High impact partnerships - frequently asked questions

The NSW Government is investing $7.5 million in round 2 of the High Impact Partnership grants to assist land managers and organisations that are active in the land sector and share our commitment to act on climate change.  

Through these grants we are funding up to 50% of the cost of carbon abatement projects.  

The grants support emissions reduction or increased sequestration in the primary industries and land sector, with an emphasis on immediate implementation.  

As a condition of funding, funded projects will share information and build capacity within the sector. This will help other land managers and organisations understand the potential benefits, risks and costs of getting involved in carbon projects.  

To be eligible for funding, projects must:  

• deliver abatement at scale  
• implement abatement using innovative delivery  
• deliver co-benefits in addition to carbon abatement.

Each of these criteria are worth 10% in the merit assessment score. See section 4 of the grant guidelines for the full merit assessment criteria.

Grant-funded projects must result in carbon projects being registered under the Australian Accredited Carbon Unit (ACCU) Scheme administered by the Clean Energy Regulator and implemented.  

You can read our High Impact Partnership round 2 grant guidelines (PDF, 2.66MB) to find out information about the funding opportunities and the application process. 

We also recommend you register for further information so we can keep you updated on future grant funding opportunities. 

Partners will be land managers or organisations that are active in the primary industries or land sectors. They will have a vision and commitment to act on climate change and are willing to co-invest with NSW Government to deliver on their commitments. These land managers and organisations will have objectives aligned to the Primary Industries Productivity and Abatement Program (PDF, 5.8 MB), influence within the sector, and the ability to drive change in primary production and land management in NSW.

Applicants seeking High Impact Partnership Round 2 grant funding must contribute at least 50% of the eligible costs of the project, ensuring that at least 30% of project expenditure in any given financial year is through co-contributions (i.e. applicants cannot plan to utilise the bulk or all of their grant funding at the start of the project, and co-contributions only towards the end of the project). 

A total of $7.5 million of grant funding is available under High Impact Partnership Round 2. Successful applicants will receive between $500,000 and $2 million, which they will need to match or exceed. 

All grant-funded components of the projects must be completed within 3 years. This includes:

• preparing and registering project/s under an eligible ACCU scheme method
• creating promotional material, including demonstration sites for capacity-building
• other outcomes outlined by the applicant in the grant application.

The project must be registered with the Clean Energy Regulator and ongoing management and reporting in accordance with the Clean Energy Regulator requirements will be delivered outside of and beyond the duration of the grant.

In Round 2 of the High Impact Partnership grant funding, 5 ACCU scheme methods are eligible. All applicants must use at least one of these methods: 

• Reforestation by environmental or mallee plantings FullCAM 2024 method
• Estimation of soil organic carbon sequestration using measurement and models method
• Tidal restoration of blue carbon ecosystems method
• Plantation forestry method
• Animal effluent management method 

All funded projects must result in carbon projects being registered under the ACCU scheme and implemented.  

These 5 methods have potential to help achieve program outcomes across a range of land management types: 

• Reforestation by environmental or mallee plantings FULLCAM 2024: this method has significant potential for large-scale carbon sequestration and biodiversity co-benefits across large areas of NSW.
• Estimation of soil organic carbon sequestration using measurement and models: this method has potential to sequester carbon while improving soil health and agricultural productivity. 
• Tidal restoration of blue carbon ecosystems: this method to remove tidal barriers has potential to store carbon at higher rates than traditional vegetation methods while delivering a range of co-benefits. 
• Plantation forestry: this method provides options to establish new plantations or convert existing plantations to longer rotations/permanent forest.
• Animal effluent management: This method supports dairies and piggeries to reduce emissions through installation of eligible animal waste recycling facilities. 

Please note that if new and relevant methods become available under the ACCU Scheme in the near future, existing grantees under Round 2 of the High Impact Partnership grants may be allowed to utilise them, with prior written approval from the Department. This will only be possible where it does not in any way negatively impact the approved project’s expected deliverables, timeline, or budget.  

