Partnership Acceptance Learning Sharing (PALS)

Program guidelines

 

The Partnership Acceptance Learning Sharing (PALS) program encourages WA schools to develop projects promoting and advancing reconciliation in their local community. 

By supporting projects that enhance the education and understanding of Aboriginal cultures, achievements and histories in the classroom, we gain a deeper understanding of the experiences and diversity of Aboriginal people, which is key to recognising our shared histories and unified futures. 

Grants up to $5000 are available for all WA primary and secondary schools, and WA Department of Education funded kindergartens to undertake projects over a 12-month period.

PALS has four funding rounds per year aligned to school terms see the key dates calendar  for opening and closing dates and prescribed activity start and end dates

Please apply using the online grants web portal.

More information about how to apply can be found in the application manual.    

PALS objectives

The PALS program objectives are:

  • Partnership between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people based on trust, mutual respect and understanding.
  • Acceptance of and respect for diversity and valuing Aboriginal perspectives.
  • Learning more about each other, Aboriginal histories, languages and cultures; and how we can build strong partnerships with Aboriginal people.
  • Sharing a common journey towards healing and reconciliation.

Who can apply

Applications are open to Western Australian

  • kindergartens funded by the Department of Education.
  • all WA primary and secondary schools – inclusive of public schools directly funded by the Department of Education and Catholic and Independent schools which are independently supported.

Schools with and without Aboriginal students are encouraged to apply for PALS funding. 

What can I apply for?

The PALS program supports a wide range of activities that enable schools to promote and advance reconciliation in their local community and enable students to gain a deeper understanding of Aboriginal cultures, achievements and histories in the classroom.

PALS projects must demonstrate engagement and collaboration with Aboriginal people in the development and delivery of the project as well as clear links to aspects of the WA Curriculum. 

Guidance on engaging with the Aboriginal community and making curriculum links can be found in the PALS Project Toolkit and PALS Connecting to Curriculum Resource. 

PALS projects must be completed within 12 months in line with the prescribed project dates outlined in the key dates calendar for the relevant funding round. 

PALS activities may include, but are not limited to:
  • workshop or presentations 
  • incursions or excursions 
  • school or community events with a focus on reconciliation
  • partnerships with local Aboriginal organisations
  • classroom research projects and learning programs.   

Funding categories

PALS projects fall within 6 project funding categories: 

  1. Arts
  2. Community Relationships
  3. Connecting to Country and Culture
  4. Inclusive environments
  5. History
  6. Language.

Refer to the PALS toolkit for project ideas in these categories.

What can't I apply for?

  • purchase of capital equipment including instruments, computers, tablets (iPads)
  • purchase of uniforms of any kind 
  • purchase of WA curriculum materials such as textbooks
  • activities already funded by Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries’ culture and the arts grant programs
  • salaries and wages of those employed by the Department of Education, Catholic Education Western Australia and Association of Independent Schools of Western Australia including relief teaching
  • ongoing sitting fees for school committees
  • ongoing organisation staffing or operational costs
  • professional development/training for teachers and school staff
  • fundraising, competitions, prizes and trophies
  • the work of State or Commonwealth government departments
  • activities relating to radio broadcasting
  • activities related to an individual’s membership in a national organisation.

What will make my application ineligible?

Your application will be ineligible if you:
  • have an active PALS project or an outstanding PALS acquittal report. 
  • have received PALS funding in the current financial year
  • submit more than one application to a funding round
  • apply for a project that contains details listed in the What can’t I apply for section
  • do not demonstrate support from Aboriginal staff and/or community members, and they are not listed as key personnel in the application
  • do not demonstrate support from the relevant authority/administrator from within your school (principal/head of school etc.), and they are not listed as key personnel in the application
  • do not describe the classroom component of your project and reference relevant curriculum/s
  • do not complete components of the application
  • do not supply mandatory support material items
  • do not adhere to support material limits and format requirements
  • do not adhere to the listed budget requirements
  • activity start and end dates do not align with those prescribed in the key dates calendar
  • submit an application late
  • have any key personnel with an overdue acquittal
  • are a staff member of DLGSC (staff of statutory authorities may be subject to meeting the Code of Conduct and Secondary Employment Policy)
  • request funding that exceeds the funding cap of the program
  • are not a Department of Education funded kindergarten or Western Australian primary or secondary school. 

How much can I apply for?

Applicants can apply for up to $5000 to support their proposed project.

