Print - Chinese Community Hall Hire Program guidelines

Published by:: Department of Premier and Cabinet
Date:: 20 Feb 2026

Victorian Government Values Statement

The Victorian Government is committed to building community harmony and ensuring every Victorian feels safe and can participate in all aspects of Victorian life. This commitment is reflected in the contractual relationship with funded organisations, which sets out the expectation that organisations will uphold the Victorian Government values and the Commitment to Social Cohesion, when delivering their funded projects.

Whether at home, at work, while volunteering in the community, these are the values that make Victoria a great place to live – and a place we can all be proud of.
1. One law for all - All Victorians have the same responsibilities, rights and protections under the law.
2. 2.Freedom to be yourself - Everyone is free to be themselves and to feel safe in being true to themselves.
3. Discrimination is never acceptable - Everyone has a responsibility to promote inclusion and participation and to reject exclusion, racism and all forms of violence.
4. A fair go for all - Every Victorian should be given the support they need to enjoy the Victorian way of life.
5. It is up to all of us to contribute to a Victoria we can be proud of - We all want similar things – the opportunity to thrive, for our successes to be recognised, and for our families and loved ones to be safe, secure and happy.
Victoria is a proudly diverse community.
Our social cohesion is part of what makes our state a great place to live.
It is expected that your organisation will commit to upholding Victoria’s social cohesion.
You will do this in your daily conduct as an organisation by:
- Supporting shared understanding and celebration
- Being respectful of different views and perspective
- Creating an inclusive environment where everyone can belong
- Rejecting racism, vilification and discrimination in all forms.
You will acknowledge that the conduct of your organisation, its employees, its contractors and/or volunteers, adheres to the Victorian Government values and the Commitment to Social Cohesion.
You are required to read, understand and make your employees, contractors and volunteers aware of the Victorian Government values and the Commitment to Social Cohesion.

Message from the Minister for Multicultural Affairs

I am excited to announce the launch of the Chinese Community Hall Hire program.

Victoria’s Chinese communities are some of our most longstanding and established communities. Our Chinese communities continue to make an indelible contribution to Victoria’s cultural landscape and to our state every day.

The Victorian Government is committed to providing safe, accessible and culturally appropriate spaces for our Chinese communities.

This grant program will enable Victoria’s Chinese communities to hire venues to host meetings, network, celebrate cultural traditions and provide educational support.

By partnering with local Chinese community organisations, this funding will help build stronger community ties, promote collaboration, and ensure Victoria’s Chinese communities continue to grow and thrive into the future.

I encourage eligible Chinese community organisations to apply for support through the CCHH program. Together, we can continue to celebrate our cultural diversity and ensure that Victoria remains a welcoming place for everyone.

Ingrid Stitt MP

Minister for Multicultural Affairs

Introduction and program objective

The objective of the Chinese Community Hall Hire (CCHH) program is to support Victoria’s Chinese community organisations through grant payments towards venue hire for their community gatherings, events, and meeting activities.

The CCHH program will offer grants to Chinese community organisations towards venue hire costs when a venue is hired for the purpose of their community or organisation activities.

These activities must support Victoria’s Chinese communities to:

celebrate and share their history and traditions
build Chinese community connections, capacity, and networks to participate in society
help Chinese communities to access social and cultural opportunities.

The CCHH program will offer two funding streams:

Small grants of up to $10,000
Large grants between $10,001 and $40,000.

Important information to consider includes:

Grant funds received from an application to the program can only be used to pay for the costs of hiring a venue.
No other costs associated with the activities to be held at the venue can be supported by grant funds.
If venue hire costs are greater than the grant amount offered, the applicant organisation pays all costs above the grant amount.
Eligible venues include, for example, community halls, centres, hubs, youth centres and camp facilities, museums, theatres, galleries, function centres, and sporting facilities.

Timeline

Applications open
20 February 2026
Applications close at 3:00 pm
30 March 2026
Late applications will not be accepted.
Venue hires
15 May 2026 to 15 February 2027
Applications must hire venues during this time.

Key terms

Chinese community organisation

A Chinese community organisation is an organisation owned and managed by a Chinese ancestry, language, faith or cultural community which services Chinese community member needs, customs and traditions. The organisation will exist to support people from Chinese ancestry, cultural, language or faith groups.

