Secondary schools agriculture fund

Eligible Victorian schools and organisations

• Victorian government secondary schools
• Community organisations including:
  • Local Learning and Employment Networks
  • VET clusters
  • other not-for-profit organisations who deliver programs to secondary school students
• Industry associations connected to the agricultural sector who are able to deliver programs to secondary schools.

Non-government secondary schools can apply as part of a joint application where:

• benefits flow to government and non-government schools; and
• an eligible organisation listed in this section leads the application.

Agriculture industries and enabling activities supported

For the purposes of eligibility under the Secondary Schools Agriculture Fund, Agriculture is defined as the primary production and enabling activities involved in the practice of farming to provide food, fibre and other products.

The Fund supports projects and their enabling activities in:

Livestock management

• Cattle, dairy, sheep, pigs, poultry, other livestock
• Apiary
• On land aquaculture.

Land use and management

• Broadacre cropping
• Protected cropping (greenhouse horticulture)
• Viticulture (grape growing)
• Horticulture (fruit, vegetables, nuts)
• Fungiculture
• Nurseries
• Irrigation
• Permaculture
• Natural resource management
• Bush food production
• Cultural land management

Enabling activities

• Pest and disease management
• Shearing and wool handling
• Agronomy
• Rural machinery operations including servicing and support for emerging needs in robotics[1]
• AgTech (e.g. digital technologies and using the data derived from them)
• Agriculture-related elements of the circular economy (e.g. organic waste recycling, renewable energy on farms)
• Agribusiness
• Farm accounting and business planning including financial literacy, human resources management and succession planning
• Farm workplace, health and safety
• Extension services
• Agriculture supply chain logistics
• Primary and secondary food processing (e.g. dried vine fruit, meat processing, dairy, wine making) as a minor focus of a proposed project (less than 40% and linked to primary production)[2].

Not included

• Forestry
• Off-shore aquaculture
• Non-food related processing (e.g. leather, cloth, carpets)
• Tertiary food processing/processed foods.

[1] Proposal would need to clearly outline how the project would be contextualised for agriculture. This is to ensure the training meets the needs of the agriculture sector rather than other rural industry sectors.

[2] The Fund's intention is not to support the roll out of wine making, cheese making, and brewing courses. If these activities are part of a project proposal they must be:

• less than 25% of the course content and project costs; and
• the processing must be linked to primary production (e.g. grape growing linked to wine making; barley and hops production linked to brewing; goat production linked to processing of meat or cheese).

Please note that applications closed on June 24, 2022.

For more information about the Secondary Schools Agriculture Fund email: secondary.schools.agriculture.fund@education.vic.gov.au.

Application assessment

Applications will be assessed against:

1. Alignment of the project outcomes with the goal(s) of the fund (weighting: 30%)
2. Connection to local needs and future training and employment (weighting: 20%)
3. Project delivery, capability and capacity (weighting: 15%)
4. Student attraction, engagement, cultural safety and inclusion (weighting: 15%)
5. Cost of delivery and sustainability of the project (weighting: 20%)

Joint applications (from a cluster of schools, or between schools and relevant industry associations and community organisations) will be considered favourably.

Expenses that can be claimed/funded

This following list is not exhaustive:

• Administration costs for delivery of the initiative and program (up to 10% of total cost)
• Costs of investment in assets and equipment to deliver the program (up to 50% of total cost)
• Transport costs to support participation in the initiative
• Casual Relief Teaching (CRT) costs and salary costs associated with the development and delivery of the initiative
• Limited costs for collateral, marketing, hospitality and events
• Other costs considered on a case-by-case basis.

Can my organisation submit multiple applications?

Eligible organisations can only submit one application as the lead organisation, but you may partner on multiple applications.

Are local councils able to partner on projects and provide contributions?

Yes, local councils can partner on projects and provide monetary or in-kind contributions.

Can primary schools apply for SSAF funding?

Primary schools are not able to apply. The fund is focused only on secondary school students. However, where project activities can be extended to primary school teachers or students, at no additional cost to the project, then these activities could be supported and included in the application.

Can TAFEs or universities apply for SSAF funding?

No, however TAFEs and universities can partner with secondary schools, community organisations or industry associations (see section 2 of the SSAF guidelines for eligibility) that will lead the application. As a partner, TAFEs and universities can access funding managed by the lead organisation to support delivering the project.

What is the expectation around industry engagement?

We strongly encourage schools and community organisations (e.g. LLENs) to partner with industry, and this will be considered favourably.

Can a for-profit company apply for the SSAF grant?

Only government secondary schools, community organisations and industry associations are eligible to apply for the SSAF grant. However industry (for-profit firms and companies) can partner with an eligible organisation and provide a co-contribution (either monetary or in-kind) towards the application budget, but they must not receive any share of the grant funding.

Is co-contribution necessary?

We expect industry organisations partnering with schools will support submissions with contributions either through monetary or in-kind support.

