FURTHER REPORT - CLIMATE CHANGE RESPONSE GRANTS (ROUND 6) (referred from General Committee dated 9 June 2026 Item 7.14) · Report

ORDINARY MEETING                                                                      18 JUNE 2026


        o   Upon receipt of applications, all assessing officers from the Strategy & Environment
            directorate completed mandatory COI declarations. To eliminate any real or perceived
            bias, officers with a declared COI, or those who had engaged with applicants prior to
            submission, were strictly excluded from the assessment process.

•   Phase 2: Technical Expert Review
        o   Before panel evaluation, subject matter experts conducted an initial technical appraisal
            of each application. This ensured all proposed projects were rigorously vetted for
            technical validity, execution capacity, quality, relevance, and risk management.

•   Phase 3: Cross-Disciplinary Panel Evaluation
        o   To maximise objectivity, independent three-member panels were established for each
            grant category, deliberately structured to include cross-branch representation. The
            Environment Project Grants panel comprised two Environment Services officers and
            one Strategy & Sustainability officer, while the Climate Change Response Grants panel
            reversed this ratio. Including an evaluator from outside the core subject area prevented
            siloing and provided independent, critical scrutiny.

•   Phase 4: Independent Scoring and Executive Moderation
        o   Panel members scored applications individually and independently against the
            established criteria. These scores were subsequently collated and subjected to a formal
            moderation review by leadership staff within the Strategy & Environment directorate to
            ensure scoring consistency, fairness, and alignment with strategic objectives.
Recommended Projects for Funding

Four projects have been recommended for funding based on a thorough assessment against the
evaluation criteria, community benefit and Council priorities. The funding request across the four
projects totals to $48,869.06. Staff have also identified a number of minor conditions that would be
required for each successful applicant to implement during project delivery, which would be included
in the notice of successful grant outcome. For further information regarding the applications and
individual funding recommended refer to details provided in Attachment 1.

Council staff will reach out individually to the five unsuccessful applicants in this program and work
with them on their projects to improve identified gaps in their applications and see how they can be
supported through other existing programs and opportunities to meet the need that has been
articulated.

Overall, most applications scored highly against the relevant grant criteria and Noosa Council was
grateful for the time invested by all applicants to apply for the Climate Change Response Grant.


Link to Corporate Plan
Theme No 1 - Environment
Focus areas include the natural environment, built environment, waterways and coasts and
conservation and heritage.
Objective 1.2 – Partner with landowners and community groups to manage, protect and regenerate
natural environment assets and improve resilience
Objective 1.3 - Fund and implement Coastal Foreshores and Coastal Hazard Management Plans
to protect and enhance coastal and foreshore areas.
Objective 1.5 – Deliver expanded vegetation networks, rehabilitation and habitat across the Shire
Objective 1.8 - Reinforce Noosa Design Principles to shape the look and feel of our distinctive built
environment to ensure it responds to our climate, environment and unique character.