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FURTHER REPORT - ENVIRONMENT PROJECT GRANTS (ROUND 21) (referred from General Committee dated 9 June 2026 Item 7.14) · Report
ORDINARY MEETING 18 JUNE 2026
12.1 FURTHER REPORT - ENVIRONMENT PROJECT GRANTS (ROUND
21) (referred from General Committee dated 9 June 2026 Item 7.14)
Author Environmental Services Manager, Ben Derrick
Environmental Services | Strategy and Environment
Index 26.04 - Environmental Grants
Attachments 1. Attachment 1 - Summary of Environmental Project Grant Applications
FY26_27
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
At the General Committee Meeting dated 9 June 2026 a report was presented providing an overview
of the applications received for the Environment Project Grants (Round 21) and the Climate Change
Response Grants (Round 6) to seek Council approval for the allocation of funding to recommended
projects.
Council requested that the matters be separated into two reports and brought back to the Ordinary
Meeting, with each grant detailed individually. This approach enables Councillors to declare a conflict
of interest, if required, in relation to one report only, and, where appropriate, remain in the meeting
for consideration of the other.
This further report recommends the allocation of the Environment Project Grants only, to the
successful applicants as detailed in the attached schedule.
RECOMMENDATION
That Council:
A. Note the report by the Environmental Services Manager to the General Committee Meeting
dated 9 June 2026 and the Further Report to the Ordinary Meeting dated 18 June 2026 regarding
applications received for the Environment Project Grants (Round 21); and
B. Approve the allocation of funding to the following organisations for Environmental Project Grants
for 2026/27 financial year:
i. $17,301.16 to Teewah Turtle Trackers Inc. for the Teewah Turtle Trackers Monitoring
and Conservation Initiative;
ii. $10,870.84 to Noosa and District Landcare for the Protecting Pinbarren Project;
iii. $6,828.00 to Wildlife Noosa Ltd. for the Noosa River Hazards to Wildlife (Lines and
Lures) Reduction Program,
REPORT
Environment Project Grants
The Environment Project Grants Program is funded by the Environmental Levy and supports the
implementation of the Noosa Environment Strategy, as well as Council’s other key environment
strategies and plans. The Environment Project Grants Program is designed to enable collaboration
with the community in initiatives that work towards the outcomes and targets identified in the Noosa
Environment Strategy. All initiatives funded by the Environment Project Grants Program must have
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ORDINARY MEETING 18 JUNE 2026
tangible and measurable outcomes. The current total FY26/27 budget for the Environment Project
Grants is $35,000.
Nine applications were received for the current round for a funding request totalling $162,282. In
accordance with the Environmental Grants Guidelines each application was assessed by a panel of
three officers against the following criteria:
Applications were open from 9 February 2026 until 23 March 2026.
Promotion for the grant included:
• Social media advertising
• Specific email to all non-for-profit community groups previously applied for the grants or may be
interested in applying for the grants
• Direct conversations with NRM Groups, sustainability groups and community groups to ensure
awareness
• Details published on Noosa Council’s website
The grant required the applicant to engage with a relevant Council officer prior to submitting the
application.
This round introduced more robust governance enhancements to improve defensibility, objectivity
and transparency of the evaluation process. To ensure the integrity of the program, the assessment
methodology was executed in four phases:
• Phase 1: Probity and Conflict of Interest (COI) Screening
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
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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
A summary of the grant assessment recommendations is provided below:
Environment Project Grants
• Fully fund two applications received totalling $24,129.16.
• Partially fund one application receive totalling $10,870.84
For further information regarding the applications and individual funding recommended refer
to Attachment 1.
Four projects have been recommended for funding based on thorough assessment against the
evaluation criteria, community benefit and Council priorities. Staff have also identified a number of
minor conditions that would be required for each successful applicant to implement during project
delivery.
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 applicants to apply for the Environment Project
Link to Corporate Plan
Theme No 1 - Environment
Focus areas include the natural environment, built environment, waterways and coasts and
conservation and heritage.
Objective 1.1 – Maintain and improve water quality and the health of waterways, wetlands and
catchments
Objective 1.2 – Partner with landowners and community groups to manage, protect and regenerate
natural environment assets and improve resilience
Objective 1.5 – Deliver expanded vegetation networks, rehabilitation and habitat across the Shire
Objective 1.6 – Partner with the community to improve water quality and environmental outcomes
through whole-of-catchment management
Theme No. 2 - Liveability
Liveability encompasses housing, facilities and services, transport, health and wellbeing to enable
an inclusive, connected and vibrant community.
Objective 2.6 – Facilitate strong, vibrant and inclusive communities where people have a sense of
belonging and are active participants in community life
Objective 2.8 – Provide opportunities to enhance the health, wellbeing and safety of communities
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Theme No. 4 - Future
This theme is focused on our future, strengthening our relationship with First Nations peoples and to
ensure our community is prepared and resilient to change. A focus on youth, climate resilience and
adaptation, sense of place and destination management.
