South Australian Wildlife Rehabilitation Grants Program 2024/25 – NOW OPEN
The South Australian Wildlife Rehabilitation Grants Program aims to support our state’s volunteer wildlife rescue and rehabilitation sector.
The objectives of the program are to:
- Support the wildlife rescue and rehabilitation sector by increasing their ability to respond to and care for sick, inured or orphaned wildlife by providing funding for items which directly assist the provision of these services.
- Improve animal welfare outcomes for sick, injured or orphaned wildlife.
$50,000 is available to distribute to South Australia’s volunteer wildlife rescue and rehabilitation sector through the first round of this program. A second round of grant funding is scheduled to be available in early 2025.
Applications are open until 25 October 2024 (5pm).
Grant details
Wildlife carers, rehabilitators and rescuers with a valid South Australian permit can apply for grants of up to $5,000 (excluding GST) for any of the following activities or equipment:
- Infrastructure and equipment such as enclosures, incubators, shelters and portable cages
- Food for native wildlife
- Veterinary fees
- Training and conference attendance fees for carers (including first aid training, wildlife rehabilitation courses)
- Personal Protective Equipment
- Vaccinations (where applicable)
- Research relating to rescued wildlife
Other items may be considered if the applicant can demonstrate that those items or activities support the rehabilitation of injured or orphaned native wildlife in South Australia.
How to apply
To apply, please ensure you:
- Read the grant guidelines
- Read the frequently asked questions
- Have relevant quotes ready to attach to your application
- Apply for a grant
About the program
The South Australian Wildlife Rehabilitation Grants Program has been funded by the sale of more than 2,000 Koala State number plates, where motorists make a one-off $50 donation when buying one of the plates.
This program, including its structure and eligible activities has been developed in consultation with the wildlife rescue and rehabilitation sector.
Number plates are still available for purchase on Ezy Plates, and funds generated will be pooled and distributed in subsequent years. Plates cost $151* for an existing vehicle registration, with $50 from each sale going toward a fund for the state’s wildlife rescue and rehabilitation sector.
*Number plates cost $120 for new vehicle registration or $151 for an existing vehicle registration, both inclusive of a $70 plate fee and additional $50 for the wildlife fund. A $31 number plate reallocation fee will be applicable for already registered SA vehicles.
More information
For further assistance, please contact the Department for Environment and Water on DEW.WildlifeGrants@sa.gov.au or 8204 9152.
Frequently asked questions
These grants provide financial assistance to wildlife rescue groups and individuals with a valid permit to rescue, rehabilitate, release or retain protected wildlife.
Grants can be used to fund items or activities which will support animal welfare outcomes for sick, injured or orphaned wildlife.
The grants have been funded through the sale of Koala State number plates in South Australia, with $50 from the sale of each plate going towards this grants program.
The grants are available to the SA volunteer wildlife rehabilitation sector only.
Individual applicants must hold a current, valid permit to rescue, rehabilitate, release or retain wildlife in accordance with the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972.
Wildlife rescue organisations must have members who hold current permits for the type of rescue activity they undertake. Evidence of these permits must be provided as part of the application process.
A total of $50,000 will be available in this first round of funding.
A second round of grant funding is scheduled to be available in early 2025.
Groups and individuals can apply for grants of up to $5,000.
Interested applicants can apply through this link: https://environmentsa.smartygrants.com.au/WildlifeRehabilitationGrants2024
Applicants must read and comply with the Grant Guidelines when filling out their application form.
No. Applications must be in the name of a legal entity.
No. Applicants must reside in South Australia or be a South Australian based organisation.
Applications will be assessed by an assessment panel appointed by the Chief Executive of the Department for Environment and Water. The panel will make funding recommendations to the Minister for Climate, Environment and Water.
Grants will be assessed against the following criteria:
- how the application demonstrates the grant funding will improve animal welfare outcomes for sick, injured or orphaned wildlife
- accurate quotations for requested items, and suitability of the requested items for the support of the native wildlife
- value for money and
- demonstration of applicant's capability to deliver the grant.
Not necessarily. All applications will be assessed based on eligibility and scored against the selection criteria. This means that while an application may be considered eligible, if it does not score strongly against the selection criteria it may not be successful in gaining funding in this round of funding.
You can apply if you have previously received funding for a different project, activity or equipment through a government funding source.
However, you cannot apply for this grant program to fund the same activity or equipment for which you have previously received government funding – your application must be for new expenditure.
You will need to spend the grant funding before 30 June 2025.
However, in some cases activities or receipt of goods can occur after that date.
For example, you may be able to book and pay for a training course before 30 June 2025, but undertake the training later in 2025 if the course is only held in the second half of the year. Or if you are ordering equipment that has a long delivery date or is on backorder you may be able to order and pay before 30 June 2025 but not receive the goods until after this date.
No. Grants cannot be approved for activities that have already commenced or items that have already been purchased.
Before applying we recommend that you read and understand the Grants Guidelines and these frequently asked questions. If you need to speak to someone, please contact us using the details above.
To treat all applicants fairly and equally, it is not possible to give you information about the status of individual applications during the assessment process. You will be notified of the outcome of your application at the end of the selection process which is expected to be in late November.
Yes. A second round of grant funding is scheduled to be available in early 2025.
More than 2,000 Koala State number plates have been sold, meaning that $100,000+ has been raised. Koala State number plates are still available for purchase, so this figure continues to grow.
