Disability Advocacy Service
DAS HQ
Funding · internal
DASP GO8390 · NDAP successor · MUST-WIN

DASP War Room.

Disability Advocacy Support Program: Service Delivery — $184M, open competitive, the program DAS's core advocacy funding moves to. NDAP ends 31 Jan 2027 with no incumbent rollover. Full pack + digest in _JOB_DAS/_Grants/DASP/.

Closes in
…
2:00pm AEST Wed 16 Jul 2026
Questions close
~9 Jul
Grant.ATM@health.gov.au · 5pm Canberra
Grant term
3 or 6yr
Department decides — budget 6 years regardless
Outcomes
Oct–Nov
20 days to execute · activity from Nov 2026

The posture decision

due ~17 Jun — must precede drafting · Scott's partner calls serve DPSC + DASP at once
Option A

Solo — NT remote-coverage specialist

3yr likely (6yr possible via the 'extensive rural and remote coverage' lane)

DAS as THE remote-NT advocacy provider. Lean on 25+ yrs in the hardest jurisdiction, First Nations client base, in-person delivery where nobody else goes. No partner herding, fastest to draft.

The guidelines say the department is unlikely to give 6 years to smaller individual orgs. A 3yr grant to Jun 2029 means re-tendering in 2028-29 with a department-controlled extension.

Option B

Consortium — advocacy partners

6yr path (consortium lead is a named 6yr lane)

DAS leads (or joins) an NT-wide advocacy consortium — DCLS, IADA, plus WOSCA-style partners. Same shortlist as the DPSC consortia, so Scott's calls this week serve both programs.

Partner herding in 5 weeks. Lead accountability for a multi-org footprint. The Q&S consortium is live proof it works, but assessors will test the governance.

Option C

Consortium WITH an Indigenous org

Strongest 6yr story — stacks all three named lanes (consortium + remote coverage + ACCO involvement)

ACCOs are explicitly invited to apply — they are competition unless they're partners. A consortium with an ACCO (Congress / Anyinginyi / NPYWC-adjacent) converts the threat into the strongest possible coverage story, and DAS as a MEMBER of an ACCO-led bid is also a 6yr path per the guidelines.

CONSIDERATION ONLY — not locked (Lukas, 11 Jun). ACCO approval cycles are the long pole; genuine-partnership governance must be real (assessors can smell tokenism); lead-vs-member question changes who carries accountability. Approach via Scott's existing relationships, nothing cold.

Criterion bones

fill plain text under each heading — full skeleton in GO8390-application-bones.md

AC1 — Alignment with grant requirements, objectives and outcomes (3,500 chars)

Attach: Activity Work Plan + MISSION ATTACHMENT (de-facto eligibility — application 'may not be considered eligible' without it)
  • THE SERVICE MODEL — in-person individual advocacy, equal thirds across the 3 primary areas (ADS outcomes / NDIS-provider negotiation / other service systems). ART/appeals work EXCLUDED — do not mention as funded activity
  • COVERAGE — service area footprint (SA3s), remote/very-remote delivery model, where DAS goes that nobody else does
  • PRIORITY COHORTS — DAS's client base is the priority list verbatim: First Nations PWD, remote, CALD-adjacent, high-barrier
  • POSTURE-SPECIFIC: solo = NT-wide remote specialist framing; consortium = coverage map + member roles
  • CONTINUITY — NDAP transition story: clients keep their advocate, no service gap across Nov 2026 – Feb 2027

AC2 — Organisational capacity and capability (5,000 chars — the strength zone)

Attach: Risk Management Plan (template in the GO8390 Attachment Pack)
  • 25+ YEARS of continuous funded advocacy delivery in the most remote jurisdiction — the exact named expertise
  • FIRST NATIONS DELIVERY RECORD — decades of individual advocacy with First Nations clients, interpreter-supported practice, Barkly delivery
  • DISABILITY-LED GOVERNANCE — lived-experience structures (Leadership Group lineage since 2016, Revised Framework Mar 2026)
  • LIVE CONSORTIUM PROOF — NDIS Q&S Commission Safeguarding project with DCLS + IADA
  • STAFFING + SUSTAINABILITY — named roles, recruitment reality in Alice Springs, retention story
  • HONEST DELIVERY HISTORY — continuity + outcomes framing, not throughput (DEX is visible to the assessors)

AC3 — Efficient and economical use of grant funds (3,500 chars)

Attach: Indicative Activity Budget — BUDGET ALL 6 YEARS regardless of posture (you cannot choose your grant length)
  • COST PER CLIENT/OUTCOME in remote context — honest remote loadings (travel, interpreters) beat under-costing; assessors know remote maths
  • EQUAL-THIRDS BUDGET — the three primary areas must each carry ~a third of activity
  • SYSTEMIC CAP — systemic advocacy ≤10% of budget
  • SUSTAINABILITY NARRATIVE — handle the uncontracted NDAP DoV optics: extension offered + accepted, transition planned
  • VALUE = GEOGRAPHIC MATCH — the guidelines reward presence where priorities are; Central Australia IS the priority map

Rules that bite

GO8390 Guidelines + FAQs + Addendum 1 — digested 11 Jun 2026
  • Closes 2:00pm AEST Wednesday 16 July 2026. Questions to Grant.ATM@health.gov.au close ~9 July (5pm Canberra).
  • Score 3/5 or better on ALL three criteria or the application is not considered. No published weightings.
  • You cannot choose your grant length — the department assigns 3yr (to Jun 2029) or 6yr (to Jun 2032). Everyone budgets 6 years.
  • 6-year lanes: consortium lead, large-geography or extensive rural-remote coverage, ACCOs. 'Unlikely' for smaller solo orgs.
  • Activities split EQUALLY across 3 primary areas: ADS outcomes / NDIS-provider negotiation / other service systems.
  • Systemic advocacy capped at 10% of budget. ART/NDIS-appeals advocacy excluded — separate program.
  • FY27 pool is $14.5M (~5 months at full rate) then $33.9M/yr — full delivery funding from ~1 Feb 2027, dovetailing NDAP's 31 Jan 2027 end.
  • Mission attachment is de-facto eligibility. Bank statement must be ≤6 months old. NSDS CoC: upload current certificate OR tick Determination — don't start certification early.
  • Plain-text form fields, restricted character set, 2MB per attachment. The Form Receipt email is the ONLY copy of your application — save it.
  • Outcomes expected Oct–Nov 2026; 20 days to execute the offer; earliest activity start Nov 2026.

Internal schedule

proposed — from the pipeline lead checklist
✓ Pull + read GO8390 guidelines (GrantConnect login) 12 June 2026
○ Solo (3yr likely) vs consortium (6yr path) decision 17 June 2026
○ Mission attachment prepared (de-facto eligibility) 24 June 2026
○ Bank statement <=6 months old obtained 24 June 2026
○ NSDS CoC fork decided (upload current vs tick Determination) 24 June 2026
○ Questions to Grant.ATM (if any) 8 July 2026
○ AC1 Alignment drafted (3,500 chars + AWP) 6 July 2026
○ AC2 Capacity drafted (5,000 chars + Risk Plan) 8 July 2026
○ AC3 Value drafted (3,500 chars + Budget, 6yr horizon) 10 July 2026
○ Internal review (GO6984 rule: zero placeholders) 13 July 2026
○ SUBMITTED (keep the Form Receipt email — only copy) 14 July 2026

Lead record: dasp-go8390 · source docs + digest: _JOB_DAS/_Grants/DASP/ · sibling campaign: DPSC war room