Community Safety Investment Grant Program - Stream 2

The Community Safety Investment Fund aims to provide community organisations opportunities 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. This may include (but is not limited to) programs and initiatives that:

• prevent and respond to youth offending
• divert young people from court which create positive pathways with communities
• support young people transitioning from custody back to their community and provide support and opportunities to help them thrive to reduce reoffending.

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.

Please refer to the Community Safety Investment Fund - Stream 2 Grant Guidelines (PDF, 256.9 KB).

Who the grant is targeted towards

The target group for the Community Safety Investment Fund Grant Program is young people aged 10-17 years involved with or at risk of involvement with the justice system, their families and broader community.

Types of projects funded under this grant

This grant program provides an opportunity for organisations to design projects and initiatives that meet local needs and priorities.

Stream 2 grants are up to $300,000 for initiatives that will be delivered over two years.

Below are examples of different activities and projects, noting organisations are not limited to these types of initiatives. Projects may have multiple components and activities:

• Pro-social activities - engage young people in positive pro-social activities that are engaging, challenging, rewarding and age appropriate. This includes access to local sports, art, music and camps, media projects, fishing. It could include transport to activities, fees and equipment to participate. Importantly, activities and programs could be delivered after hours, when young people need them the most.
• Mentoring and coaching support – provides young people with a consistent and prosocial relationship with an older peer or adult mentor, supporting the young person to develop and build their skills, pro-social role modelling. Aboriginal cultural mentoring and healing programs provide culturally safe guidance and identity support for Aboriginal young people in community.
• Skill building – teaching young people how to build emotional regulation skills, problem solving, new thinking and behavioural skills. Skill building programs may also focus on life building skills, employment readiness skills, and literacy and numeracy skills (particularly important for young people who have disengaged from school). Pathways-based initiatives focus on developing young people’s confidence, independence, and practical work skills.
• Cultural activities - culture mentoring, cultural activities and programs that strengthen young people’s engagement with and connection to culture – such as cultural camps for Aboriginal young people.
• Youth hubs - establish a safe, positive and welcoming space for young people to hang out, engage in a range of activities and access support services in the one location. Hubs can involve the delivery of group programs as well as one-on-one support, and link in a range of local services to collaborate and provide support through the hub.
• Service delivery – setting up a new service or enhancing an existing service in an innovative way to focus on priority cohorts in areas of need that address key service gaps. This could be working with young people 1:1 through case co-ordination and navigation, case management, family work, support to re-engage with education, training and employment. It could also be delivery of services to groups of young people – such as youth hubs.
• Community activities and events – workshops, gatherings on Country, cultural and wellbeing camps for young people.

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 31/05/2028.

What your application needs to include

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

Please ensure you read and review the Community Safety Investment Fund Stream 2 Grant Program Guidelines (PDF, 256.9 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.

Address the assessment criteria

The assessment criteria inculdes:

1. Alignment with objectives and outcomes
2. Local need and support
3. Youth/family led
4. Cultural responsivity
5. Collaboration and partnerships
6. Impact and outcomes.

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 2 Grant Program Guidelines (PDF, 256.9 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 30/3/2026.

Anticipated date for funding deed execution with successful applicants is 30/4/2026.

Support and contact

Department of Communities and Justice on Behalf of Youth Justice

[email protected]