The PALS program can fund up to 100% of your activity costs, however, demonstrating income (cash or in-kind) from other sources will strengthen your application. 

The funding request should reflect:

  • the duration and scale of the project
  • the number of students and/or community members engaged in the project
  • the range of activities proposed
  • the anticipated impact of the project for participants
Please note: funding requests are exclusive of GST. Grant payments to successful applicants will have GST applied at the time of payment.   

When can I apply?

PALS has 4 funding rounds per year aligned to school terms.

See the key dates calendar for round opening and closing dates, as well as the prescribed project start and end dates for each round.

Projects must be completed within 12 months of the project start date noted for each funding round.

Notification of your grant outcome will be approximately six (6) weeks after the closing date for the funding round you apply to.

All times listed in these guidelines are in AWST (for Perth, Western Australia). 

Processing of grant payments to successful applicants will not start until after the grant contract is signed and returned. Depending on the activity start date, we cannot guarantee notification and/or availability of grant funds before the activity begins.  

 

Funding rounds

RoundOpenCloseProject start datesProject end dates
Term 3 20249:00am 25 July (week 2 term 3) 20244:00pm 5 September (week 8 term 3) 202421 October (week 3 term 4) 202424 October (week 2 term 4) 2025
Term 4 20249:00am 15 October (week 2 term 4) 20244:00pm 28 November (week 8 term 4) 202417 February (week 3 term 1) 202513 February (week 2 term 1) 2026
Term 1 20259:00am 30 January  (week 2 term 1) 20254:00pm 27 March (week 8 term 1) 202515 May (week 3 term 2) 20251 May (week 2 term 2) 2026
Term 2 20259:00am 6 May (week 2 term 2) 20254:00pm 19 June (week 8 term 2) 20254 August (week 3 term 3) 202531 July (week 2 term 3) 2026


How many times can I apply?

Applicants can only submit one application to each round of funding. 

Applicants are only eligible to receive one PALS grant per financial year. 

Applicants who have an active PALS project or an outstanding PALS acquittal report cannot apply for an additional PALS grant. 

How do I apply?

Please apply using the culture and the arts online grants portal. 

More information about how to apply can be found in the application manual. 

4 components of your application

There are 4 components relating to your application: 

  1. core application questions
  2. project outputs
  3. financial information
  4. support material.

Each plays a significant and distinct role in creating a whole picture of your activity for assessors.  

Core application questions

When you login to the culture and the arts online grants portal to apply, you will be asked the following core application questions. Your answers to these questions should give assessors an overview of your activity.

When answering the questions, please make sure you refer to the assessment criteria, program objectives and the funding category you are applying under. 

Consider referring to the PALS Planning Sheet to support project planning. 

Please take note of the character limit including spaces for each of the application questions.

You can extract a copy of your draft application in Online Grants at any stage to share with others for their feedback. 

1. What year levels are involved in the project?
Consider whether your project aligns to a specific year/class/group of students or the whole school.

  • kindergarten/pre-primary
  • primary lower
  • primary upper
  • secondary 
  • whole school  
2. Does your school currently have a Reconciliation Action Plan or equivalent Cultural Inclusion Plan/commitment?
Answer yes, no, or working on it.

3. Do you have support to apply to PALS from your relevant authority/administrator from within the school ie Principal, Head of School or equivalent?

Answer yes or no. 

4. Who are the Aboriginal staff and/or community members that you have consulted with and/or who will participate in your project? Describe their contribution to the planning and delivery? (Max 600 characters)

For example, does your school have an Aboriginal Islander Education Officer, Aboriginal Language Teacher, a Reconciliation Action Plan or Cultural Committee? Have they been involved in planning this project? Will Aboriginal Elders, community members, artists or performers be engaged in the delivery of the project? What will their role be? Have they provided commitment to participate in the project?

5. What is the activity you are seeking funding for? (max 600 characters)

Describe your planned activity/project. Outline your ideas, what is involved, who you will be working with and how they will contribute.

Describe the steps in planning, development and implementing your activity and the timelines.  

6. Describe the classroom component of your project? (max 800 characters)
How do you intend to incorporate your project into classroom learning? Provide an overview of your lesson/s including curriculum code/s and a list of resources that you will use. Consider referring to the PALS Connecting to Curriculum Resource for more information. You may also wish to consult the cross-curricular priorities in the School Curriculum and Standards Authority K-10 Outline, The Aboriginal Cultural Standards Framework, or the Aboriginal Languages and Torres Strait Islander Languages Framework.    