Hall

A hall is a venue / facility / building available for hire to Chinese community organisations. The hall may be owned by a community, public or private sector organisation.

Hire

Hire is the applicant organisation paying for a venue for a specific time period in which to undertake a specific activity.

Funding available

There are two funding streams available (see table below):

Small stream is for eligible venue hire costs up to $10,000.

Large stream is for eligible venue hire costs between $10,001 and $40,000 maximum.

Please note:

An organisation can apply under one stream only.

If more than one application is submitted, the department will only consider the first application.

All other applications will not be accepted.

What are the differences between the two funding streams?

Small stream is easier to access, has lower documentation requirements and the program will fund most eligible applications.

The Small stream focuses on eligibility and so an eligible organisation seeking a grant to undertake the hire of an eligible venue for eligible activities is likely to be funded.

Large stream is still easy to access but will require additional application, assessment and reporting documents and may require matched funding.

The Large stream also focuses on eligibility but a hire activities plan and budget / quotes are also required when you apply and there is a higher standard of financial reporting required at the end of the venue hire(s).

For the Large funding stream, hiring private commercial facilities such as hotels or function centres will require matched funding from the applicant.

The large stream is more competitive, and not all applications will be successful.

Funding stream

Hire type

Matched funding*

Required matched funding ratio (organisation: grant)

Mandatory documents**

Grant funding available

Small stream

Once only and/or regular and repeat venue hires

Not required

N/A

Hire Activities Plan

Up to $10,000

Large stream

Once only and/or regular and repeat venue hires

Yes - only for private commercial for-profit venues) *

1:1*

Hire Activities Plan

Venue Quotes

Bank Statements

Between $10,001 and $40,000

^*See Matched funding requirements page for more information

^**See Mandatory documents page for more information

Supporting Community Diversity

CCHH program funding aims to support diversity among Victoria’s Chinese communities and to encourage organisations to take an inclusive and intersectional approach in these projects. All applicants should consider the diverse needs and experiences of community members including, for example, Chinese Victorian women, seniors, LGBTIQA+ people, youth, and children.

Matched funding requirements

Any funding gap, between total venue hire costs and total grant amount offered, will need to be paid by the applicant organisation.

No matched funding is required for using not-for-profit community facilities.

Many available venues are publicly owned and operated by local councils or the state government. Multicultural community organisations and not-for-profit organisations also often make their venues available for community hire.

For the Large stream, hiring private, commercial, or for-profit venues such as hotels, restaurants or private event facilities will require 50% matched funding from the applicant.

This means that for every $1 applied for, $1 must be provided as matched funding by the applicant Chinese community organisation.

Applicants that wish to hire a for-profit venue must include evidence of their ability to pay the matched funding.

Matched funding example (Large stream only)

Single hall hire – Private or commercial facilities

Matched Funding required: $1: $1 (50% grant: 50% matched funding)
Minimum of one dollar from your organisation for every one dollar of government funding.
For example, if the CCHH grants you $2,500 for a one-off hire of a private or commercial venue, you will need to match this contribution with $2,500.
In-kind contributions are not eligible for consideration as part of your matched funding contribution.

Eligibility

To be eligible to apply for funding through CCHH, your organisation’s application must meet the following eligibility criteria:

Organisation eligibility: meet the organisation eligibility criteria.

Grant activity eligibility: venue hire is the only eligible grant activity that aligns with the aim of CCHH.

Mandatory documents: submit all mandatory documents.

Only eligible applications will be considered for funding.

Note: Organisations are limited to one application. If more than one application is submitted, the department will only consider the first application. All other applications will not be accepted.

Organisation eligibility

Who is eligible to apply for a grant?

To apply for CCHH funding, your organisation must meet all organisation eligibility criteria in the table below.

