Grants for young people

Before you apply, make sure you:

• read the relevant grant guidelines in full
• speak to the Office of Youth Affairs if you are unsure about whether you are eligible to apply
• have no outstanding acquittals or reports with the Northern Territory Government. This can apply to previous grant applications in GrantsNT
• are compliant with your regulatory authority, if applicable
  • This applies to incorporated associations and charities that are required to submit financial accounts and annual reporting information to compliance bodies such as Licensing NT, ACNC and ORIC
• ensure that the activities or events you intend to host for young Territorians are free of charge
• ensure that the activities or events you intend to host for young Territorians are drug and alcohol-free and do not promote religious or political beliefs
• have or get a working with children permission and/or authorisation
• collect and submit supporting material, including a budget
  • support material strengthens your application by confirming the detail in your application and shows why you require grant funds.

Each grant says whether individuals, groups or organisations are eligible to apply.

Your history of delivering funded activities in line with grant agreements and acquitting on time and to a high standard will be considered when your application is assessed.

Individuals

Individuals aged between 12 to 25 years are eligible to apply for the Quick Response Grant.

Those under 18 years of age will require a parent or guardian to apply on their behalf.

Applicants must be:

• an Australian citizen or have permanent resident status
• over 18 years of age
• a current resident of the Northern Territory.

Organisations

Organisations must be a legal entity and must be compliant with governing legislation:

• Associations Act 2003 (NT) (or in some cases the Incorporated Associations Act of another state/territory)
• Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Act 2006
• Corporations Act 2001.

Non-compliant or insolvent organisations are ineligible and cannot act as an administering body.

Administering bodies

Administering bodies are also referred to as auspicing bodies. They are not-for-profit organisations that take on the legal and financial responsibility of a grant.

The administering body applies on behalf of an individual, group or organisation and manages all aspects of the funding terms and conditions.

Supporting material strengthens your application by confirming the detail in your application and demonstrates how you have planned your activity.

The value of the grant you are applying for should guide the level and detail of supporting material you submit.

If the assessment panel requires further information to support a decision on your application, the Office of Youth Affairs will contact you within four weeks of your submission.

This contact may occur via phone or email through the GrantsNT portal.

Budget

All Youth Engagement Grants require you to submit a budget or financial plan with your  application. Your budget must include all activity income and expenses and must be submitted using the Excel budget template.

Ensure your budget is realistic, represents value for money and does not include eligible costs. Refer to the ‘What is funded’ and ‘What is not funded’ sections under each grant on GrantsNT  for any specific exclusions.

To estimate your costs, use the budget expenditure calculator XLS (45.0 KB).

Project plan

In order for the Office of Youth Affairs to carefully consider your application, you must submit details of your upcoming project.

A project plan strengthens your application by demonstrating that you understand the steps required to deliver your activity.

The plan should include:

• a schedule
• key actions
• dates
• milestones.

Letters of support

Letters of support from organisations, community partners and industry peers, particularly if you are a first-time grant applicant, demonstrate the quality, demand for and/or public value of your activity.

They should endorse the competency of your work and show the importance and viability of your activity.

They should not be written by people named in the application as collaborators, or people who might financially benefit from the activity.

Letters of support are not mandatory to submit with your application.

Confirmation of involvement

When applying for funding to attend a program, competition, course or event, it is important to provide evidence of your involvement or invitation.

This could include:

• confirmation of registration
• official invitations
• selection letters
• event program outlines that clearly state your involvement.

Providing this information assists the Office of Youth Affairs to verify your participation or eligibility, understand the purpose and value of the opportunity and assess how the activity aligns with the grant’s objectives.

The Office of Youth Affairs evaluate all submissions based on eligibility and selection criteria, considering local requirements and existing service delivery programs.

For some grant programs, funding will be distributed to ensure a fair spread of projects across the Northern Territory.

The information in your application will guide the assessment, particularly on how you demonstrate key youth engagement outcomes.

The grants panel can recommend funding for applications or components of applications that do not meet the selection or eligibility criteria, provided the project, service or event still seeks to further youth engagement in the NT.

Typically, we receive a higher number of applications than the funds allocated, leading to a competitive process.

The Office of Youth Affairs may not be able to grant the full amount requested or support an organisation or individual who has previously received funding.

If you receive funding, you must acknowledge this support in all media releases and promotional activity.

Acknowledgment requirements will be outlined in your funding agreement.

You can do this by putting the 'Proudly supported by Northern Territory Government' logo on the following:

• media release
• advertisement
• posters and flyers
• publications
• banners
• websites and social media
• newsletters and e-bulletins
• letterheads and email signatures.

If you can't use the logo for space or other reasons, you should include the text 'Proudly supported by the Northern Territory Government.'

The logo may vary in size, but must be easy to read when placed near other text and graphics. It must also be clear of text or images.

The required Northern Territory Government logo will be provided with the funding agreement correspondence for this purpose.

Unspent funds

Unspent funds are funds that aren’t used or are expected to be unused at the end of a funding period, after all expenses for the project are finalised.

If the activity does not occur within the timeframe agreed in the funding agreement, you must notify and return the funds to the Office of Youth Affairs. They  will raise an invoice to your organisation to recover the unspent funds.

Variations

Alternatively, the organisation may apply for a change of purpose or variation through Grants NT to utilise the unspent funds.

This change of purpose must be lodged with the Office of Youth Affairs through GrantsNT prior to the acquittal due date shown on the funding agreement.

The Office of Youth Affairs retains the right to vary, cancel or waive any of the conditions and requirements of a grant.

Funds can only be spent according to the purpose specified in the funding agreement.

A variation for a change in date or venue, the scope of the activity, the budget or timeline, may be considered but must be negotiated with the Office of Youth Affairs in writing prior to the original date of the event.

If the delegated officer decides an organisation has not used the grant for the approved purposes or the conditions of funding have not been met, the organisation may be required to repay the funds in part or in full.

Evaluation is an evidence-based process of assessing the achievements of a grant program or an individual service.

Acquittal reports must be submitted through GrantsNT, as they tell us how you spent your grant and helps the Office of Youth Affairs to fulfil its accountability obligations to government and the community.

We collect information on applicants, activities, regions and other relevant demographic information to build, measure and understand the impact of activities we fund.

We will only ask for information that directly contributes to building relevant programs to support, strengthen and showcase young Territorians.

If you're an organisation, fill in the relevant template:

• YEG evaluation/acquittal report 2025-26 for organisations PDF (1015.1 KB)
• YEG evaluation/acquittal report 2025-26 for organisations DOCX (74.0 KB)
• RYAG progress report DOCX (60.4 KB).

If you're an individual, fill in:

• YEG evaluation/acquittal report 2025-26 for individuals PDF (737.1 KB)
• YEG evaluation/acquittal report 2025-26 for individuals DOCX (63.1 KB).