Partnerships Against Pests Round 5 grants

Round 5 combines Streams 1b and 2 of the grants program to support state, regional and local organisations to boost community knowledge and skills in established invasive species management.

These grants enable groups to deliver place-based and community-led invasive species management activities that meet the program’s objectives and outcomes to build community capacity and capability.

Groups can apply for project funding of between $10,000 and $50,000 (ex-GST) to complete a project over a 12-month period. There is a total of $600,000 (ex-GST) of funding available for Round 5 projects.

Organisations that have previously applied for Partnerships Against Pests grant funding are welcome to submit new or revised applications. However, if a previously funded group has failed to complete all conditions of their grant agreement; they will not be considered for further funding until all outstanding conditions have been completed.

Round 5

To apply for a grant, groups should review the Round 5 grant proposal guidelines to confirm eligibility and if their project idea meets the program objectives and outcomes.

The grant proposal guidelines include funding priorities, activities eligible for funding and the assessment criteria for the program.

• Round 5 grant proposal guidelines [MS Word Document - 3.8 MB]

Groups seeking community pest management group (CPMG) support for projects targeting blackberry, gorse, rabbits and/or serrated tussock must complete the CPMG Project Support form by 1 May 2026.

Groups are advised to contact their regional engagement officer to discuss their project before finalising an application.

Key dates

Eligible groups

Round 5 of the grants program is open to organisations operating at a statewide, regional or local level with an interest in established invasive species management. This includes, but is not limited to:

• not-for-profit organisations
• environmental, agricultural, and natural resource management volunteer organisations
• community service organisations
• Landcare and Coastcare groups and networks
• recognised statewide community pest management groups
• Registered Aboriginal Parties (RAPs) and Traditional Owner Corporations (TOCs).

Eligibility requirements

To be eligible, applicants must be one of the following:

• An incorporated association registered through Consumer Affairs Victoria.
• A registered company with the Australian Securities Investment Commission (ASIC).
• An Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander corporation registered with the Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations (ORIC) under the Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Act 2006.

Applicants must also hold sufficient insurance to safeguard volunteers and participants involved in the funded activities, including public liability insurance of at least $20 million and personal accident insurance.

Auspicing

Groups and networks that do not meet the above requirements may still be eligible for funding if they operate under the auspices of a sponsor organisation that does meet the requirements.

Please see the grant proposal guidelines for more information.

How to apply

Applications will only be accepted if they have been submitted using the DEECA Grants Online portal. Please use the links below to create and access your application:

• Start new Round 5 application
• Access saved application

Supporting documents

The following supporting documents must be provided with your application:

• An itemised project budget, preferably completed on the PAP Round 5 project budget template.
• A signed auspice agreement form, if applicable.
• Letters of support from project partners, including all Traditional Owners or Registered Aboriginal Party project partners, as applicable.

Supporting document templates:

• PAP Round 5 project budget template [MS Excel Document - 23.2 KB]
• Auspice agreement form [MS Word Document - 81.0 KB]

If your project involves working with a Traditional Owner Corporation (TOC) or Registered Aboriginal Party (RAP), you must include a letter of support from them. This letter should detail their involvement and capacity to support the project as outlined in your proposal.

All other supporting documents are discretionary but strongly encouraged. These additional documents could include:

• quotes for courses, contractors or equipment
• letters of support from proposed project partners
• maps showing the proposed project area.

If you have more supporting documents than the Grants Online portal allows, please email the extra documents to the Partnerships Against Pests team and quote your Grants Online application number in the subject line.

Capital items

Agriculture Victoria has noted the success of engagement and education activities conducted by groups across the state. These groups have established relationships with stakeholders and are working on landscape-scale action. The next step is to provide support in the purchase of items to demonstrate, educate and lend to the community to facilitate ongoing best-practice management.

As with Round 4 of the grants program, groups can apply for funding of between $3,000 and $10,000 (included in the maximum $50,000 grant funding) to purchase capital items. The capital items proposed must be of either of these types:

• Regarded as part of best practice management for the target species – for example:
  • Monitoring camera – for feral pigs
  • Hoe – for serrated tussock
  • Bait layer – for rabbits
• Equipment that will support communities to facilitate capacity building, awareness raising or partnerships – for example,  a portable projector and/or screen

To be eligible for the additional capital item funding, groups must respond to 3 additional questions. These include providing evidence of:

• at least 2 years of sustained community engagement for your target established invasive species – for example:
  • detailing previous engagement work
  • community events
  • plans/strategies
  • working relationships with relevant stakeholders
• how they intend to use the capital items to increase the capacity and capability of their organisation and its members.
• what strategy the group will institute to maintain and provide upkeep to the capital item purchased.

All capital items must become a registered asset of the applicant group or auspice organisation. After purchase, Agriculture Victoria and the grants program take no responsibility for any item, its use and maintenance.

Reporting

Successful applicants are required to provide Agriculture Victoria with regular reports over the life of their project.

As part of their application, groups will be required to complete the grant outputs section. These outputs will be used as the benchmark to report against in the reporting milestones.

The following table provides output types available and some example activities:

Groups receiving funding under Round 5 of the grants program must use the DEECA Grants Online portal to complete their reports. For 12‑month projects, one mid‑project report and one end‑of‑project report are required.

As part of these reports, Agriculture Victoria requests that groups attach supporting documents, including a copy of any videos produced and/or any photographs of events funded by the grants program. Any media provided may be used by the Department for promotional purposes.

If you have any questions or concerns about how your group’s images might be used, please contact the Partnerships Against Pests grants manager.

Previously funded projects

Please visit the Stream 2 previously funded projects page to find out more about projects funded in earlier rounds of the Partnerships Against Pests grants program.