Organisation eligibility criteria	Requirements
Victorian Government Values Statement	Your organisation must agree that employees, contractors, and volunteers will uphold and promote the Victorian Government Value Statement (which includes the Commitment to Social Cohesion) while delivering your project.
Chinese community organisation	Your organisation must be a Chinese community organisation. A Chinese community organisation is an organisation owned and managed by a Chinese ancestry, language, faith or cultural community which services Chinese community member needs, customs and traditions. The organisation will exist to support people from Chinese ancestry, cultural, language or faith groups.
Incorporated legal entity	Your organisation must be an incorporated legal entity under one of the following: the Associations Incorporation Reform Act 2012 (Vic) registered with Consumer Affairs Victoria the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) registered with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) an Act of Parliament. You must provide a copy of the Act with your application.
Current Australian Business Number	Your organisation must have a current ABN matching the organisation’s name in your application. To check if your organisation has a current ABN, go to ABN Lookup.
Not-for-profit	Your organisation must be a not-for-profit demonstrated under one of the following: registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) registered as an incorporated association with Consumer Affairs Victoria (CAV) registered as a company limited by guarantee with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) a social enterprise with a clearly stated purpose or mission related solely to supporting the Chinese community in Victoria. Social enterprises must attach their constitution, rules, or governance documents with their application. Note: Incorporated associations are considered not-for-profit entities.
Not be the responsibility of another ministerial portfolio	Your organisation must not be the responsibility of another ministerial portfolio (such as health, education, and sport and recreation)
No overdue grant requirements with the department	Your organisation must be up-to-date with all requirements for grants your organisation currently has from Multicultural Affairs. To check if your organisation is up to date with grant reporting requirements email the Multicultural Affairs Infrastructure Team.
Can meet the organisation’s matched funding contribution	Your organisation must provide evidence that it can meet the matched funding contribution requirement (if required). See Mandatory documents for more information.

Organisations that are not eligible for CCHH program funding include:
- any organisation which is not a Chinese community organisation
- unincorporated legal entities
- individuals and sole traders
- organisations that are commercial or set up to make a profit (except social enterprises)
- public companies limited by shares (unless a foundational document can prove not-for-profit status)
- commercial enterprises
- local government authorities (LGAs)
- registered pre-, primary and secondary schools – excluding community language schools that are eligible
- organisations that have not complied with the terms and conditions of previous grants
- organisations applying under an auspice agreement.

Grant activity eligibility

What can CCHH grant funding be used for?

The grant will only support payment of venue hire fees at eligible venues.

No other costs associated with the activities to be held at the venue can be supported by grant funds.

All other costs such as public liability insurance, cleaning, food and beverages, third-party audio visual and equipment hire, additional staffing or security must be paid by the applicant organisation.

If venue hire costs are greater than the grant amount offered, the applicant organisation pays all costs above the grant amount.

Applicants must also agree to:

meet all the standard conditions of hire requirements by the venue
pay any and all additional charges by the venue agreed to at booking such as (but not limited to): deposit, bond and cancellation charges.

Preference is given to the hire of venues owned and operated by community and not-for-profit organisations.
Eligible venues with spaces for hire include:
- community centres, halls, and hubs
- facilities which belong to other multicultural community organisations
- local council owned and operated facilities
- neighbourhood houses
- youth centres
- camp facilities
- museums and galleries
- theatres
- sports clubs and sporting facilities
- government schools (public or state)
- function centres and event venues
- hotel meeting and function rooms (Large Stream - 50% matched funding)
- Other non-government schools (Large Stream - 50% matched funding).
Ineligible venues for hire include:
- venues located outside of Victoria
- private residential homes
- any accommodation rooms/facility.
Hire of venues will be supported for activities that the department considers align with the objective of the CCHH program. Examples include:
- organisational and community meetings (e.g. Annual General Meeting, committee meetings)
- community gatherings
- seminars
- educational activities (e.g. homework clubs, language classes)
- concerts and performances (e.g. music, dance)
- cultural exhibitions (e.g. arts, crafts)
- cultural celebrations and events
- health and wellbeing activities (e.g. yoga, Tai Chi classes)
- sporting activities and tournaments
- fundraising events – but only where all funds raised go to the applicant organisation
- paid ticketed events – but only where any profit raised goes to the applicant organisation.
Participants in the activity can include non-members of the organisation.
Hire of venues will not be supported for the following activities:
- activities that the department considers do not align with the objective of the CCHH program or Victorian values
- family celebrations or events (e.g. weddings)
- conferences
- overnight / accommodation bookings
- activities that promote or are undertaken for political purposes
- activities that are already receiving or seeking funding through other Multicultural Affairs programs (e.g. Multicultural Festivals and Events)
- organisations or activities that are the responsibility of another ministerial portfolio.

