COVID-19 VIC: Non-Profits – Priority Response to Multicultural Communities during Coronavirus (COVID-19)

This program aims to ensure organisations can effectively respond to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and its impacts on multicultural and faith communities.

The key objectives of the program are to:
- Maintain low number and proportion of positive coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in Victorian multicultural and faith communities.
- Increase the number and proportion of individuals testing for coronavirus (COVID-19), support vaccine preparedness, and support a high number and proportions of individuals being vaccinated in Victoria’s multicultural and faith communities.
- Improve understanding and adherence to Victorian government health directions in Victoria’s multicultural and faith communities.
- Build stronger partnerships across the Victorian multicultural sector.
- Build the capacity of local community networks, organisations and services to support prevention and improve preparedness against any future coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreaks.

There are no set minimum and maximum funding limits. The amount of funding available per organisation is based on community need, value for money and available program funds.

A total funding pool of $8 million is available.

Applications will be assessed on a fortnightly basis, with funding approved for allocation by the Minister each fortnight.

Eligible applicants include organisations that must:
- Be one of the following types:
a) Local council
b) Not-for-profit organisation that delivers services to community
c) Regional or state-wide peak multicultural/interfaith organisation
d) Faith-based or community-led organisation representing multicultural and faith communities
- Have a current Australian Business Number (ABN) and have held that ABN at 30 June 2019.
- Be operating throughout the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and have the capacity to immediately deliver support and services to multicultural and faith communities.
- Accept it will deliver all project activities in compliance with the health directions of the Victorian Chief Health Officer and the Victorian Government Department of Health.

Please refer to the Guidelines for the list of priority applications.

Eligible activities are those that will support multicultural and faith communities to protect themselves from becoming positive to coronavirus (COVID-19), and that supports individuals to follow health directions, including:
- Purchase of items such as emergency relief essentials (including food), personal health safety items such as masks and hand sanitiser and communications technology and software.
- Delivery of services such as community engagement, health communication and education, and translation of health messages, consistent with all current health directions and advice from the Department of Health, and outreach and community support, including translation services as part of this support.
- Any other activities as identified by communities and their representatives and accepted by Multicultural Affairs, which supports multicultural and faith communities to protect themselves from becoming positive to coronavirus (COVID-19) and supports testing and individuals to follow heath directions; or address social and economic coronavirus (COVID-19) risk factors and vulnerabilities.

Please refer to the Guidelines for the complete list of eligible activities.

The main assessment criteria include:
- Identified need for the proposed community or cohort, based on available data and community evidence
- Organisation’s proposed response aligns with the program objectives.
- Organisation’s demonstrated track record in their work to flexibly support CALD communities and deliver outcomes consistent with funded activities.
- Organisations capacity to immediately deliver support/ services to CALD communities.

The following are ineligible for funding:
- State and federal government departments and agencies.
- Individuals and sole traders.
- Commercial enterprises.
- Activities that contradict current and future health directions and advice from the Victorian Government (throughout the duration of the project).
- Activities that do not meet the program objectives.
- Long term projects that do not provide immediate and time-limited support or services to CALD communities.
- Any illegal or regulated product or activity such as (but not limited to) alcohol, tobacco products, gaming services, weapons.
- Asset/infrastructure/capital; and festival or event related activities or purchases unless agreed in advance with Multicultural Affairs.
- Retrospective activities or purchases.
- Cash payments and vouchers to community members.
- Cash prizes or commercial gifts.
- Purchase of land.
- Major events, conferences, ticketed and fundraising events.
- Activities that are already receiving funds from other departments for the same application.
- Recurrent or ongoing maintenance and/or operational costs of an organisation.
- Activities that are dependent on recurrent annual funding.