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For applicants

Thinking about applying for funding through our Grants Program? This section has all the information you need to find out about the different types of grants available and what we're after in a project.

Author

Energy Consumers Australia

Related Resources

Grant Guidelines - General Grant Guidelines - 2025 Gill Owen Scholarship Grant Guidelines - Kelvin Trimper Scholarship Topic Guidance for Applicants Grant Funding Agreement Advice for Grant Recipients

About the Grants Program

The purpose of the Grants Program is to build knowledge and capacity to support energy policy development that will benefit the long-term interests of consumers.

Available grants

The Energy Consumers Australia Grants Program offers four types of grants:

  • Influence Grants

Influence Grants support advocacy and research initiatives with the purpose of immediate influence on a specific and achievable goal on matters of material significance to residential and small business energy consumers.

This grants stream supports projects that aim to shift energy market practices and behaviours to deliver better consumer outcomes and where a path to success is credible within a fixed period. Applicants must make clear the pathways from the proposed project to influence and long-term impact.

  • Collaboration Grants

Collaboration Grants support complex, multi-year projects put forward by a group of organisations aiming to collaborate, with the aim to drive energy systems change. Collaborative research projects will have an intent to contribute to a policy or advocacy outcome and will involve working with advocates and other stakeholders.

Participation Grants (previously known as CEO Grants) provide up to $15,000 to enable residential or small business consumer advocacy by participation in current or forthcoming government, regulatory, or industry decision-making processes, or for small, targeted research projects.

These grants will support and accommodate advocates engagement in government processes, regulatory and policy reviews, and projects targeting the energy sector as a whole.

The Gill Owen Scholarship supports an individual to travel internationally to research innovative ideas and initiatives that will be relevant to improving outcomes for consumers in the Australian energy market. Energy Consumers Australia will work with scholarship recipients to help them identify appropriate opportunities to communicate the findings of their research, and to help identify relevant international contacts. Find out more about the Gill Owen Scholarship.

  • Kelvin Trimper Scholarship – a consumer advocacy scholarship (open now)

The Kelvin Trimper Scholarship aims to support an individual to build their knowledge or to research innovative ideas that will improve outcomes for consumers in the Australian energy sector. The annual scholarship of up to $10,000 is provided by SA Power Networks in partnership with Energy Consumers Australia. It honours the memory of Kelvin Trimper AM, an important consumer advocate for SA Power Networks customers, who passed away in January 2024. Click here to find out more about the Kelvin Trimper Scholarship and its guidelines. Applications open on 9 September 2024 and close on 4 November 2024. The winner will be announced in February 2025.

Applying for a grant

All Grants Program applicants are strongly encouraged to read our Grant Guidelines before applying.

We have developed a guidance note to share some topics we are currently interested in exploring through applications to the Grants Program. We also suggest you read our Grant Priority Issues. This will help you understand the areas of research and advocacy where we would particularly like to make a difference.

All Grant applications are submitted through our online grants application system.

By accessing this system you are leaving the ECA website and being transferred to the Smarty Grants website. Smarty Grants manages all grant applications on behalf of ECA.

Have questions?

If you have questions or need clarification about the application process, please email us at grants@energyconsumersaustralia.com.au and we’ll be happy to help. We’re also happy to discuss potential grant ideas before you formally submit an application to ensure the project is aligned with our priorities.