Possible venue hire and activity examples

Single, “once-only” hire in a community/not-for-profit venue
Total Hire Cost: $3,000 (single hire)
Grant Amount Requested: $3,000
Hire and activity summary
- A Chinese dance group hosts a one-off dance concert in a council owned theatre in Dandenong, which has 300 seats.
- The total daily cost to hire the theatre for an afternoon and an evening performance is $3,000.
- The concerts reinforce Chinese culture and traditions and appreciation of these traditions amongst the broader community.
Regular hire in a community / not-for-profit venue
Total Hire Cost: $1,200 (regular/recurring hire)
Grant Amount Requested: $1,200
Hire and activity summary
A Chinese community organisation in Glen Waverley hires a meeting room in a Monash Council community hall for three hours every week for four months at $50 per hour.
The organisation runs a series of health and wellness seminars along with health and social activities.
The hiring of the venue provides an environment for women to access health education and social connection opportunities – sometimes using their Chinese language capabilities.
Single “Once-only” hire in a commercial/for-profit venue
Total Hire Cost: $5,000 (single hire)
Grant Amount Requested: $5,000
Matched funding not required.
Dinner and Entertainment Cost: $8,000 – Ineligible for grant, the applicant must pay this cost in full.
Hire and activity summary
- A Chinese community organisation in Bendigo hires a hotel function centre for $5,000 to hold a Chinese New Year Celebration and Dinner to seat up to 400 guests at $20 per head ($8,000). The dinner includes entertainment performers.
- The total cost of the venue hire is $5,000 and this is eligible.
- As this is a Small Stream application, the grant can be used to pay for the private hotel function centre hire.
The event is ticketed, which enables the organisation to recover all of its costs for catering and payment of performers and to raise some further funds for the organisation.
Mix of hires in for-profit and not-for-profit venues
Total Hire Cost: $25,000 (3 hires at 3 facilities)
Grant Amount Requested: $22,000
Matched funding 50% of $6,000 = $3,000
Hire and activity summary
- A large Chinese community organisation is holding three 50^th anniversary events.
- A major two-day community sports festival in August at the (not-for-profit) State Sports Centre in South Melbourne will cost $12,000 for two-days hire.
- A cultural dance day in July at Dandenong Council’s (not-for-profit) theatre venue will cost $7,000.
- These two venues are not-for-profit and so grant funds can cover both these hire costs.
- A dinner to fundraise for the organisation’s scholarships at a Mornington Peninsula Hotel in May where venue hire will cost $6,000 (hire cost only – the organisation will pay for the dinner costs.).
- As the hotel is a for-profit venue and this is a Large Stream application (over $10,000 requested), the applicant organisation will pay matched funding of $3,000 towards the $6,000 hotel hire.
Document requirements:
- At Application - The organisation must provide quotes for all three hires (as they are over $5,000).
- At Final Reporting - When the final hire complete, the organisation must provide a report, photos, the stadium venue hire invoice and proof of payment of the stadium hire invoice (as that hire is over $10,000 in cost).

Mandatory documents

All Applications

The following document is mandatory for both Small and Large stream applications. It must be included for your application to be eligible and to be considered for funding.

Mandatory document:	Requirements
Hire Activities Plan template -Timetable of hired venue(s) use, hire costs, and planned activities	You must use the CCHH Hire Activities Plan template for this. CCHH Hire Activities Plan Word 599.89 KB (opens in a new window) In the template you must include information on your planned hire dates, the proposed hire venue(s), a description of the planned activities, and the confirmed hire costs. Applicants must clearly identify how the grant funding (and any matched funding contribution) will be applied against each venue hire.

Mandatory document:

Requirements

Hire Activities Plan template -Timetable of hired venue(s) use, hire costs, and planned activities

You must use the CCHH Hire Activities Plan template for this.

CCHH Hire Activities Plan

Word 599.89 KB

In the template you must include information on your planned hire dates, the proposed hire venue(s), a description of the planned activities, and the confirmed hire costs.
Applicants must clearly identify how the grant funding (and any matched funding contribution) will be applied against each venue hire.

