Building Digital Skills grant

Funding for your digital literacy program


Applications for the $2,500 - $15,000 Building Digital Skills grants are open until 25 September.

The Building Digital Skills grant is now available to all Network Partners, including those who are new to the Be Connected Network and have not yet been awarded a grant.

Building Digital Skills grants help organisations to start up and continue delivering their Be Connected digital literacy programs.

The grant is available to new and existing organisations in the Be Connected Network, with six contract sizes available to apply for, depending on how many people you are willing to support and whether you have supported learners with a previous Be Connected grant before.

Use the Building Digital Skills grant funding on anything that will help you support older Australians complete 2 courses or 10 activities on the Be Connected Learning Portal

Upgrading resources to expand your program


“Without the grant funding we would not be able to afford the supplies to push our students to want to try and learn new things.”

Susan, Digital Mentor at Elermore Glen Retirement Village.

Eligibility

Organisations who would like to apply for a Building Digital Skills grant must::

  • Be a Be Connected Network Partner. If you're not already part of the Network, click here to join
  • Provide an ABN number.
  • Have public liability insurance

There are four standard contracts and two specialist contracts available to apply for. Note that organisations in the Be Connected Network who have not previously held an Activation or Building Digital Skills grant are only eligible to apply for the $2,500 standard or specialist contract.

Organisations new to the Be Connected Network

Network Partners applying for their first Be Connected grant can only apply for a $2,500 grant. Once you have met 80% of your registration targets and acquitted your grant, you will be eligible to apply for larger Building Digital Skills grant contracts.

Existing Network Partners

Existing Network Partners who hold an Activation or Building Digital Skills grant are eligible to apply for this round of Building Digital Skills grant once they have met 80% of their learner registration targets and acquitted their grant. These Network Partners are not restricted to which standard size contracts they can apply for.

What can the grant be used for?

The funding can be spent on activities that support older Australians to gain basic digital skills and confidence such as:

  • new devices including computers, laptops, tablets, smart phones
  • upgrading software for devices
  • broadband fees
  • digital mentor expenses, including training to be a digital mentor
  • printing of learning materials for older Australian learners
  • police checks for all staff and mentors involved in delivering the Be Connected

The funding cannot be used on building materials and capital works.

What do I have to do for the grant?

The amount of learners you are required to register depends on the contract size you apply for (see guidelines below for contract sizes). All delivery will be measured by registered learners completing 2 courses or 10 activities from any of the topics on the Be Connected website. Completion of 2 courses or 10 activities should take 30 minutes or longer.

Other requirements include:

  • Attendance at training webinars and/or face-to-face events
  • Providing an overview budget of how you expect to spend the grant and, on completion of delivery, sharing a grant acquittal to show actual expenditure
  • Providing good news stories/leads for case studies

Need more information?