Disaster Ready Fund - Round 4

GRANT OVERVIEW

The Disaster Ready Fund (DRF) is the Australian Government’s primary disaster resilience and risk reduction initiative.

Under the DRF Act, up to $200 million in Commonwealth Funding can be drawn annually from 1 July 2023 for natural disaster resilience and risk reduction initiatives across Australia. Projects are delivered in partnership with Australian state and territory governments.

In 2026-27, a portion of the annual drawdown will be reserved to offset critical spending on national capability programs that enhance Australia’s preparedness and resilience, with the balance ($142.477 million) available as grants through DRF Round Four.

The objectives of the program are to:

• increase the understanding of natural disaster impacts, as a first step towards reducing the risk of future natural disaster impacts,
• increase the resilience, adaptive capacity and/or preparedness of governments, community service organisations and affected communities to future natural disasters to minimise the potential impact of natural hazards and reduce the risk of future natural disasters, and
• reduce the exposure to risk, harm and/or severity of a future natural disaster’s impacts, including reducing the recovery burden for governments, cohorts at disproportionate risk, and/or affected communities.

These objectives are underpinned by the DRF Investment Principles, which guide DRF investment decisions and are reflected in the DRF’s activity types and assessment criteria.

The NSW Reconstruction Authority (RA) is the jurisdictional lead agency for NSW. If you meet the eligibility criteria, you can submit a Project Proposal to the RA for consideration in the NSW Application.

The Program Guidelines set the parameters for the types of project proposals that are eligible for DRF funding. Applicants should read the Guidelines in full before developing project proposals.

To receive automatic email notifications whenever addenda, guideline changes, or deadline extensions are published, we recommend you register for an account and download a copy of the DRF Round Four Guidelines from GrantConnect. Instructions for creating a GrantConnect account can be viewed here.

Before completing this application form, please ensure you have read the DRF Round 4 Program Guidelines and the relevant applicant resources, linked below. 

APPLICANT RESOURCES

DRF Round Four FAQs

Application How to Guide

Checklist for Infrastructure Applications

Checklist for Non-Infrastructure Applications

Multi-jurisdictional & national projects factsheet

First Nations Fact Sheet

Indicative Budget Template

Delivery Partner Letter of Support

Lead Agency Confirmation Letter Template

Cost Benefit Analysis Template

KEY DATES 

For the latest information on Round 4 of the DRF, please refer to the NSW RA webpage.

Applications open

Friday 29 May 2026

Applications close

5pm (AEST), Wednesday 1 July 2026

GETTING SUPPORT

Full details of the DRF eligibility requirements and assessment criteria are provided in the Round 4 Program Guidelines and on the RA Webpage.

For general enquiries about the DRF, please contact the NSW Reconstruction Authority at: drfnsw@reconstruction.nsw.gov.au.

All technical enquiries, such as system access issues, must be referred directly to SmartyGrants technical support line on (03) 9320 6888 and email at service@smartygrants.com.au. 

Under Round 4, the Australian Government has capped the number of applications that each jurisdiction can submit. For NSW, this is 30. As a result of this, and to ensure that only the most competitive applications are submitted, NSW has adopted a maximum limit of two (2) applications that each lead applicant (organisation) can submit. 

Each project requires a separate application form to be completed.

Before starting your application, please ensure you have read the Program Guidelines, that you are an eligible applicant and the project you are submitting is eligible for funding as per the DRF Round 4 Program Guidelines.

The Applicant acknowledges and agrees that:

• submission of this application does not guarantee selection for the NSW Government Application, and the NSW Reconstruction Authority expressly reserves its right to accept or reject this application at its discretion;
• the Applicant has read the DRF Round 4 Program Guidelines and is fully informed of the relevant Program requirements;
• the Applicant bears the costs of preparing and submitting this application and the NSW and Australian Governments do not accept any liability for such costs, whether or not this application is ultimately accepted or rejected; and
• the DRF Round 4 Program Guidelines, may be updated after publication and the Applicant is responsible for ensuring that no reliance is placed on an outdated version (if there is a new version this will be clearly identified on the website).

By submitting this application form, the Applicant acknowledges and agrees that:

• if this project application is successful and selected for funding by the Australian Government, the relevant details of the project will be made public, including details such as the names of the organisation (Applicant) and any partnering organisation (state government agencies or non-government organisations), project title, project description, location, anticipated time for completion and amount awarded;
• the NSW Reconstruction Authority will use reasonable endeavours to ensure that any information received in or in respect of this application which is clearly marked ‘Commercial-in-confidence’ or ‘Confidential’ is treated as confidential; and
• in some circumstances, the NSW Reconstruction Authority may release information contained in this application form and other relevant information in relation to this application in response to a request lodged under the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 NSW (GIPA Act) or otherwise as required or permitted by law or required by court order.

By submitting this Application form, the Applicant acknowledges and agrees that:

• the NSW Reconstruction Authority is required to comply with the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 (NSW) (the Privacy Act) and that any personal information (as defined by the Privacy Act) collected by the NSW Reconstruction Authority in relation to the program will be handled in accordance with the Privacy Act and the NSW Reconstruction Authority’s DRF Round 4 Privacy Collection Notice and
• the Applicant has taken steps to ensure that any person whose personal information (as defined by the Privacy Act) is included in this application has consented to the fact that the NSW Reconstruction Authority and other Government agencies may be supplied with that personal information, and has been made aware of the purposes for which it has been collected and may be used.