Large stream only

In addition to the Hire Activities Plan above, the following documents are also mandatory for Large stream applications seeking over $10,000 in grant funding. They must be included for your application to be eligible and to be considered for funding.

Mandatory document:	Requirements
Quotes or booking confirmation	Quote(s) or booking confirmation(s) from your selected venue(s) must be supplied for all proposed hires over $5,000. These should also be detailed in the Hire Activities Plan. Quotes should be current and no older than 60 days before applications close. All quotes must exclude GST (or clearly show the GST component separately). If quotes do not clearly exclude GST or show it separately, the department will assume the quotes are GST inclusive and reduce your request by 10 per cent.
Bank Statement (only required if Matched funding is required)	Acceptable evidence of any required matched funding includes your organisation’s current bank statement at date of application showing a balance that at least meets the matched funding requirement (account must be in the name of the applicant organisation) Statutory declarations and personal bank account balances of members of the organisation are not an acceptable form of matched funding evidence.

Mandatory document:

Requirements

Quotes or booking confirmation

Quote(s) or booking confirmation(s) from your selected venue(s) must be supplied for all proposed hires over $5,000. These should also be detailed in the Hire Activities Plan.
Quotes should be current and no older than 60 days before applications close.
All quotes must exclude GST (or clearly show the GST component separately).
If quotes do not clearly exclude GST or show it separately, the department will assume the quotes are GST inclusive and reduce your request by 10 per cent.

Bank Statement (only required if Matched funding is required)

Acceptable evidence of any required matched funding includes your organisation’s current bank statement at date of application showing a balance that at least meets the matched funding requirement (account must be in the name of the applicant organisation)
Statutory declarations and personal bank account balances of members of the organisation are not an acceptable form of matched funding evidence.

Assessment process overview

How your application will be scored

The assessment criteria and weightings are explained in the table below.

The program is a targeted program assessed on eligibility and merit.

The department runs the program and may make retrospective changes to the program guidelines.

Small stream applications will undergo an eligibility assessment only.

Large stream applications will undergo both and eligibility assessment and a merit assessment.

Assessment criteria	Weighting
Activities align with the objective of the CCHH program	25%
Applicant organisation clearly services the Chinese community and venue hire activities benefit Chinese community members	50%
Hire Activities Plan (clearly completed with locations/dates/activities/costs etc included)	25%

Assessment criteria

Weighting

Activities align with the objective of the CCHH program

25%

Applicant organisation clearly services the Chinese community and venue hire activities benefit Chinese community members

50%

Hire Activities Plan

(clearly completed with locations/dates/activities/costs etc included)

25%

The department will present funding recommendations for each application to the Minister for Multicultural Affairs.

Ministerial approval – the Minister for Multicultural Affairs makes the final decision based on the recommendations from the department.

Application outcome – all applicant organisations are advised whether their grant application is successful or not in writing.

All decisions by the department or the Minister for Multicultural Affairs are final. This includes decisions on any aspect of the funding application, eligibility and assessment process and:

any decision to offer or award a grant under this program
any decision to withdraw the offer or cancel the grant funding agreement.

How to apply

Applications open on 20 February 2026

Read these program guidelines carefully and:

make sure your organisation and project meet the eligibility criteria before you start an application
attend an information session, refer to the
Chinese Community Hall Hire Program page for more details
if you have any questions about your proposed project or the application process, email the Multicultural Affairs Programs and Grants Team or phone 1300 112 755.

Submitting your application

Submit your application on Grants Gateway

You must answer all the questions. Incomplete applications will not be eligible.

Submit all the mandatory documents. If you do not include all the mandatory documents, your application will be ineligible.

Applications close at 3:00 pm on 30 March 2026.

The Grants Portal, where applications are made, closes electronically at 3:00 pm and so all applications must be completed with all attachments already uploaded before 3:00 pm.

Late applications cannot be accepted.

You will be notified of the outcome of your application once all applications have been assessed.

How to strengthen your application

Applicants to both streams can strengthen their applications by responding carefully to all questions in the application form and helping assessors to understand:

the purpose of your organisation
the proposed plan of venue hire(s)
the activities which will happen during the venue hire(s) and
the benefits for Chinese community participants from the activities and venue hire(s) proposed.

Applicants to the Large Stream must provide all the mandatory documents (only applications providing all the mandatory documents will be assessed).

