Grant guidelines

Program objectives and outcomes

Program objectives

The projects being proposed should achieve one or more of the following 4 objectives:

• Objective 1: Provide access to appropriately licensed vehicles to allow learner drivers to complete supervised driving hours, receive professional instruction or attempt a practical driving assessment.
• Objective 2: Provide access to suitably licensed driving supervisors and instructors.
• Objective 3: Deliver program/s that help overcome local issues and costs that prevent people from obtaining their driver's licence.
• Objective 4: Provide improved access to driver licensing services.

Program outcomes

The following outcomes will be used as measures to evaluate how effective the grant activities are in achieving the program objectives. Project proposals do not have to deliver on all program objectives or outcomes however, proposals that assist beneficiaries to complete all the steps to get their licence will be viewed favourably.

The six steps to getting your licence

1. Learn the road rules.
2. Get your learner's permit: Pass eyesight and theory test and submit required documentation to be issued your learner's permit.
3. Learn to drive and log your hours: Take driving lessons and log hours in the Learn & Log app or paper log book.
4. Sit hazard perception test: Sit the hazard perception test after 6 months of holding a learner's permit.
5. Gain more driving experience: Log at least 50 hours of supervised driving, including 5 hours at night.
6. Do the driving test: Sit the practical driving assessment.
7. Get your provisional driver's licence: Provisional driver's licence issued for the first 2 years.

Primary outcomes

Number of people (beneficiaries) who:

• Are assisted to sit their learner's theory test.
• Are assisted with proof of identity requirements.
• Are issued a learner's permit.
• Complete the required log book hours.
• Pass the hazard perception test.
• Receive professional driver instruction and/or driving supervision.
• Are issued a driver's licence.

Secondary outcome

Number of people (beneficiaries) who:

• obtain employment, education, or training opportunities because of driver's licence attainment.

Project eligibility

Who is eligible?

To be eligible for a program funding grant, applicants must:

• Be a legal entity capable of entering into a legally binding and enforceable financial assistance agreement (Grant Funding Agreement) with the Western Australian State Government. The generic Grant Funding Agreement can be found on the Department of Transport website.
• Have an Australian Business Number (ABN). If your organisation has an ABN and is registered for GST, the grant will be ‘grossed up’ by 10% of the grant amount.
• Be incorporated under the Associations Incorporation Act 2015, or an Indigenous organisation under the Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Act 2006 (CATSI), or a local government or a company limited by guarantee or an Educational Institution.
• Have an account with an authorised deposit-taking institution (an Australian financial institution or bank) registered with the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority.
• Maintain proper financial records and record keeping practices in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and practices, including retention of invoices, receipts, bank statements, and reconciliations of bank balance, receipts, and expenditure.
• Maintain appropriate and sufficient insurance cover for the duration of the project. A certificate of currency of insurance/s for the coming year should be provided upon application, noting:
  • for Public Liability Insurance, a minimum value of $20 million per claim or occurrence giving rise to a claim is required; and
  • workers compensation insurance in accordance with the provisions of the Workers Compensation and Injury Management Act 1981, including cover for common law liability for an amount of not less than $50 million for any one occurrence is required.
• Ensure all proposed employees and volunteers who will engage with beneficiaries have a current National Police Certificate and Working with Children Card.
• Ensure all proposed volunteers for supervising driving meet the requirements to be a supervising driver. For more information on the requirements, refer to the Teach someone to drive page.

The following organisations are eligible to apply:

• local government authorities
• community organisations
• educational institutions
• not for profit organisations
• corporations, including Aboriginal controlled organisations
• businesses or organisations that provide access to driving supervision or instruction.

Note: Joint proposals from organisations to deliver project/s that assist beneficiaries to complete all six steps to get their licence will be viewed favourably.

If your organisation does not fit within one of the categories listed above, please contact the program team to discuss options.

How can the grant funding be used?

The provision of grants is to be used for projects and initiatives that achieve the program’s stated objective and can include:

• Support beneficiaries to prepare for Department of Transport licensing tests, including assistance with providing proof of identity documentation.
• Providing beneficiaries access to theory testing services.
• Providing beneficiaries access to a vehicle for supervision, instruction, and/or a practical driving assessment.
• Providing driving instruction, or employing a driving instructor/s, where no such service, or access to such a service exists, is limited or is not culturally appropriate.
• Providing beneficiaries access to volunteer supervisors, providing the volunteer supervisor is exempt from the requirements of Section 5(1) of the Motor Vehicle Drivers Instructors Act 1963.
• Assisting beneficiaries with the costs associated with obtaining a driver’s licence where no other funding or subsidy is available.
• Other projects that provide local solutions to local barriers that stop people completing the driver licensing process. This could include, but is not limited to, culturally appropriate service provision and the production of culturally appropriate learning materials.