7. How does your PALS project contribute to reconciliation and how it aligns with the PALS program objectives? (max 600 characters)

Describe how the project aligns to you school's commitment to reconciliation and the PALS program objectives. 

8. What outcomes will be achieved through your PALS project? (max 400 characters)

What do you hope to achieve by doing this activity?

What are the direct or indirect outcomes for the participants and/or community?

Direct outcomes include immediate value for community or participants, whereas indirect outcomes include legacy of the activity for future generations or wider communities.

How will you preserve the outcomes for future access? Will the activity be continued in some way?

9. How will the school know if the project has been successful? (max 400 characters) 

How will you know whether you have achieved your proposed outcomes? 

Describe the methods, processes or tools you will use to measure and report on your progress towards and/or achievement of the activity outcomes that you have outlined in this section. 

Project outputs

You are required to provide relevant project outputs. An output is a specific measurable thing that is generated by your project.

This might be an exhibition, recording, gathering, workshop. It will also include the number of people involved in each part of the project. 

This information will be considered as part of your application and provide further clarity about your project for the assessor.

The outputs also provide important data for the department for research, analysis and advocacy purposes.   

You only need to provide outputs for the categories and items relevant to your project.    

If your application is successful, you will be required to report against your planned project outputs in your acquittal report.   

Refer to the application manual for an explanation of the project output questions. 

Financial information

This program may fund up to 100% of your activity expenditure.

The financial information in your budget helps to demonstrate that all elements of your activity have been considered, thoroughly researched and costed. A good budget also provides confidence for the department that your activity will be a sound investment for the State of Western Australia. 

All amounts should be in Australian dollars.

Your funding request is the difference between your expenditure minus your income. To ensure this amount is calculated accurately, seek quotes for all expenditure items (whether or not you intend to include these as support material) and include all costs associated with the activity, even if they are supplied in-kind. 

For each expenditure or income item you add to the budget, use the notes area alongside the item to explain how it relates to the delivery of your activity and how the cost was calculated. If relevant, include a breakdown or itemisation of costs.

Expenditure

Expenditure items can vary significantly from one activity to another. Any legitimate expense that is eligible can be included in the budget. 

Make sure you check the What can't I apply for list for ineligible items.

Eligible expenditure items

Administration

Expenses related to the management and administration of the activity, for example, telephone/internet, insurance, postage and stationery.

Marketing, promotion and distribution

Costs associated with marketing including promotion, graphic design, photography, videography and production of marketing collateral.

Preparation, development, production and exhibition/presentation

Costs related to the remount, production and delivery of the activity or its deliverable. Eligible items may include materials, props, resources.

Salaries, fees and living allowances

Expenditure in this category should include salaries, fees and allowances for all key personnel, with separate components itemised in the budget notes. We support appropriate rates of pay for all people involved in your activity. Refer to the following websites for information on industry standard payment rates:

If these standards do not apply to your activity, you must outline how reasonable rates have been calculated. If this is the case, you need to clearly explain the rationale for the pay rate in your budget notes. 

All rates should be relative to level of experience.

Please note that organisations, such as the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance, predominantly provide information on minimum base rates for employees engaged on a full-time, part-time or casual basis. Rates for artists and arts workers engaged as contractors will include a loading to cover the costs of being self-employed. Full-time, part-time and casual rates do not factor in these costs and should not be used when engaging contractors.

Travel and freight

Costs associated with transporting people, equipment or goods. Eligible items may include fares (bus etc), toll, land or air freight and vehicle hire.

Income

This program may fund up to 100% of your activity costs. If the cost of your activity exceeds the funding cap you must provide an explanation of how you will fund the difference by providing income in the application budget. Anticipated income should be included in the budget.

Eligible income Items 

Earned income

May include student contributions, ticket sales, product sales, artwork and/or merchandise sales. 

Corporate sponsorship. 

List any income received through sponsorship from corporate bodies or businesses. Income received through government sponsorship should be included in the relevant government income category.

Philanthropic donations 

May include contributions from fundraising, crowdfunding, donations, gifts and bequests.

Australia Council, other Federal Government, other State Government, local government

All grants and sponsorship being sought from local government, State Government, Australian Government, the Australia Council, and other government sources must be included, whether or not this support has been confirmed. 

Do not include department grant funds being requested as part of this application.

