Apply for Wildlife Rehabilitator Grants Program (Australia)

Objectives

• The objectives of the WRG program aim to help wildlife rehabilitators to:
  • improve the standard of wildlife care they can provide
  • improve their facilities to treat, house and rehabilitate wildlife for release
  • increase their knowledge/skills in the care of wildlife.

Funding Information

• The total funding allocation for wildlife rehabilitators is $300,000. Grants will be capped at $3,000 per eligible shelter operator and $2,000 per eligible foster carer applicant.
• The difference in funding acknowledges that shelter operators take in a larger number of animals and also provide support to foster carers to learn how to assess and care for many species of wildlife that come into care.
• To ensure equitable access across rehabilitators funding, priority will be given to rehabilitators who have not received WRG or other Victorian Government funding support in the last 2 years.

Eligible Activities

• The WRG program will fund the following activities and items:
  • building new enclosures or extend/improve existing enclosures to meet recommended standards
  • purchase of equipment or items to improve standard of wildlife care
  • food and water for animals’ dietary and nutritional needs
  • veterinary visits, treatment and medical care and supplies
  • training courses and relevant educational materials for rehabilitators.

Ineligible Activities

• The WRG program will not fund the following activities and items:
  • the purchase of land
  • activities that are already funded through another organisation or program (example: WIRES, Wildlife Victoria, local Council or other Victorian Government’s initiatives)
  • recurrent operating costs, for example rent and utility costs, and/or activities that establish expectation of ongoing funding
  • purchase of computers, laptops, tablets and smartphones
  • expenses associated with other animals (i.e., domestic pets) or wildlife that is not covered by your authorization
  • marketing, advertising, fundraising or promotional activities and activities located outside the State of Victoria
  • any other item or activity determined by the Assessors through the assessment process to be an inappropriate or unsuitable use of the funds
  • any item that is in contravention of the conditions of the shelter authorization
  • any illegal activity
  • use of fund for political campaigns or advocacy activities for political parties.

Eligibility Criteria

• To be eligible for these Wildlife Rehabilitator Grants, individuals must:
  • be a wildlife shelter operator or foster carer authorized under section 28A of the Wildlife Act 1975
  • have the consent of the property owner if you are not the owner of premises
  • have the landowner (public or private) consent for installation of nest boxes activities (if applicable)
  • be actively caring for injured wildlife and keeping records
• They accept one application per authorized location only.

Ineligibility Criteria

• The following individuals are not eligible to apply:
  • a person that has been convicted of any offence under the Wildlife Act 1975, Wildlife Regulations 2013, Catchment and Land Protection Act 1994, Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1986 or similar interstate or federal legislation during the last 10 years
  • any person who does not hold a valid Wildlife Shelter Operator or Foster Carer authorisation under section 28A of the Wildlife Act 1975
  • any person who has an outstanding/unresolved Improvement Notice from the Conservation Regulator
  • any person who failed to complete the previous milestones in the agreement i.e. did not submit final completion reports or acquittal reports (WRG 2019 to 2023 rounds).

Application Requirements

• The following documents must be attached to the application:
  • copy of a valid shelter operator and foster carer authorization
  • Shelter Operators need to provide the most recent shelter records (one year)
  • Foster Carers need to provide the most recent shelter records from your supervising shelter
  • quote for any items that are valued equal to or greater than $500 from any category – failure to provide this will make your application ineligible
  • layout or design and dimensions of enclosures, if seeking funding for new infrastructure (must meet the DEECA requirements)
  • photographs of an existing facility or equipment if seeking funding to replace/renew them
  • list of training courses
  • written consent from the property owner to undertake the activity if renting
  • written consent from the land or property owner to undertake nest box activities
• Supporting documents must be in an acceptable file type, such as Word, Excel, PDF, or JPEG. The maximum file size for each file is 10MB.

For more information, visit Victorian Government.