Families and Children Activity program funding extensions

26 March 2021

The Australian Government is extending funding arrangements for a number of funded services under the Families and Children Activity, which are due to expire on 30 June 2021.

Five year grant extensions to 30 June 2026 will be offered to:

  • Communities for Children Facilitating Partners (CfC FPs),
  • Family and Relationship Services (FaRS)*,
  • Family Mental Health Support Services (FMHSS), and
  • five national Children and Parenting Support (CaPS) providers.

* Future funding arrangements for FaRS Specialised Family Violence Services who have funding until 30 June 2022 will be considered under the next National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children.

Two-year grant extensions to 30 June 2023 will be offered to other providers delivering CaPS or Budget Based Funded (BBF) services.

Following initial notification in November 2020, organisations receiving an extension of funding have received a letter from the Department of Social Services via email notifying them of the intent to offer an extension to their funding. If your organisation has not received this letter and you believe it should have received the letter, please contact your Funding Arrangement Manager.

In addition to this letter, providers should expect to receive a formal letter of offer from the department from the end of April 2021.

A copy of the draft Grant Agreement, Terms and Conditions and supplementary Terms and Conditions can be viewed below:

Communities for Children Facilitating Partners (CFC FP)

Family and Relationship Services (FaRS)

Family Mental Health Support Services (FMHSS)

Children and Parenting Support Services (CapS)

Budget Based Funded (BBF)

Consultation and future directions

On 27 November 2020, the department released a Discussion Paper Supporting Improvements to the Families and Children Activity.The discussion paper was focused on how, through the delivery of the Australian Government’s Families and Children Activity, we can achieve better outcomes for families and children, particularly those experiencing vulnerability. Interested service providers were invited to respond to the discussion paper and to participate in focused discussions convened throughout February 2021.

The extension of funding arrangements enables the policy reforms discussed throughout the consultation process to be put into practice.

Further information about the consultation, including published submissions and responses to frequently asked questions are available on the DSS Engage webpage at: Supporting Improvements to the Families and Children Activity | engage.dss.gov.au

The consultation has already provided meaningful input into the development of the new funding arrangements and consultation with organisations will continue about the implementation of improvements.

What is changing from 1 July 2021?

The offer of extension of funding will require transition to the Standard Commonwealth Grant Agreement, Terms and Conditions and Supplementary Terms and Conditions for some service providers. This will bring funding arrangements in line with standardised administrative arrangements for Commonwealth grants.

Building on previous and current consultation, the department is making changes to some operational requirements under the funding agreements with service providers.

These changes, including responses to frequently asked questions, are outlined in the Families and Children funding extension fact sheets.

If you have difficulty accessing any of the documents in this article, please contact families@dss.gov.au.

Last updated: