2026-2029 Indigenous Employment Initiative

## 🇦🇺 Indigenous Employment Initiative (IEI) Grant Opportunity (GO8215) This tender, managed by the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, concerns the **2026-2029 Indigenous Employment Initiative (IEI)**, aimed at creating entry-level employment and training opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people within the aged care sector. ### 🎯 Key Objectives & Scope The primary goal is to support the provision of culturally safe, trauma-aware, and healing-informed aged care services by developing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workforce. Desired outcomes include: * Providing employment and training in entry-level, non-clinical aged care positions within local communities. * Ensuring high-quality, culturally safe services for older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. * Supporting the expansion of the Indigenous workforce nationally. * Contributing to the Australian Government’s Closing the Gap targets. ### 📜 Eligibility and Process This is a **Closed Non-Competitive** process. Eligible organizations must satisfy specific criteria outlined in the Grant Opportunity Guidelines (Section 4.1): * **Stream One:** Organizations must have been identified as Stream One, received funding in the previous 2024-25 and 2025-26 rounds, and received an invitation from the department. * **Stream Two:** Organizations must meet separate Stream 2 criteria, with updates published via addendum on GrantConnect. **Crucially, this is a non-application-based process; eligible organizations do not need to submit an application.** ### 💰 Funding and Timeline The total funding available is **$108,940,739.00 AUD**. The grant opportunity closes on **30-Jun-2029 at 2:00 pm ACT Local Time**. The opportunity was published on 2-Feb-2026. **Keywords:** Indigenous Employment, Aged Care, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, Workforce Development, Culturally Safe Care, Non-Competitive Grant, Health Grants.