There Access to the Biodiversity Fund Program

ANAO Report No.10 2014–15 Administration of the Biodiversity Fund Program 51 year two, and so on. This had particular consequences for projects funded through Round 1 this issue is discussed in Chapter 6. Preparing for the assessment and selection process

3.25 To

prepare for the assessment and selection process, Environment developed grant assessment plans, and recruited assessors and delivered assessor training. Grant assessment plans

3.26 Environment

prepared a grant assessment plan for each round of the Biodiversity Fund program to provide guidance to departmental officers and assessors involved in the assessment process, as required by its internal grants administration guide. 70

3.27 Overall,

the grant assessment plans provided a useful outline of the assessment process for each round. While the Round 1 grant assessment plan generally contained less detail on certain aspects of the grant assessment process, the plans for the NATI, Round 2 and Investing in Tasmania’s Native Forests rounds included additional information in relation to the procedures for:  the receipt and handling of applications, including electronic, hard ‐copy and handwritten applications;  handling late applications;  responding to the failure of the online application form;  allocation of applications to external and internal assessors and re ‐allocation, if necessary; and  notification and feedback, including the appeals process.

3.28 The

additional detail in these later plans demonstrates that Environment had responded to the lessons learned from Round 1. However, there was scope for improvement in the plans for all rounds in relation to eligibility assessment, with information on eligibility assessment varying across the plans for each of the four rounds. While the plans covered eligibility 70 As part of its overall grants administration framework, Environment issues guidance materials which set out procedures for the establishment, administration and management of grant programs. These documents have been revised on four occasions between 2011 and 2013.