The purpose of the 2026 Innovation Round is to reduce unmet demand by trialling and deploying new solutions that improve the efficiency of financial counselling service delivery.

There are two types of Innovation Grants in the 2026 Innovation Round:

1. Seed Grants – testing new ideas or solutions (up to $77,000 for one year)
   
   
2. Scale Grants – Scaling proven innovations (up to $230,000 for up to two years)

We expect to award approximately 10 Innovation Seed Grants and up to 9 Scale Grants in the 2026 Innovation Round.

Seed Grants: one year

Scale Grants: up to two years

Some examples of activities that may meet the criteria:

• Staff
  • Including for example: project management, financial counsellors contributing to design/testing.
• Consultants
  • Including for example: data analysts, IT or digital specialists
• Technology and Software
  • Including for example: software development, app or platform development, cyber security and privacy work, software licences and/or subscriptions, cloud hosting during the grant period, API integrations, prototype development costs, AI or data tools used to test the project
• Research and Evaluation
  • Including for example: evaluation and impact measurement tools, data collection tools and surveys, external evaluators or research partners, user testing, data modelling
• Other
  • Other expenditure directly related to FCIF-funded grant activities, including for example domestic travel required for project delivery, assets and equipment such as laptops (up to $10k)

FCIF will not fund:

• The employment of financial counsellors, financial capability workers or other administrative/support staff to deliver additional services
• Standalone financial literacy initiatives
• Cash payments, or other financial benefits, to clients
• Promotional or marketing activities to the general public
• Costs not related to FCIF-funded activities
• Retrospective costs
• Litigation costs
• Overseas travel
• Funding for staff or operational costs, including ongoing licence or subscription costs, beyond the grant term
  

To be eligible for a Seed Grant, applicants must:

• Be an organisation currently delivering financial counselling services in Australia through financial counsellors who are members of a financial counselling peak body or professional association; or
• Be a financial counselling peak body or professional association.

Applicants must be an Australian registered business. Government entities and private individuals (including sole traders) are not eligible to apply.

Scale Grant applications are by invitation only.

There will not be an open application round for Scale Grants. To be eligible for a Scale Grant, applicants must have been awarded a 2025 Innovation Seed Grant.

A Seed Grant may be the first stage of a bigger piece of work. Your Seed Grant should, however, stand-alone to prove the viability of your bigger ambition.

Successful Seed Grants that demonstrate strong results may be invited to apply for a Scale Grant after the Seed Grant is complete.

Scale Grants fund organisations to further develop or deploy proven ideas with up to two years of funding (and a total budget up to $230,000 in 2026).

No. FCIF welcomes applications for any innovative idea that could improve the efficiency of financial counselling service delivery.

While some projects may involve AI, Innovation Grants are not limited to technology-based solutions. We encourage EOIs that explore a wide range of approaches. Just give us your ideas, large or small.

No. Projects whose primary purpose is to deliver financial education or financial literacy programs are not eligible for funding and will be declined.

The core focus of the project must be to reduce unmet demand by improving the efficiency of financial counselling service delivery.

Funding cannot be used to employ financial counsellors, financial capability workers or administrative staff solely to increase service capacity or deliver additional client services.

Staff may be included where it is directly related to the design, testing or implementation of the innovation project. For example, financial counsellors may contribute to activities such as co-design, user testing, pilot delivery or evaluation. 

We will not fund activities which have as their primary objective the goal of increasing demand for financial counselling services – either generally or within a specific community.

Yes, if your organisation is:

- an organisation currently delivering financial counselling services in Australia through financial counsellors who are members of a financial counselling peak body or financial counselling professional association; or

- a financial counselling peak body or financial counselling professional association.

No, if you or your organisation is:

- a sole trader (individual)

- a government entity

- Not currently providing financial counselling services.

We strongly encourage collaborative applications. For example, a financial counselling service may choose to partner with a technology start up, or two services may collaborate. A consortium must nominate a lead applicant who is solely accountable to FCIF for the delivery of the grant. The lead applicant must meet the eligibility criteria.

We encourage you to check if your organisation is eligible and if your project meets the purpose, eligibility and assessment criteria for this grant round. If so, please apply for this round.

Yes. Our intention is to avoid duplicating existing funding. Please add any existing funding partners to the Project Partners section in the EOI and outline details of the funding amount.

No. Probity and equity of access are critical across all our processes, as outlined on our 2025-2028 Strategy page. Our probity policies specify that all applicants must have equal access to information, so rather than answer individual queries we publish generalised answers (i.e., not specific to your organisation or project) on our website, where they can be viewed by all.

As part of your application, you will be asked to declare any actual, perceived or potential conflicts of interest or that, to the best of your knowledge, there is no conflict of interest. If you later identify an actual, perceived or potential conflict of interest, you must immediately inform FCIF in writing by email to grants@fcif.org.au.

No. The Seed Grant EOI questions will be available on 23 March 2026.

FCIF staff can only provide general information and advice on completing your application. To maintain the fairness and integrity of the application process, applicants cannot be offered individual support or help with their applications. Please use the materials on this page for help in setting up an account and completing your application.

Should you experience issues logging in to Blackbaud GrantsConnect, please use their login help documentation. If you are unable to resolve your issues, please contact grants@fcif.org.au.

For the EOI we do not require any documentation.

For the Full Application, you will need to provide a budget, Activities plan (including milestones) and a risk assessment. Letters of support and/or previous evaluation of the proposed project can also be submitted at this stage.

All documents must be uploaded through our online system and cannot be emailed.

Late applications will not be accepted unless an applicant has experienced exceptional circumstances that prevent the submission of the application. Broadly, exceptional circumstances are events characterised by the following:
• reasonably unforeseeable;
• beyond the applicant’s control; and
• unable to be managed or resolved within the application period.

Exceptional circumstances will be considered on their merits and in accordance with probity principles. Requests to submit a late application must be submitted by email to grants@fcif.org.au.

Once your application form has been submitted it cannot be edited. However, if you have made a mistake that you feel is material to your application and you would like to change your answer, please email grants@fcif.org.au and request your application be published for resubmission.

Applications will be evaluated against the following criteria:

1. Efficiency: The project could improve the efficiency of financial counselling service delivery
   
2. Originality: The project explores a new solution
   (not applicable to Scale Grants)
   
3. Sector-wide benefits: The project delivers benefits to the wider financial counselling sector
   
4. Deliverability: The project is well planned, appropriately budgeted and has clear and measurable outcomes

All criteria carry equal weighting.

General feedback will be published on the FCIF website at the conclusion of the assessment process. Individual feedback to unsuccessful applicants will not be provided.

FCIF expects to hold a 2027 Innovation Round. Sign up to receive alerts when we announce dates and open grant rounds.

Funding will commence upon the final signing of your funding agreement. The grant period for Seed Grants begins on 1 September 2026 and for Scale Grants, the grant period begins on 1 December 2026.