Other income

If you are making a cash contribution, or someone is providing cash to the activity, list this item as a cash contribution or similar. Include any other income source that does not fit within any of the above categories and provide enough detail to identify the income source.

In-kind expenditure and income
Some expenses may be offered to you for free or at a discount. This might be borrowed equipment, the use of a rehearsal space, donated or discounted goods or services, volunteers (including you), negotiated discounted fees and allowances. Anything given to your project at no expense to you is considered in-kind.

All in-kind items must be included as a budget item under the in-kind expenditure category. The corresponding recognition of in-kind income is created automatically in your online application, and you do not need to enter any in-kind income budget items. The total in-kind expenditure must always equal the total in-kind income. 

If, for example, you are hiring a venue, which would normally charge $2000, and you have successfully negotiated an $800 (40%) discount, you would include venue hire fee as a budget item under the expenditure category of $1200 and $800 under the in-kind expenditure category.

Additional notes

This section of the budget provides an opportunity for you to detail any additional information you feel may help to clarify items within your budget. For example, for fees and salaries you can indicate in this section how you calculated your amount.  You should use this section to indicate which expenditure items you want the department to support.

Taxation
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) considers any grant payment to be taxable income for the purposes of your annual income tax return. You are encouraged to discuss your tax implications with your tax agent or the ATO prior to applying for a grant.
Registered for Goods and Services Tax

If you are registered for GST you must show your expenditure items exclusive of the GST component. For example, you have been quoted $550 including GST for lighting hire. In your expenditure budget you would only show lighting hire of $500. If your activity is funded, the department payment will include a 10% GST component to cover those items on which GST is payable.

Not registered for Goods and Services Tax

If you are not registered for GST you must show your expenditure items inclusive of the GST component. For example, you have been quoted $550 including GST for lighting hire. In your expenditure budget you would show lighting hire of $550. If your activity is funded, the department payment will include the GST component for those items on which GST is payable.

Support material

Support material is essential to allow assessors to fully gauge the value of your activity. The support material you choose should provide further information and evidence to advocate for the project outlined in your application. 

Your choice of support material should help to demonstrate the 4 assessment criteria: quality, reach, financial responsibility and good planning, as well as how your project will meet the objectives of the program.  

Support material summary

  • Text — maximum 10 A4 pages
  • Images — maximum 5
  • Audio/video — maximum 6 minutes.

Mandatory support materials

You must provide support materials for each of the following items:

  • Evidence of support or consultation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

This could include confirmation of booking from an Aboriginal service provider such a theatre group, dance group or artist, or a letter from an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander caregiver or relevant community member that shows support for the project. This mandatory support material provides assessors evidence of Aboriginal involvement, participation or decision making in relation to the PALS project.

  • Quotes for major expenditure items.

Including quotes shows the assessors that the information about major expenses in your budget are realistic and reasonable. This should include quotes and/or agreements relating to expenditure items over $500, such as transport or specialised fees for Elders, artists, performers, or other service providers.

Support materials formatting

If you are submitting audio and/or video files you must upload them to file streaming sites like Vimeo, YouTube, Bandcamp or SoundCloud that do not require an account or log-in to access. Do not use Spotify.

As an Online Grants portal user, you must upload your support materials with your online application. Individual files cannot exceed 5 MB.

Please note:

  • the support material formats and limits are required to ensure equality between applications in competitive programs
  • if you exceed the support material limits, the assessor will only watch, listen or read up to the specified limit  
  • files and links in ineligible formats will be deactivated and not viewed by the assessor
  • please use Word and PDF for text and image support material (images can also be uploaded individually as .jpegs)
  • formats that are not eligible are: .pages, .zip, .excel, MP3s (or similar) and .eml (however screenshots of emails pasted into Word or PDF documents are okay)
  • links to support material using file sharing services such as Dropbox, OneDrive or Google Drive will not be viewed
  • weblinks to text and image information online will not be viewed
  • items of support material cannot exceed 5 MB file size. 

You can find instructions on how to use these sites at the following links:

More information about how to submit your materials can be found in the application manual.

How will my application be assessed?

Applications to this funding program are assessed by department staff. 

Department staff may consult with the education sector and/or Reconciliation WA if necessary.

Draft reviews are not available for this program. 

All applications are assessed against the PALS objectives and the 4 criteria: 

  1. quality
  2. reach
  3. good planning
  4. financial responsibility.

Each has a subset of dimensions and weightings which can be found below. More information about the dimensions and definitions which have been developed by artists and creatives representing their sector, can be found in the application manual.

