2026 BirdLife Australia Community Grants

What will the project be assessed against?

We are looking for projects that support the implementation of BirdLife Australia’s Bird Conservation Strategy.

All grant applications in both streams must:

• Align with BirdLife Australia’s Bird Conservation Strategy
• Have clear and measurable outcome(s)
• Comply with BirdLife Australia’s policies and values, and manage project risk (including OHS)
• Have all bird surveys standardised and submitted to Birdata
• Be for activities or equipment and materials that have not yet been delivered or purchased prior to the closing date of the 2026 Community Grants Program applications (funding will not be given retrospectively)
• Be completed within 12 months of receipt of funds
• Be conducted within Australia or benefit species regularly occurring in Australia (overseas-based groups will not be funded)
• Comply with BirdLife Australia’s Birding Ethics and obtain the necessary ethics permits and research permits, where applicable
• Respect the rights of First Nations Peoples and, where possible, engage with local First Nations groups in the design and delivery of the project
• Demonstrate cost-effectiveness
• Demonstrate long-term sustainability or impact beyond the 12-month funding period
• Demonstrate collaboration and partnerships with other groups or organisations

Please note: if you are seeking funding for your project from multiple sources concurrently, in the event that you secure funding from another source for the same costs, please notify BirdLife Australia promptly to discuss.

Who can apply?

Any community group or volunteer organisation which meets the listed criteria can apply for a BirdLife Australia Community Grant, including BirdLife Australia branches and action groups. Your grant application will be reviewed by BirdLife Australia’s Community Grants Coordinator and Community Grants and Awards Committee to ensure eligibility.

Please note that we will only accept one submission for a Community Grant per round from an individual, community group or branch.

Exclusions

Projects or activities which are not eligible to receive funding in 2026 are:

• Wildlife rescues or shelters
• University research projects (see Stuart Leslie Student Grants)
• Projects with a commercial goal
• Long-term or ongoing employment positions
• Government projects or organisations
• Commercial projects

BirdLife Australia is striving to achieve an enormous, world-changing goal. To protect birds from extinction, we must empower communities who want to protect their patch and address threats to birds. It requires the community to demonstrate its love for birds and nature, being empowered to come together to work to protect habitats, champion birds and create the conditions for change.

Stream 1 provides funding for projects that encourage community engagement and volunteering to appreciate, conserve and speak up for birds.

Stream 1 projects must:

• Increase participation in the conservation and protection of birds through education, community engagement and/ or volunteering
• Increase the number of people supporting BirdLife Australia and its Bird Conservation Strategy.

Priority will be given to projects that include any of the following:

• Increase diversity, inclusion and accessibility in participation
• Support the growth of leadership in volunteering
• Support the growth in the number of volunteers in a current group, or the development of new volunteer groups
• Demonstrate a journey towards behaviour change
• A focus on locations or species of greatest need, as outlined in BirdLife Australia’s Bird Conservation Strategy.

BirdLife Australia prides itself on finding evidence-based solutions to achieve fundamental change in saving birds. To succeed, we partner with First Nations people, local communities and our dedicated volunteer network on projects which use rigorous scientific data to achieve outcomes.
Stream 2 provides funding for conservation projects that protect birds and their habitats at a local or landscape scale; conduct research into bird conservation; or assist in meeting conservation strategy goals.

Stream 2 projects must:

• Focus on critical habitat such as Key Biodiversity Areas and/or conservation programs
• Align with BirdLife Australia’s Research Strategy priorities

Priority will be given to projects which:

• Benefit species which are a high conservation priority
• Follow best practice conservation project design (see page 9 of the research strategy)
• Collaborate with relevant BirdLife Australia staff and/ or external stakeholders*
• Lead to novel solutions to bird conservation problems

We strongly suggest that you contact us to discuss your project ahead of time. Projects that align with our existing work and collaborate with staff on outcomes for our conservation work have a higher success rate. Contact us to be connected with the relevant staff member.

Results and data generated by Stream 2 projects are expected to be made available in one of BirdLife Australia’s scientific publications. Support for publication can be provided by the Science and Conservation Planning team if required.

Please consider the following: 

• Salary costs, including those to pay consultants are unlikely to be funded
• Clothing costs are unlikely to be funded
• Applications that demonstrate in-kind contributions of services will be viewed favourably
• Applications that demonstrate consideration of additional funding in case of partial funding will be viewed favourably.
• Original projects are often viewed favourably
• Modest budgets are more likely to attract funding
• Consider other environmental aspects (such as reducing waste)
• Priority is given to projects with strong alignment with BirdLife Australia’s strategy
• Applications for projects that have been well planned and contain well considered details are more likely to attract funding
• If you are only asking for partial funding, please outline which aspects you are requesting funding for and detail your other resourcing
• Work on private property less likely to be funded
• Applications obviously produced using AI are not appreciated
• Grants for equipment should explicitly state what the plan is for the equipment after the project
• Need more guidance? Contact us at grants@bridlife.org.au