Grants to Support Vulnerable Temporary Visa Holders & Specialist Migrant and Settlement NGOs during Covid-19

Deadline: 27-Jul-20

As part of the NSW Government’s stimulus package in response to COVID-19, Multicultural NSW is running a $4 million emergency relief grants program. The program will support vulnerable temporary visa holders and specialist migrant and settlement NGOs across metropolitan and regional NSW.

The NSW Government COVID-19 Emergency Relief Grant for Vulnerable Temporary Visa Holders aims to distribute funding across metro and regional NSW to specialist migrant and settlement NGOs providing basic support to vulnerable people.

Funding Streams

There are two streams of funding:

Emergency Relief Services
- $2 million in funding is available to organisations providing direct emergency relief to vulnerable temporary visa holders who are not eligible for Commonwealth Government income support during COVID-19.
- Organisations must be able to deliver emergency financial assistance to those who have insufficient funds for essentials including:
  - food
  - medical support
  - telecommunications
  - transport
  - essential housing (to maintain tenancies and for crisis accommodation).
Support for Specialist Migrant & Settlement Organisations
- $2 million funding for organisations to support service delivery through:
  - culturally specific caseworkers
  - culturally specific community support workers
  - outreach transport costs for disconnected/isolated communities
  - interpreting and translation services

Eligibility Criteria

Emergency Relief Services
- To be eligible for Stream 1 funding, an organisation must:
  - be a non-profit sharing organisation
  - be able to deliver in metro and/or regional NSW
  - have an existing temporary visa holder client base and/or connections with target cohorts
  - be currently delivering one or more element/s of the financial relief categories outlined above
  - need additional resources to meet demand
  - have existing emergency relief infrastructure, including demonstrated ability to:
    - assess client need according to financial status and other vulnerabilities
    - make financial payments to clients
    - capture and report on client data.
Support for Specialist Migrant & Settlement Organisations
- To be eligible for Stream 2 funding an organisation must:
  - be a non-profit sharing organisation
  - be able to deliver in metro and/or regional NSW
  - currently provide targeted support to culturally and linguistically diverse communities, including refugees and other migrant communities
  - need additional resources to meet increased demand during COVID-19