Quality

Dimensions of quality

Realistic, relevant, important, cultural authenticity, originality, innovation, cultural knowledge, community consultation, learning.

Weighting 30%

Quality refers to the relevance, importance and cultural authenticity of your project. This may be demonstrated by Aboriginal community engagement and cultural support and the depth of learning experiences facilitated by the proposed PALS project. 

Reach

Dimensions of reach

Impact, collaboration, legacy of project, diversity, leverage, number, depth.

Weighting 30%

Reach refers to the level of impact the project is likely to have. Reach may be demonstrated by including information such as the number of participants and depth of engagement, detail as to the extension into the wider school community and beyond, and legacy of the activity. 

Good planning

Dimensions of good planning

Realistic, achievable, considered, demonstrated research and/or consultation, evaluation and co-design. 

Weighting 20%

Good planning refers to the level of consideration which has been given to practically undertaking the activity. Good planning can be demonstrated by, but not limited to; carefully considered preparation, confirmation of key personnel, a realistic timeline and achievable outcomes, documented research and/or consultation, and a process of evaluation.

Financial responsibility

Dimensions of financial responsibility

Value, efficient, comprehensive budget, leverage.

Weighting 20%

Financial responsibility refers to the sound management of the budget. Financial responsibility can be demonstrated by but is not limited to; efficient use of resources, reasonable expenses and an accurate and comprehensive budget. Other sources of income have been considered and included where appropriate.

See the application manual for more information about how your application will be assessed. 

Note: Final approval of successful applications depends on available budget and approval by the Minister or delegated authority. 

Successful applications

Following assessment, final approval of successful applications depends on available budget and approval by the Minister or delegated authority. 

Notification of your grant outcome will be approximately 6 weeks after the closing date for the funding round you apply to. 

Acquittal report

If you are successful, you will be required to fill in an acquittal report when your activity has finished. An acquittal report details your activity and how you spent the grant. 

The acquittal report will be available for you to access in Online Grants, via the Edit/View Report button or Reports tab on the Home page, once a copy of your signed funding agreement has been received.  

Your acquittal report must be submitted within 90 days of the activity completion date as specified in the funding agreement.

You will need to attach relevant documents, images and videos that substantiate the delivery of the activity and that may demonstrate the impact and outcomes achieved.  

The report will also include your activity budget and you will be required to enter all the actual figures against each budget item and add any additional items that were not in the original budget. Variations between budget and actual figures are acceptable, however you must provide an explanation for large variations in the notes for that item. As you enter actual figures, the activity profit/loss will be automatically updated and displayed at the top of the Financial Information page.

The funding acquittal report also includes the option to provide feedback to help us to continually review and improve the service we provide. 

Assistance for applicants

More information on how to apply can be found in the application manual. 

Project officers are available via telephone and email to answer queries about applications and suitability of activities to specific programs. Please email or call should you have any questions. 

If you need extra assistance due to disability, language barriers or any other factor that may disadvantage you in completing your application, please contact us.  

The advice provided by project officers does not guarantee the success of your application.  

Due to the high number of applications received, each funding round is highly competitive.  

All applications are considered on their own merits and against the assessment criteria and program objectives. 

Contact us

Online Grants portal technical support 

For assistance using Online Grants or to report any related technical issues, contact the Online Grants Support Team: onlinegrantsupportca@dlgsc.wa.gov.au 

Project officers 

For enquiries relating to this funding program, including advice or assistance with your application, contact a project officer:  

Telephone 61 8 6552 7400 
Toll Free (WA country callers only) 1800 634 541 
Email:  pals@dlgsc.wa.gov.au 

Assistance for people with disability 

The department is committed to supporting applicants with disability. Information can be provided in alternative formats (large print, electronic or Braille) upon request.  

If you require special assistance in preparing your application, please call 61 8 6552 7400 or toll free for regional WA callers on 1800 634 541.  

Family, friends, mentors and/or carers can attend meetings with you. 

If you are deaf, or have a hearing or speech impairment, contact us through one of the following: 

Interpreting assistance 

For interpreting assistance in languages other than English, telephone the Translation and Interpreting Service on 13 14 50 and ask for a connection to 6552 7400 or 1800 634 541. 

Regional applicants 

Toll Free (Country WA callers only): 1800 634 541  

Email the project officer:  pals@dlgsc.wa.gov.au 

 

Page reviewed 08 January 2025

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