Women's Leadership and Development Program – Women in Public Office

Women face unique challenges and barriers when running for office and performing in their elected positions. These challenges and barriers can discourage women from running for public office. Equal representation and participation of women in politics is central to the democratic process. Political institutions must be representative of the diversity of the population to be responsive to the interests and needs of all its citizens. Having women in leadership positions helps reduce gender pay gaps, ensures decision-making is informed by diverse views, provides role models and mentors for the next generation of leaders, and contributes overall to achieving gender equality.

The Women in Public Office grant opportunity seeks projects that support women in and across Australia to prepare for and enter public office, at all levels of government. Projects will achieve tangible outcomes for women across the political spectrum who want to prepare and run for public office at the local, state and federal levels. Proposed projects must be designed to complement or expand existing initiatives, and not duplicate existing programs. Only non-partisan projects will be considered.

Applicants must consider approaches that engage First Nations women, women from culturally and linguistically diverse communities, women with disability, women from the LGBTQI+ community, women from diverse socio-economic communities, and women living in rural, regional and remote communities to increase representation and enhance diversity in public office.

Applications from consortia are strongly encouraged and will be prioritised to ensure the objectives of the grant opportunity can be met effectively and efficiently.

It is expected that no more than 3 grants will be funded, up to a total of $5 million (GST exclusive), depending on the scope of the grant activity and its complexity. Only consortia applications will be considered for the full $5 million allocation of available funding. This will ensure economies of scale and spread of expertise to maximise the reach of the grant.

Your application must satisfy the following eligibility criteria:

• organisations must be currently delivering programs/initiatives/resources that encourage and equip women to run for public office. These may include state government funded programs or other non-government, local programs
• proposed projects must be non-partisan. Applications will need to clearly demonstrate that activities are non-partisan and accessible to women across the political spectrum.

The decision maker can choose to waive the eligibility criteria in exceptional circumstances and only if the result of taking such action has minimal impact on the objectives and intended outcomes of the grant opportunity. The decision maker must be made aware of all risks. Clear evidence will be provided to the delegate to enable a decision on waiving eligibility criteria.