under state/territory legislation, commonly have 'Cooperative' in their legal name)
•   an organisation established through a specific piece of Commonwealth or state/territory legislation including public benevolent institutions, churches and universities
•   an Australian state or territory government body
•   an Australian local government body
•   an incorporated trustee on behalf of a trust*
  
•   a partnership
•   a joint (consortia) application with a lead organisation that satisfies the entity type
•   an individual with an ABN

*A trust itself is not a legal entity and cannot enter into a grant agreement.

• Phone: 1800 079 098
• Email: JuniorRangers@niaa.gov.au