Community Safety Investment Grant Program - Stream 1

The Community Safety Investment Fund will provide opportunities for community organisations to design and deliver locally focused, community led solutions to prevent or respond to youth offending, strengthen families and improve community safety.

Program objective

Programs and initiatives will contribute to the achievement of objectives:

• Deliver holistic responses that address the underlying needs and risks that contribute to young people’s involvement with the justice system and improve their outcomes.
• Deliver culturally responsive initiatives that build long-term resilience and protective factors, increase connection to culture and improving social and emotional wellbeing for young people and families.
• Deliver programs and initiatives that empower young people and their families to achieve change in the young person's behaviour and safety.
• Support young people and families to re-engage with education, training, or employment.
• Increase community safety through tailored initiatives for high-risk youth.
• Whole of community initiatives that engage young people in pro-social activities
• We are particularly interested in grant applications that align with and help achieve the NSW Government’s Closing the Gap priorities, including: Target 11: to reduce the overrepresentation of Aboriginal young people in the criminal justice system, so that by 2031, the rate of Aboriginal young people (10-17 years) in detention is reduced by 30 per cent.

[1] A holistic approach means to provide support that looks at the whole person, not just their mental health needs. The support should also consider their physical, emotional, social and spiritual wellbeing. This approach is aligned with the concept of Aboriginal health – which his holistic in that it includes physical, social, emotional and cultural well-being of individuals and the whole community.

Eligibility

Who can apply

All applicants are required to meet the following eligibility criteria:

• be able to enter into a grant funding agreement with Department of Communities and Justice
• have an Australian bank account
• have an Australian Business Number (ABN)
• have appropriate insurance; this must include but is not limited to a minimum of $10 million Public Liability Insurance
• address the NSW National Redress Scheme sanctions (included in this template)
• be a registered Australian business, or a not-for-profit Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisation (ACCO), or other incorporated organisation.

Incorporated organisation registered and approved as a not-for-profit body by NSW Fair Trading will be considered eligible, if they are:

• incorporated organisations that are registered and approved as not-for-profit bodies by NSW Fair Trading.
• Not-for profit companies limited by guarantee, registered in NSW (must have ACNC registration and/or DGR status)
• Indigenous Corporations (must be registered with the Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations)
• NSW Local Aboriginal Land Councils
• religious organisations operating in NSW
• NSW non-government organisations established under their own Act of Parliament.
• a not-for-profit non-Aboriginal organisation partnering with a lead ACCO or Aboriginal business.

Types of projects funded under this grant

Initiatives that:

• address the underlying risks and needs that contribute to young people’s involvement with the justice system
• empower young people and their families to achieve change in the young person's behaviour and safety
• are culturally responsive and build long-term resilience and protective factors, increase connection to culture and improving social and emotional wellbeing for young people and families
• support young people and families to re-engage with education, training, or employment and pro-social activities
• increase community safety through tailored initiatives for high-risk youth.

When the project can start and end

The project start date must be after 01/05/2026 and the project end date must be before 30/05/2027.

Who can't apply

You are not eligible if you are:

• an individual.
• Federal and State Government agencies and bodies.
• NSW educational facilities (public schools, private schools, TAFE).
• Local government organisations, including:
• NSW local councils operating under the Local Government Act 1993 (LG Act)
• Joint Organisations (s400O of the LG Act)
• County Councils (s383 of the LG Act)
• Regional Organisations of Councils (which are voluntary groupings of councils).
• Unincorporated organisations or groups without an eligible subcontracting organisation.
• Organisations that have not met project requirements, including acquittal and reporting, for funding received from DCJ in the previous two years.
• Organisations with Redress Obligations under the National Redress Scheme that have not joined the National Redress Scheme for Institutional Child Sexual Abuse.
• have overdue acquittals with DCJ
• do not have appropriate insurance; this must include but is not limited to a minimum of $10 million Public Liability Insurance.

Note that NSW educational facilities and Local Government Organisations may partners in application.

Prepare your application with this checklist (DOCX, 17.6 KB).

Please ensure you read and review the Community Safety Investment Fund Stream 1 Grant Program Guidelines (PDF, 250.1 KB) and all supporting documents on the DCJ Grants service provider page.

Address the eligibility criteria

Each applicant, as part of an application response, must confirm that they meet the eligibility criteria.

Applicants that do not address the eligibility criteria in full may be excluded from the application process at the department's discretion.

Start the application

Smarty Grants will be used to support the application process. Grant Design and Support can assist organisations with any queries regarding the application process. Organisations can contact via email [email protected].

Please quote your Application ID in all correspondence. If you are not familiar with the SmartyGrants management system, please refer to the SmartyGrants Help Guide for Applicants or check out Applicant FAQs. You can also contact SmartyGrants directly if you are having technical difficulties with the application form or your SmartyGrants account/password, email [email protected].

Resources

• Grant program guidelines
• Grant checklist (DOCX, 17.6 KB)
• Help guide for applicants
• Sample answers for grant applications

After the application is submitted

Successful applications will be decided by: Secretary, Department of Communities and Justice on Behalf of Youth Justice

This is an open competitive grant program. Applicants will be assessed against the eligibility criteria and assessment criteria listed in the Community Safety Investment Fund Stream 1 Grant Program Guidelines (PDF, 250.1 KB).

Support

Information sessions are available for the following dates and times:

11 November 2025 at 13.30 pm

14 November 2025 at 10.00 am

19 November 2025 at 11.30 am

Please email [email protected] with your preferred session date and time and you will provided with the link to join an MS TEAMS information session.

Additional application support and advice:

• Quality Matters Consulting- Nicole Weber
  • Ph: 1300 199 310
  • Mobile: 0411 595 218
  • You can email to book a session with Nicole Weber- [email protected].

Anticipated assessment outcome date is 30/03/2026.

Anticipated date for funding deed execution with successful applicants is 30/04/2026.

Support and contact

Department of Communities and Justice on Behalf of Youth Justice

[email protected]