Who can apply

To be eligible for this program, your organisation must:

• have a current Australian Business Number (ABN). To check your ABN, visit Australian Business Register
• have no overdue final reports from previous department-funded grants, including from Multicultural Affairs, by 19 April 2024 for applications under Round 1 and by the closing date of Round 2 (to be announced). If you are unsure whether your organisation is up to date with all grant reporting, email the Multicultural Affairs Programs and Grants team multicultural-festivals.events@dffh.vic.gov.au
• be a legal entity that is either not-for-profit or a social enterprise.

Not-for-profit legal entity

You must clearly validate that your organisation is a legal entity by showing your organisation is either:

• registered with Consumer Affairs Victoria Associations Incorporation Reform Act 2012 as an incorporated association. This entity type is considered not-for-profit
• registered as a company under the Corporations Act 2001 via the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC)
• incorporated through an Act of Parliament.

To check if your organisation is:

• an incorporated association, visit Consumer Affairs Victoria 
• registered as a company, visit Australian Securities and Investments Commission.

If you are not an incorporated association, you must also clearly validate that your organisation is not-for-profit by showing that your organisation is either:

• registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission
• eligible through your organisation’s constitution, rules or governance documents.

Social enterprise

If your organisation is a social enterprise, it:

• must have a clearly stated purpose or mission that is related specifically to supporting multiculturalism
• must attach their constitution with their application and must still be a legal entity, for example, a company.

Social enterprises:

• have an economic, social, cultural or environmental mission that is consistent with a public or community benefit
• derive a large part of their income from trade
• reinvest the majority of their profit surplus in the fulfilment of their mission (at least 50%).

Unincorporated associations and community organisations with no ABN are not eligible but can apply using an auspice. See ‘Auspiced applications’ for more information.

Auspiced applications

Auspice arrangements are only permitted:

• under the small and medium stream of the MFE Program
• in the large stream for new and emerging community organisations, and rural and regional organisations.

What is an auspice arrangement?

If your organisation is not incorporated or does not have an ABN, you may still apply if an eligible auspice organisation that has agreed to manage the grant supports you.

An auspice arrangement is when an organisation assists another to fund a grant activity or event. Your community group or organisation is the grant recipient. The organisation auspicing is known as the auspice organisation.

A letter of support from the auspice organisation is mandatory for all applications with auspicing arrangements.

What are the responsibilities of an auspice organisation?

If your grant application is successful, your auspice organisation will be responsible for:

• signing the grant funding agreement, referred to as a Victorian Common Funding Agreement
• communicating with the department on your organisation’s behalf in relation to the event
• all legal and financial responsibility for the grant on your organisation’s behalf
• receiving and distributing grant funds under the grant agreement
• ensuring all grant activities or events are completed
• submitting final reports and financial acquittals on your organisation’s behalf by the required due dates.

Use the following chart to check whether your organisation is eligible.