Can I buy assets or equipment-related items?

Yes. Project proposals can include costs to purchase trailers, tractors, drones, etc.

Applications will need to demonstrate how new equipment and technology will be actively managed over the course of its life. Some items become outdated quickly (e.g. technology) or require ongoing and long-term maintenance, insurance and other costs (e.g. vehicles).

The cost of the equipment must not exceed 50% of the total budget. If the item is over $20,000, a quote should be provided.

Is funding available for marketing costs?

Limited funding (approximately up to 5%) of the total funding request is available for marketing costs. This is to attract students to the programs/training (e.g. design of promotional materials, production, advertising).

How do I submit an application?

Email your application to secondary.schools.agriculture.fund@education.vic.gov.au.

If my application is unsuccessful in round 1, may I submit an application in round 2?

There are no definitive plans for round 2. A future round will be based on round 1 applications funded and any remaining funding.

How will my application be assessed?

Applications will be assessed on how well they meet the assessment criteria. A panel comprising senior management from the Department of Education and Training and Agriculture Victoria will give recommendations for grant approvals.

Will I be contacted with questions about my application?

We may contact you for further information if anything needs to be clarified.

Can the decision-maker approve a different grant amount than the one originally requested?

Given the limited funds available, this is a possible outcome of your application. The department will contact you and seek further information if this is being considered. Please ensure that you've provided a clear rationale for and correctly calculated each budget item.

How can I withdraw my application?

Contact us at secondary.schools.agriculture.fund@education.vic.gov.au and let us know that you wish to withdraw.

Can I change my application after the closing date?

No. You cannot make any changes to your application after the closing date.

When will I be notified about the outcome of my application?

We expect to notify you the week starting 5 September 2022. If this date changes, we'll let you know.

I have a question. Who should I contact?

Contact your Jobs, Skills and Pathways Manager from the department. Alternatively, you can email secondary.schools.agriculture.fund@education.vic.gov.au.

The Secondary Schools Agriculture Fund, funded by Agriculture Victoria, is part of the Victorian Government's four-year $50 million Agricultural College Modernisation program. Announced on 18 November 2020, it's delivering the agriculture skills of the future.

$30 million of the Agricultural College Modernisation program is being used to deliver the Future Agriculture Skills Capacity Fund.

This fund supports Victoria's TAFEs, and other agriculture education and training providers, to ensure students have the training they need for a future in agriculture.

The Agricultural College Modernisation Program is helping more Victorians pursue exciting careers in this dynamic industry.

Available funding

• Government secondary schools, relevant industry associations and community organisations can apply for funding of up to $100,000 per initiative that supports one or two schools.
• Initiatives that support three or more schools are eligible for funding of up to $200,000
• Funded initiatives will last a maximum of 18 months, starting in October 2022. All activities are to be completed by March 2024.
• Funding will be provided to the lead organisation. They will be responsible for the initiative's expenditure, reporting, and management.
• This is not ongoing funding. Programs and initiatives should lead to sustainable outcomes beyond the funding period.
• It's expected that industry organisations who partner with schools will contribute in-kind or financial support.

Types of initiatives funded

All initiatives that support the SSAF's goals will be considered. Examples include:

• Investing in assets and professional development to setup or expand access to a VET agriculture pathway for students.
• Creating a new program
• Expanding the reach of an existing program that
• provides industry immersion experiences or
• workplace tours to increase exposure to the variety of work in agriculture and related areas.
• Creating or expanding a shared practice network of agriculture trainers and teachers to increase the quality of training delivery in your local area.
• Programs to support connections to local industry and understanding of local jobs and new industry technologies.

Accessing funding

Industry associations and community organisations

The department will establish a Victorian Common Funding Agreement with the lead organisation for the approved grant amount. Funding will be linked to project milestones and required reporting.

Government schools

Funding will be via reimbursement. This will be based on a list of accepted expenses and expenditure within the grant period. Schools will submit reimbursement claims through the Schools Targeted Funding Portal.

The department will establish Initiative Agreements with each school for their operational budget. Schools will manage their reimbursement requests against their Initiative Agreement. Schools must supply invoices and evidence of expenditure (receipts) for reimbursement.

If a school uses funds to hire staff, the school will be their direct employer. They will have direct responsibility for the staff member. Staff must be employed through their ‘base’ school as per school recruitment guidelines and conditions. The employment will be on a fixed term basis, until the project end date.

Reporting and evaluation

Funded schools and organisations must:

• provide reports during the grant period
• a final acquittal of funding at the project's end
• take part in a formative and summative evaluation (surveys and focus groups) to:
• evaluate the operation and the Fund's impact
• support continuous improvement over the life of the project
• identify shared learning opportunities and deliver insights which other programs and initiatives can use.

The department may ask participants to help with evaluation, promotion, and planning activities.

Review and amendment

The guidelines are correct at the time of publishing. The department may review and amend the Fund at any time.