Beneficiaries must be Australian citizens or permanent residents of Australia. In addition, beneficiaries must be:

• Either unemployed, or employed but entitled to Centrelink payments
• Live in locations where they can’t access appropriate driving instruction; or
• Can demonstrate lack of access to appropriates vehicle, supervisor or driving instructors.

Grant applicants can further define the beneficiaries their project is designed to assist.

Eligible items

The following items are available for funding:

• Costs associated with providing a beneficiary access to a vehicle that will be used for driver supervision, instruction, and/or a practical driving assessment, including:
  • Purchase costs for a vehicle. This will be capped at $40,000 per vehicle. The grant assessment committee will consider a higher vehicle value if a strong justification is provided for the need of a particular vehicle. Second-hand vehicles may be purchased, but all vehicles must be 5-star ANCAP safety rated and suitable for the region and driving environment. If the vehicle is unrated by ANCAP the Euro NCAP rating will be considered. 
  • Transfer fees, vehicle licensing fees, comprehensive motor vehicle insurance, installation of dual/duplicate controls and maintenance costs to be capped at $10,000 per vehicle for 20 months.
  • Lease costs
  • Fuel costs capped at $200 per week to a total of $16,000 per vehicle for 20 months.
    
    
• Costs associated with assisting a beneficiary through the licensing process, where no other funding or subsidy applies, will be capped at $1,300 per person and may include payment for the following (see current fee schedule):
  • cost of proof of identity documentation
  • theory testing
  • application fees
  • hazard perception testing
  • practical driving assessments
  • one-year driver’s licence fees
  • cost of driving lessons with external provider
  • other costs as approved
    
    
• Costs associated with project administration capped at $45,000 including:
  • office equipment including computers, software, internet, printers/scanners, and telephones
  • project materials
  • project financial auditing fees
    
    
• Costs associated with case management, mentoring, driving instruction and supervision may include:
  • Personnel costs, including salary for employees who complete hours in the car with beneficiaries capped at $95,000 per person.
  • Personal costs, including salary or percentage of salary, for employees who coordinate and administer the program.
  • Staff travel and accommodation to service remote and regional communities.
  • Nominal costs associated with providing a beneficiary access to local volunteer supervisors.
  • Costs associated with obtaining a National Police Clearance and Working with Children Check for staff
  • Staff training and licensing costs.
  • Production of driver training program designed to meet the needs of a specific cohort (people with disabilities, Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) groups, low literacy, young mothers etc.

Note:

• Vehicles must be purchased by the Grantee. Payment to the Grantee for the vehicle will be made within 28 business days upon provision of an invoice and supporting documentation.
• For all vehicles used in program delivery comprehensive vehicle insurance is required.
• Applicants should demonstrate in their application how these costs will support the project’s delivery and how ongoing costs will be managed at the conclusion of grant funding.
• The program will fund the costs associated with becoming a driving instructor, these costs should not be included in a project proposal.

Ineligible items

The following items are not eligible for funding and will be automatically deducted from the grant offer if they are included in the application:

• Replacement of existing assets, where that asset provides services for any other agency or organisation.
• Existing or ongoing organisational costs where these costs do not contribute to the expansion to new regions or beneficiaries of a demonstrated successful project.
• Third party insurance, public liability, and workers compensation insurance.
• Projects undertaken outside of the specified targeted regional area.
• Office building fit-out, costs or maintenance.
• Payment of beneficiaries’ fines or infringements.

Conditions of funding agreements

Public acknowledgement

Applicants are required to seek the Department of Transport’s permission prior to making any media announcement regarding their grant. Media statements regarding the grant must mention the Driving Access and Equity Program’s contribution to the project.

GST

All prices/costs presented in the application form and funding submission must be exclusive of GST.

Available funding

Grants will be provided for a period of up to 20 months following execution of the Grant Funding Agreement, with the potential for a 12 month extension dependant on available funds and project performance. Grants will not provide for ongoing costs associated with a program that receives a grant.