​​In December 2025 the NSW Ministry of Health will be releasing a grant opportunity to establish an Aboriginal-led AOD research consortium to support better outcomes for Aboriginal families. This a new, competitive, closed grant opportunity. The funding will run for four years from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2030. The grant will be funded by the NSW Ministry of Health and administered by the Ministry’s Centre for Alcohol and Other Drugs (CAOD) with strategic advice from the Centre for Aboriginal Health (CAH) and the Centre for Epidemiology and Evidence (CEE).

The Aboriginal-led research consortium aims to be strength based and generate policy-relevant evidence to improve the system response to Aboriginal families experiencing AOD harms and ultimately improve health and wellbeing outcomes. An additional aim of the grant is to grow the Aboriginal AOD research workforce and strengthen monitoring, evaluation, research and knowledge translation capabilities.

The grant opportunity will be announced on the NSW Health AOD webpage, the NSW Governm​ent grants and funding webpage​, and through the Ministry of Health AOD NGO Newsletter.

The total value of the grant program is up to $2,000,000 over four years (2026/27–2029/30). Up to $500,000 will be available per year (for financial years 2026/27–2029/30).

Focus area

The focus of the research consortium will be:

Supporting Aboriginal families (including during pregnancy, and families with children aged up to 5 years) by improving referral and access to services, minimising AOD harms and providing strong interagency support to keep families together.

This focus area is informed by the Co-Chair report from the NSW Drug Summit Yarning Circle which identified the need to prioritise Aboriginal-led prevention, early intervention and family support, to address the high rates of child removal and redress the disproportionate harms experienced by Aboriginal people and communities.

The formation of a consortium that builds partnerships between Aboriginal communities, Aboriginal organisations, research groups, Local Health Districts and non-government organisations is required to achieve research that is Aboriginal-led, answers research questions that are important to Aboriginal people, and creates sustainable improvements to services.

Grant funding will be awarded to a consortium through a selective, competitive process. An annual work plan will be developed collaboratively between the successful consortium, the NSW Ministry of Health, and other key stakeholders.

Key features of the consortium

To comprehensively address the breadth of work, the consortium should:

• Be Aboriginal-
• Have a lead investigator who is employed by a NSW-based Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (ACCHO), university or research agency.
• Have a track record working with Aboriginal communities, health services and
• Have a track record conducting culturally appropriate research aligned with the focus
• Possess the methodological expertise to provide the research capabilities required for the focus

The objectives ​​of the consortium are to

1. Form a new consortium, separately branded, to lead NSW based Aboriginal research work in
2. Build research programs and/or assets that will generate high-quality research evidence
3. that is relevant to the focus area and can directly inform the implementation of health and community system policies, programs and services in NSW.
4. Support the translation of research evidence into sustainable AOD policies, programs or services in NSW. The consortium will achieve this by developing an annual workplan in partnership with the NSW Ministry of Health.
5. Build the number and capacity of Aboriginal researchers with expertise in AOD, to develop the workforce and build cultural competence across the sector.
6. Build research capability and capacity across ACCHOs and NSW Health to create, understand and use this knowledge and evidence in the delivery of services.

Eligibility criteria

1. The administering organisation must be a legal entity. The lead investigator must be employed by the administering organisation.
2. All projects must be Aboriginal-led and have governance structures that prioritise Aboriginal leadership and NSW Health -  An Aboriginal person must lead the project as the Lead Chief Investigator. Non-Aboriginal researchers can apply as a Co-Chief Investigator with an Aboriginal Lead Chief Investigator.
3. Funds must be primarily allocated to NSW-based team members. One of the aims of this grant is to build on and extend research capability in NSW. The grant funding awarded must be primarily allocated to NSW-based institutions and Consortia can include investigators from other jurisdictions if required, however, funding from the grant must be demonstrated to build research capability in NSW.

All members and investigators must have the right to work in Australia through being an Australian citizen or permanent resident or having an appropriate working visa for the full term of the grant.

4. The administering organisation must be an Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation​(ACCHO), university or public health research agency. If the administering organisation is an ACCHO they must have demonstrated research experience and partnership/s with a university or research organisation/s. If the administering organisation is a university or public health research agency they must have demonstrated Aboriginal leadership and partnership/s with Aboriginal people, communities and/or organisations including ACCHOs.

We expect all funding recipients to be employed by not-for-profit organisations, universities, or government agencies (e.g. local health districts). If there are instances where this is not the case, this needs to be discussed with the Ministry for each specific purpose and on a case-by-case basis.

Assessment criteria

Below are the assessment criteria that will be used to determine which EOIs proceed to the next phase of the assessment process. More detail will be provided once the opportunity opens. As no single NSW research institution likely excels across all aspects of the focus area, NSW Health will view favourably collaborations that leverage the state's best collective expertise.

1. Demonstrated skills, capacity and expertise of the research team relevant to the research focus area of supporting Aboriginal families. This includes skills in multidisciplinary research approaches and evidence translation.
2. Demonstrated ability to work in partnership with NSW Health, supporting research capability development and generating evidence oriented to improving AOD policy and programs.
3. Expertise in Aboriginal health and cultural appropriateness. A demonstrated track record of working with Aboriginal communities and Aboriginal Community Controlled Health
4. The governance structure and partnerships underpinning the proposed research team which highlights its strengths, transparency and accountability. Evidence that the consortium is Aboriginal-led with internal governance structures that prioritise Aboriginal leadership and collaboration across the consortium members.

Suggested next steps

1. Talk to your networks about how you might work with them as part of an Aboriginal-led AOD research consortium.
2. Sign up to be notified when the grants are released (using the email provided below)

Applicants will need to complete the EOI form provided. Applications will be assessed and competitively ranked against the assessment criteria above. Assessment panel members will individually score each application, then the panel will meet to finalise consensus scores and develop an order of merit.

Applications with the highest scores will be shortlisted to participate in an interview to further assess their EOI submission to confirm how they best align with purpose and objectives of the program.

One grant of up to $2 million over four years is available for the consortium. The grant opportunity will be announced on the NSW Health AOD webpages, the NSW Government grants and funding webpage and through the Ministry of Health AOD NGO Newsletter.

Questions about this grant opportunity can be submitted via email: MOH-AOD-ResearchandEvaluation@hea​lth.nsw.gov.au. All enquiries will be responded to at an optional scheduled grant opportunity briefing session and through public Q&A documents once the grant opportunity is released in December 2025.