The Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) Human Rights Small Grants Scheme provides Short-term funding for Non-Government Organizations and human rights institutions in developing countries for projects that promote and protect human rights.
Aims of the Human Rights Small Grants Scheme
- Providing funding for organizations based in developing countries. The small grants are awarded annually for projects that promote and protect human rights in direct and tangible ways.
- Supporting human rights by funding projects that build the capacity of developing countries to promote and protect human rights.
Eligible organizations:
- Already involved in promoting and defending human rights
- Already based in an eligible developing country (Asia, the Pacific, Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa and the Middle East.
- Have a proven track record in the type of activity it wants funded and experience in the country in which the project will take place in
- Are preferably non-government, although government bodies are not excluded.
Eligible project activities:
Must achieve one or more of the following objectives;
- Educating and awareness raising in the area of human rights
- Promoting democratic principles
- Educating and training human rights workers
- Promoting international human rights standards, including improved reporting to United Nations (UN) treaty bodies and the Universal Periodic Review
- Promoting and strengthening national or regional human rights institutions or policies.
Directly benefit marginalised groups (such as people with disability, women, children and youth, people living with HIV/AIDS, prisoners, homeless people, refugees and internally displaced people, Indigenous peoples, ethnic minorities and others)
promote equal opportunities for women and men in line with AusAID’s gender policy.
Where possible, projects should also:
- Strengthen the applicant organisation’s ability to deliver sustained human rights work after Australian funding has ceased
- Encourage self-help and self-reliance by involving communities in developing, implementing and managing project activities and by using community structures and systems
- Strengthen the ability of institutions to meet their obligations and requirements to report on their performance to UN human rights treaty bodies and the Universal Periodic Review.
Applications must include a strategy for identifying the project as an Australian Government-supported initiative.
Applications for joint or partial funding of a larger project with other contributors will be accepted.
Applications for funding project activities that have previously received an HRSGS grant will be considered.
New funds will not be released until previous HRSGS funding has been acquitted.
Applications must be for projects that adhere to the following Australian Government policies
Project activities not eligible for funding:
- Projects determined reasonably to be contrary to Australia’s interests
- Projects that support independence movements
- Evangelism or missionary outreach activities
- Political campaign activities
- Projects or activities that create dependency
- Emergency relief activities
- Recurrent costs, unless the organisation demonstrates in its application how it will take over these costs
- Retrospective activities
- Activities that already receive significant funding through other Australian Government programs.
Amount and duration of funding:
- Proposed projects should be for between A$20,000 and A$100,000.
- Projects should preferably be of a one-year duration.
- Projects of up to A$150,000 over two years will be considered.
- Funding will not be provided for travel expenses exceeding 20 per cent of total project costs, or for the provision of equipment, freight or buildings, where each exceeds 20 per cent of the total project costs.
Application Deadline: 2 October.
For more information and application, visit; Human Rights Small Grants Scheme Website
