Healing for Strong Families – Bidyadanga

The Bidyadanga Healing Model reflects local priorities and cultural knowledge, integrating First Nations healing methodologies with relevant therapeutic practices. This grant opportunity seeks providers who are known and trusted within the community, built genuine relationships and uphold cultural protocols. Successful applicants will demonstrate cultural competence, capability and a long-term commitment to working alongside community to deliver healing services that strengthen identity, safety and resilience.

Delivering this Healing Model requires more than service delivery; it requires relationship-building, cultural understanding and participatory engagement. Applicants are required to demonstrate

Need and Community Involvement – Show evidence of strong local connections, trust, and readiness.

Cultural Competence – Respect cultural protocols, understand histories and the impact of colonisation, and embed First Nations knowledge systems in service design and delivery.

Capability – Provide clear evidence of organisational capacity, leadership and experience in delivering culturally-led healing services that integrate therapeutic approaches where appropriate.

Delivering Outcomes – Commit to long-term engagement, ongoing communication and adaptive practice based on community feedback.

For information about how the National Indigenous Australians Agency (NIAA) manages personal information in the administration of its grants, please see the Grants and Funding page of the NIAA website - https://www.niaa.gov.au/indigenous-affairs/grants-and-funding. General information about the NIAA’s privacy policies is also included below.

This grant opportunity will open on 02 February 2026 and will close at 15:00 AEDT 04 March 2026.

For details on the Bidyadanga Healing Model and application requirements, visit GrantConnect.

Eligibility:

To be eligible you must:

• have an Australian Business Number (ABN) (exemptions may apply in special cases)
• be registered for the purposes of GST
• if an individual, be a permanent resident of Australia
• have an account, in your name and which you control, 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
• 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

Who is not eligible to apply can be found in section 4.2 of the Healing for Strong Families Grant Opportunity Guidelines.

Grant Activity Timeframe:

The maximum grant period is up to 3 years from Execution, or 30 June 2028, whichever is earlier.

You must complete your grant/project by 30 June 2028.

Total Amount Available (AUD):

$12,003,000.00

Estimated Grant Value (AUD):

From $1,680,000.00 to $2,820,000.00

Instructions for Application Submission:

To apply, you must:

• Complete the Healing for Strong Families online application form on GrantConnect
• Provide all requested info, address eligibility and assessment criteria
• Include required attachments
• Submit by 04 March 2026 15:00 AEDT

Use the checklist in Appendix C of the Grant Opportunity Guidelines.

Keep a copy of your application and documents. You're responsible for accuracy—false/misleading info is a serious offence under the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth) and may lead to exclusion.

If you find an error before the deadline, contact IASAMO@niaa.gov.au. Changes after the deadline are not accepted. We may seek clarification but won’t accept info that alters your application.

NIAA will confirm receipt within 3 working days with an Application ID. We may request further details about your entity or key personnel. For help, email familyhealing@niaa.gov.au.

Other Instructions:

Your application must respond directly to the Healing Model attached to this Grant Opportunity. As the grant is to deliver the Healing Model, failure to reference and address it will result in your application not being accepted.

A draft grant agreement and Q&A document is also provided to assist with preparing your application. The draft grant agreement is broad and not tailored to specific locations or Healing Models.