DRAFT — Email to Scott (v2, 11 Jun 2026)
Status: DRAFT — not sent. Lukas to polish voice + send. v1 was the generic 6-slot table; v2 adds the developed concepts and the DASP discovery. The DASP item is now the lead — it’s time-critical and changes the whole July picture.
Subject: DPSC concepts ready + a bigger thing: the NDAP replacement closes 16 July
Scott,
Two things, and the second one’s the headline.
1. THE NDAP REPLACEMENT IS OPEN NOW — CLOSES 16 JULY
The Disability Advocacy Support Program (DASP, GO8390) went up on GrantConnect on 21 May. It’s the NDAP successor — $184M, open competitive, closes 2pm 16 July. The new program starts 16 November this year, our NDAP extension runs to 31 Jan 2027 to cover the transition, and there’s NO automatic rollover for incumbents. We win this or the core advocacy funding ends.
Strong applicants get 6-year grants (to mid-2032). ACCOs with advocacy experience are explicitly invited to apply, so the NT field won’t just be us.
The guidelines are behind the GrantConnect login — can you (or I, if you give me the login) pull the GO8390 document pack ASAP? That’s the first domino. Links: https://www.grants.gov.au/Go/Show?GoUuid=5ae26103-8392-4637-a86e-1c396fe00022 https://consultations.health.gov.au/disability-and-carers-group/individual-disability-advocacy-reform/
So July is now a double-header: DPSC closes 2 July, DASP closes 16 July. Both matter; DASP is existential. We need to plan writing capacity across both — which is also why I think the grant-writer question (below) is now a yes.
2. DPSC — THE SIX CONCEPTS, DEVELOPED
I’ve taken the six application slots from idea to worked-up concepts (problem, activities, 5-year arc, indicative budgets, eligibility checks against the ineligible-activities list). Summary table — full briefs are ready to walk through whenever suits:
| # | Stream | Type | Concept | Ask/yr (working) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | S1 — Individual & Family Capacity Building (5yr) | DAS solo | Speak Strong NT — peer-led self-advocacy + supported decision-making; paid peer mentor academy; family “decision supporter” pathway. The Speaking Up succession, expanded. | ~$505k |
| 2 | S1 | Consortium, DAS lead | The Self-Advocacy Workbench — national prep tools (understand my plan / build my review / rehearse the conversation) + partner-hosted paid peer coaches. | ~$1.19M |
| 3 | S2 — Community Capacity Building (3yr) | DAS solo | Open Doors Central Australia — local people with disability trained + paid as accredited access assessors reviewing their own town; action plans + public access map. | ~$387k |
| 4 | S2 | Consortium, DAS lead | The Inclusion Engine — accessible-comms + inclusive-practice capability for community orgs; AI-assisted Easy Read with paid lived-experience QA holding veto. | ~$950k |
| 5 | S3 — Information, Advice & Referral, Cat B (5yr) | DAS solo | Centralian Disability Information Service — local front door + verified regional pathways knowledge base, published in Pitjantjatjara / Warlpiri / Arrernte / Warumungu + Easy Read / audio / video. | ~$495k |
| 6 | S3 Cat B | Consortium, DAS lead | Remote Reach — DAS runs a shared accessible-info production engine; ACCO + advocacy partners deliver through trusted local doors; ~40-45% of funds flow to partners. | ~$1.14M |
The framing on all six: the program can’t fund advocacy delivery (it’s in the ineligible list), so everything is pitched as capability people with disability use themselves — which happens to be exactly the tech-leveraged, low-touch model we’re good at.
WHAT I NEED FROM YOU
a) CONSORTIUM CALLS THIS WEEK. The three consortium apps live or die on partners being named by submission. In priority order:
- NPY Women’s Council (for Remote Reach) — they hold the existing remote-CA info grant, so it’s partner-or-compete, and their approval cycle will be the slowest. Start now.
- Darwin Legal + IADA — you said they’re keen; they slot into both Remote Reach and the Workbench. Can you confirm appetite for one or both?
- WOSCA — Workbench fit. You know the relationship.
- Inclusion NT (Liz) — best fit is the Inclusion Engine. Worth a call this week — with a fleshed-out concept this time, not a vibe.
- The cold ones (VALID Vic, Speak Out Tas, CID NSW via DANA) — for the Workbench. Want me to draft the approach email?
b) PAST APPLICATIONS — partly done. I’ve dug out and read: the Speaking Up ILC application (the one that won), the GO6984 Knowledge & Skill form, the old ILC PDFs, and the Safeguarding consortium proposal. If you’ve got anything else — especially anything with FEEDBACK from the assessors, won or lost — send it over.
c) GRANT WRITER. Six DPSC apps + DASP in five weeks. I can generate drafts fast, but we need a second senior pair of eyes for review + the budget templates. Got anyone, or shall I shortlist?
d) GRANTCONNECT LOGIN for the DASP document pack (item 1).
Bits worth knowing: the funder Q&A window for DPSC closes 25 June (I’ve got two clarification questions drafted); WGEA doesn’t apply to us (<100 staff); and the same department runs both programs, so the applications need to read as one coherent strategy, not a scattergun.
Cheers, Lukas
Notes for Lukas (not part of the email)
- v1’s “table for Scott to fill in” is replaced by the named-partner priority list — we now know who fits which app, so the ask is sharper.
- Liz/Inclusion NT positioning per your call: not a formal consortium ask until you’ve picked which concept to take to her — Inclusion Engine is the natural one (she’s named in its partner set).
- If Scott baulks at six, the bankers are #1/#3/#5 (solo apps) — but that’s a conversation, the six-app decision stands unless you reopen it.
- DASP guidelines may change the DPSC calculus (e.g. if DASP explicitly funds info/referral adjacent work) — re-check the six concepts against the DASP pack once pulled.