A High Impact Partnership Round 2 project can support multiple land managers to plan and register carbon projects with the Clean Energy Regulator. Each carbon project can use any of the five eligible ACCU scheme methods that are eligible for support under Round 2 of the High Impact Partnership grants.  

For example, a soil carbon project on one property and a forestry project on another property (or combination of both on the same property) can form part of a broader High Impact Partnership Round 2 project.

See the Clean Energy Regulator website for information on planning a project or seek specific advice.

One of the strategic imperatives of PIPAP (PDF, 5.8 MB) is to build a critical mass of carbon projects across NSW. High Impact Partnership grants may be used to support projects that deliver carbon abatement at scale.  

Projects may generate a large number of carbon credits, involve a large number of land managers and/or significantly impact on the carbon emissions of a particular region or sub-sector. Please refer to section 5.5 of the grant guidelines (PDF, 2.66MB) for more information about what ‘delivery at scale’ entails. 

Eligible applicants must be one of the following: 

• farmer or agribusiness
• Aboriginal landholder/organisation including Traditional Owner groups, land councils or Registered Native Title Body Corporates
• not-for-profit organisations
• government entities
• community natural resource management/conservation organisations
• peak body or industry organisations
• producer associations
• research institutes
• co-operative/mutual organisations. 

Not-for-profit organisations can apply for funding, including carbon service providers. 

Commercial carbon service providers operating for-profit are not eligible to apply for funding. However, they may work with eligible applicants to assist with their project or contribute as a partner, provided any co-contributions or project payments to them are outlined clearly in the budget section of the application. 

Yes, provided third party contributors are not on the exclusion list (refer to section 2.5.3 of the grant guidelines). Applicants will need to outline this clearly in the budget section of the application form as a co-contribution. Clear evidence of all co-contribution expenditure will be needed for financial audit reports by the grantee. 

No. We will not consider in-kind contributions as part of the required 50% co-contribution. In-kind contributions are non-monetary resources used on the project where no cash has been transferred to the grantee’s account/s for the project. We do not require applicants to list any in-kind contributions in their application. 

No. Projects must be delivered within NSW to be eligible for this funding.

Yes. If all on-ground project locations funded by this grant are wholly within NSW, you are eligible.

Existing Primary Industries Productivity and Abatement grantees may submit an application for High Impact Partnership round 2 but not for any project, component of a project, or for improvements to a project that has previously received funding from the program. 

We are aware that NSW or Australia may not have the necessary expertise for your project. It is acceptable to seek expertise outside NSW, provided the project is located within NSW. 

No, we have not mandated any requirements on the use or sale of ACCUs created. 

There is no mandatory number of ACCUs under the project eligibility criteria. However, the estimated number of ACCUs must be provided in your application and is assessed as part of several merit criteria that contribute to the overall assessment score for your High Impact Partnership project. This includes consideration of how estimated ACCUs were calculated.  

The number of ACCUs is assessed as a mandatory criterion under project effectiveness (Merit criterion 1). 

The number of ACCUs per dollar of grant fund invested is assessed as a mandatory criterion under value for money (Merit criterion 3). Consideration will be given to varying costs specific to different methods. 

Justifying the ‘at scale’ nature of the project is a detailed account of the number of ACCUs per dollar of grant fund invested. This will require a credible justification for an accurate estimate of the large number of ACCUs that will be generated by the High Impact Partnership project (Merit criterion 5). 

This is the number of tonnes of CO2-e that will be abated during the carbon project crediting period. The tCO2-e abatement should be calculated using the models specified in the method, such as FullCAM or BlueCam. Simpler online versions such as LOOC-C or PLANR may provide sufficiently accurate forecasts at the grant application stage. In cases where the locations of the carbon projects are not yet known, assumptions must be explained. 

