An Environment Environment Access to the Biodiversity Fund Program

‐ ANAO Report No.10 2014–15 Administration of the Biodiversity Fund Program 47 of the Biodiversity Fund program grant guidelines for each funding round to assess the appropriateness of the information provided to potential applicants.

3.12 The

program area with responsibility for developing the guidelines consulted appropriately with key internal stakeholders including Environment’s legal area 60 , other government agencies involved in the LSP, the LSCBB and the Minister’s Office on the content of the guidelines for all four rounds.

3.13 While

the department conducted a stakeholder roundtable shortly before the release of the Round 1 guidelines and also held meetings with stakeholders prior the NATI round as outlined earlier, draft guidelines were not made available to external stakeholders for comment prior to their publication for any of the funding rounds. 61 Releasing draft guidelines to potential applicants for feedback, as Environment has done for other recent grants programs 62 , would have provided greater assurance regarding the clarity and completeness of the guidelines. Content of the grant guidelines

3.14 The

guidelines for each of the four rounds clearly outlined the scope, objectives and intended outcomes of the Biodiversity Fund program, as well as the merit selection criteria for each round. Over the course of the four rounds, the guideline documents generally improved in clarity. When compared to Round 1, the guidelines for the three later rounds were more clearly expressed and logically structured. For example, key information for applicants was given prominence in the guidelines for later rounds such as information about important dates and a summary of key issues for potential applicants to consider prior to applying, while background and general information received less prominence. 60 Environment’s review of Round 1 acknowledged that the Biodiversity Fund program area sought advice from the legal area on the guidelines at a very late stage in the process and that early engagement with the legal area for future rounds would be preferable. 61 A High Level Land Sector Stakeholder Consultation Group provided advice on the development of guidelines for programs under the LSP. However, the department did not retain evidence to indicate that this group was provided with draft guidelines for the Biodiversity Fund program rounds for comment. 62 For example, see ANAO Audit Report No. 17 2013–14, Administration of the Strengthening Basin Communities Program, pp. 44–47 and ANAO Audit Report No. 16. 2013–14, Administration of the Smart Grid, Smart City Program, p. 49. ANAO Report No.10 2014–15 Administration of the Biodiversity Fund Program 48

3.15 Stakeholder

feedback on the guidelines was positive overall, with more than 97 per cent of ANAO survey respondents stating that they found the grant guidelines ‘reasonably clear’ or ‘very clear’.

3.16 There