Objective 4.7 – Fund and implement the Climate Change Response Plan to support Council,
community and the local economy to build resilience and preparedness for climate risks
Objective 4.8 – Deliver best practice approaches to plan for and respond to climate change and
natural hazards
Previous Council Consideration
Nil.
Finance
Funding for the recommended projects has been allocated in the draft versions of the 2026/27
budget.
• The Environment Project Grants Program is funded through the Environment Levy, with a total
allocation of $35,000 for this funding round.
The total funding recommended for allocation under this round is:
• Environment Project Grants: $35,000
Projects recommended for funding represent a prioritisation of available funds and have been
selected to maximise environmental and community outcomes within the approved budget. Given
that funding requests significantly exceeded available allocations, not all applications could be
supported.
Risk & Opportunities
Residual
Risk Existing Appetite
Risk Description LikelihoodImpact Risk
Category Controls Compliance
Rating
Application
Risk that funded assessment
applicants are unable to criteria; pre-
deliver agreed project Service application officer
outcomes due to Delivery / engagement;
Unlikely MediumMedium Yes
insufficient capability or Financial / selection of
resources, resulting in Reputation demonstrated
reduced environmental capability; grant
or community benefit agreements and
milestones
Risk of misallocation or Funding
misuse of grant funding agreements;
caused by inadequate Financial / acquittal
financial controls within Legal / requirements; Unlikely MediumMedium Yes
recipient organisations, Reputation staged payments;
resulting in financial loss monitoring and
or reputational impact reporting
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Risk that funded projects
do not achieve intended Assessment
environmental or climate against outcomes
Environment
outcomes due to poor and feasibility;
/ Service Possible MediumMedium Yes
project design or officer guidance;
Delivery
external factors, monitoring and
resulting in reduced reporting
program effectiveness
Formal
Risk of perceived lack of assessment
transparency or fairness criteria; panel
in grant allocation Reputation / assessment;
Unlikely MediumMedium Yes
process resulting in Governance conflict of interest
reputational impacts and declarations;
reduced community trust documentation of
decisions
Risk of conflicts of Mandatory COI
interest not being declarations;
Legal /
adequately identified or exclusion of
Governance Rare High Medium Yes
managed, resulting in conflicted officers;
/ Reputation
governance breach and governance
reputational damage oversight
Risk that high demand Transparent
for funding exceeds guidelines; clear
available budget, Reputation / communication of
resulting in unsuccessful Service limited funding; Likely MediumHigh Yes
applicants and potential Delivery competitive
dissatisfaction within the assessment
community process
Risk that funded climate
Alignment criteria;
initiatives do not align
officer
with broader Council
Governance engagement prior
strategies due to
/ Service to submission; Unlikely MediumMedium Yes
inconsistent
Delivery panel review
interpretation, resulting
against strategic
in reduced strategic
documents
value
Risk that projects are Funding
delayed or not agreements;
completed within agreed project
timeframes due to Service timeframes;
Possible MediumMedium Yes
external factors Delivery progress
(weather, approvals, reporting;
staffing), impacting extension
delivery timelines provisions
Risk that environmental
or climate conditions Flexible project
change (e.g. extreme scope; adaptive
Environment Possible MediumMedium Yes
weather events) delivery; officer
impacting project viability support
or outcomes
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Risk of administrative Established grant
burden on Council People & processes;
resources to manage Culture / standardised
Possible Low Low Yes
and monitor grants, Service templates;
impacting internal Delivery experienced staff
service delivery management
Human Rights
Human Rights Compatibility Statement
In developing this Report, the subject matter has been considered in accordance with the
requirements of the Queensland Human Rights Act 2019. It is considered that the subject matter
does not conflict with any human rights and supports a human rights approach to decision making
by Council. Council representatives will endeavour to act and make decisions under this report in a
manner that is compatible with human rights. This report should be read in conjunction with
Council’s Human Rights Policy.
Consultation
External Consultation - Community & Stakeholder
Applicants were encouraged to consult with Council officers prior to submission to ensure project
alignment and eligibility. Advice and support were provided where required throughout the
application period.
Internal Consultation
Departments consulted:
Office of the CEO, Mayor & Community Services Corporate Services
Councillors
x Mayor & Councillors Director Director
x Chief Executive Officer Community Connection Financial Services
Executive Officers Sport & Active Lifestyles Revenue Services
Community Engagement Arts & Culture ICT
Governance Customer Experience Procurement
People & Culture
Strategy & Environment Development & Regulation Infrastructure Services
x Director Director Director
x Strategy & Sustainability Development Assessment Civil and Asset operations
Economic Development & Infrastructure Planning, Design
Local Laws
Destination Management and Delivery
x Environmental Services Environmental Health Waste
Innovation & Digital Hub Building & Plumbing Building & Facilities
Commercial Property Property / Permits Disaster Management
Fleet