Grant funding is tightening: what councils should do before EOFY

By Zoe Dark, Principal Advisor and Manager, Grant Office 

As councils approach the end of the financial year and prepare for the Queensland State Budget, now is an important time to undertake a strategic stocktake of priority projects, funding readiness and delivery timeframes. 

With competition for funding expected to remain high into FY27, increasingly constrained budgets, shorter application windows and growing pressure on infrastructure delivery, councils should be asking several key questions: 

• What are our top five priority projects?
• Which projects are progressing toward ‘grant ready’ or ‘shovel ready’ status?
• Are project costs, designs and business cases current and defensible?
• Have alternative approaches, staging options and delivery models been explored and assessed?
• Has options analysis been undertaken to demonstrate this is the best-fit and most defensible solution?
• Do we know which funding programs we are targeting and when they are expected to open?
• Will projects realistically be ready in time to compete? 
• Has land tenure, ownership and any required approvals or consents been confirmed?

Funding announcements are increasingly favouring projects that are already strategically aligned, scoped, costed and defensible - not projects starting from scratch after rounds open. 

In our work across Queensland and nationally, we are continuing to see increasing emphasis on project maturity, evidence and delivery confidence. Councils with updated strategies, current cost estimates, clear statements of need, confirmed land tenure and strong alignment to state and federal priorities are likely to be better positioned in a competitive environment. For housing-enabling infrastructure in particular, demand evidence is a critical component of competitive applications. Assessors are looking for current, independent data, recent property market reports, population forecasts, vacancy rates and development pipeline analysis. Where projects target growth corridors, councils should ensure demand modelling is based on the most recent available data and is clearly documented and sourced.

Applications that rely on outdated or uncited figures are increasingly disadvantaged at assessment. In the Grant Office we work with councils to build the underlying case - evidence, structure, sequencing and strategic framing - that gives a strong project the best possible chance of being funded, before turning that work into a compelling grant application.

Key areas likely to remain priorities across future funding rounds include: 

• Housing enabling infrastructure
• Disaster resilience and recovery
• Water security and essential services
• Roads and freight connectivity
• Regional liveability and community infrastructure 

Importantly, councils should also consider whether supporting documents and planning frameworks remain current and aligned. This may include reviewing corporate plans, Tourism/ Economic Development Strategies, housing strategies, Local Resilience Action Plans (LRAPs), disaster management documentation, asset management plans and whole-of-life cost assumptions. 

June provides an ideal opportunity to review project pipelines, refresh costings, confirm strategic priorities and progress business cases before future rounds open. 

In the Grant Office, we continue to work closely with councils to identify priority projects, align project maturity with forecast funding opportunities and support the development of realistic funding pathways in an increasingly competitive environment, work that starts well before a round opens. 

If you’d like to discuss your projects and how we can work together to identify available funding as part of our grant management program, please contact Zoe Dark, Principal Advisor and Manager - Grant Office zdark@peakservices.com.au.