Ensure the required Hire Activities Plan template and any supporting documents clearly identifies the proposed hire venue(s), funding sought, date(s) of hire, activities planned and quote information for the proposed hire(s) or a confirmed booking with the hiring organisation.

Information sessions

To support organisations to prepare their applications, the department will hold information sessions delivered as webinars.

Our CCHH information sessions dates have been set for:

Need more information or help?

You can contact the Multicultural Affairs Infrastructure team:

Email multicultural.infrastructure@dpc.vic.gov.au
Phone on 1300 112 755 during business hours

Successful grants

If your application is successful, project details (project name, description and successful grant amount) will be published on the Chinese Community Hall Hire Program webpage.

Funding agreements

If successful, you must enter into a Victorian Common Funding Agreement (VCFA) with the department within a specified timeframe. If a funding offer is not accepted during this period, it may be withdrawn. The VCFA outlines:

the grant’s terms and conditions, including use of funds
any key milestones, deliverables, and due dates
applicable department policies, including the Victorian Government Values Statement
that all funded activities must be completed by or earlier than the date specified in the VCFA
reporting requirements – organisations will need to submit all required grant reports (progress and final reports). For Large Stream projects, a financial acquittal with final venue hire invoices and evidence that these invoices have been paid is required.

Funding conditions

All organisations supported through the program must have active public liability insurance with a minimum cover of $10 million for any one incident. Organisations will be required to submit evidence of their public liability insurance before signing a funding agreement.

Grant funds cannot be used to pay for public liability insurance.

Successful organisations will be paid as outlined in the VCFA.

A note about GST

If your organisation is registered for GST, you will be paid GST on top of the amount awarded.

If your organisation is not registered for GST, you will receive just the grant amount awarded. GST will not be added on top.

A note on return of funds

For the CCHH program, the only eligible use of grant funds is towards payment of venue hire costs. The department’s return of funds procedure requires significant additional time and documentation from successful recipients. It is highly recommended that applicants avoid the return of funds process by requesting only the minimum grant amount which exactly meets their venue hire costs.

Applicants are expected to seek value for money when using public grant funds.
Applicants must seek to avoid any waste of public grant funds and need to plan ahead when making an application so that they request only the minimum funding needed.
Grant funds not spent on the eligible activity, and any unspent or leftover grant funds must be declared and returned in full to the department.
Applicants should only request “up to” the maximum amount of grant funding they need.

Acknowledging the Victorian Government’s support

Successful organisations need to acknowledge the Victorian Government’s support of your project. Promotional guidelines form part of the VCFA. They include the requirement that all activities acknowledge Victorian Government support through logo presentation on any activity-related publications, media releases, social media or promotional material.

Glossary

Chinese Community Hall Hire (CCHH) program –
specific definitions

Term	Definition
Chinese community organisation	An organisation that is owned and managed by a Chinese ancestry, language, faith or cultural community which services Chinese Victorian community member needs, customs, and traditions. The organisation will exist to support people from Chinese ancestry, cultural, language or faith groups.
Department of Premier and Cabinet	The Department of Premier and Cabinet – Multicultural Affairs Programs and Partnerships branch (the department) operates the program.
Grant amount requested	This is the funding amount ($) that your organisation is applying for.
Hall	A venue / facility / building which is available for hire to Chinese community organisations. This may be owned and operated by a community, public or private sector organisation.
Hire	The process of booking and paying for a venue for a specific time period in which to undertake a specific activity.
Matched funding	The amount your organisation will be required to pay as its monetary contribution towards the total venue hire cost: for-profit venues hire, such as hotels, restaurants and other commercial or private facilities this will be $1 for every $1 provided by the CCHH grant any funding gap, between total venue hire costs and total grant amount offered, will need to be paid by the applicant organisation.
Social enterprise	An organisation: being led by an economic, social, cultural or environmental mission that is consistent with a public or community benefit deriving most of its income from trade reinvesting most of its profit or surplus in fulfilling its mission (at least 50 per cent).
Total venue hire cost	The total venue hire cost is the same as the venue hire quote amount. The grant amount requested and any additional funding needed together make up the total cost for the venue hire(s). Any cost above the grant amount must be paid by the applicant organisation.

Chinese Community Hall Hire Program guidelines

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