When completing your application, please provide as much information as possible to show how you arrived at your estimates.  

The estimate of the number of ACCUs for your project will be based on the tonnes of CO2e with applicable discounts as outlined in the relevant method. See ACCU Scheme methods and Permanence obligations for more information.

It is the applicant’s responsibility to outline in their application which method they want to register their project under, such as blue carbon. We will not provide scoping funding, as the carbon project’s potential must be communicated to us by the applicant.  

The High Impact Partnership Round 2 grants can support assessments for the development of new carbon projects under an eligible ACCU method such as blue carbon. However, the application must include a well-justified estimate of the potential ACCUs that will be registered during the High Impact Partnership funded project period. 

The legal implications of removing a tidal barrier should be reviewed on a site-by-site basis. 

Refer to the Clean Energy Regulator’s guidance on the blue carbon method which includes advice that the required hydrological assessment will help inform legal arrangements and identify predicted changes in legal interest for the carbon project area over time.

Any removal of a tidal barrier which may change tidal water boundaries must be considered on a case-by-case basis. Each applicant should take into consideration clauses 46 and 48 (including ‘doctrine of erosion and accretion’) of the Survey and Spatial Information Regulation 2017 and the ‘modified doctrine of erosion and accretion’ under section 28 of the Coastal Management Act 2016. 

Yes, provided that the fencing is directly related to the project that is registered under the ACCU scheme. Materials required for establishing a more permanent demonstration site, such as fencing to provide safe access, would also be eligible.

It is expected that demonstration sites will be developed as part of capacity building activities. More information on the broad definition of a demonstration site, which may include online case studies and videos, not just physical site access, is provided in section 5.4 of the grant guidelines (PDF, 2.66MB).

Funding can be used for the following project expenses: 

• salaries and salaries on-costs
• contractors including hiring of experts to assist with demonstrating project feasibility
• travel expenses
• material and equipment
• other direct project costs including
  • costs associated with creating promotional and communication materials
  • establishing demonstration sites
  • running events
• administration costs including
  • costs associated with the registration of the project under the ACCU scheme
  • legal advice
  • financial advice associated with the project. 

Once the project is registered with the Clean Energy Regulator, implementation costs and other additional costs associated with the work can be funded from the grant for the duration of the High Impact Partnership project agreement, provided it is not on the exclusion list. Please refer to section 2.5.3 of the grant guidelines (PDF, 2.66MB) for the exclusion list. 

It is preferred that the proposed carbon project is registered with the Clean Energy Regulator after applicants receive confirmation of High Impact Partnership funding. However, if you have a clear and compelling case explaining why your project is already registered at the time of application but will not be going ahead without this funding, then your application may be considered. The appropriate place to explain this is under Merit Criterion 3 in the application – Demonstrate why funding from the NSW Government is essential for the project to proceed. 

High Impact Partnership project delivery can only commence after the grant funding deed is signed. No expenses incurred prior to High Impact Partnership project approval are eligible. If a carbon project has been registered with the Clean Energy Regulator and has since begun, it will not be eligible.  

It is also expected that once applicants have signed a funding deed with us and have successfully registered their project with the Clean Energy Regulator, they will begin implementation as soon as possible. 

If you are a land manager or an organisation that has objectives aligned to the Primary Industries Productivity and Abatement Program (PDF, 5.8 MB), influence within the sector and the ability to drive change in the way land is managed for increased carbon abatement in NSW, please email our team at [email protected] to discuss opportunities. 

There are likely to be future grant opportunities in the future. Please register your interest on our website to receive further information as it becomes available. 

First, review the following resources: 

• High Impact Partnership Round 2 grant guidelines (PDF, 2.66MB)
• High Impact Partnership Round 2 web page, including links to the eligible ACCU scheme methods.
• These frequently asked questions
• Information session recording

If you still have any questions about your project’s eligibility, email our team at [email protected].