Plain-language grant guidance
Using an auspice for a church grant
An auspice may let an eligible organisation hold and administer funds for a group that cannot apply directly—but only where the funder allows it.
Confirm the arrangement before applying. The auspice usually carries contractual, financial and acquittal responsibility, so it is more than lending an ABN.
What to agree
A written agreement should make responsibilities, fees, risk, reporting and ownership clear.
- Who signs and receives funds
- Budget controls and any fee
- Insurance and safeguarding
- Reporting, records and acquittal
Questions for the funder
Programs vary in whether they assess the auspice, the project group or both.
- Is auspicing permitted?
- Which entity must meet geography rules?
- Who owns funded assets?
- Whose financial statements are required?
Official sources and how to use them
This checklist is editorial guidance. The sources below explain specific concepts or program examples; they do not make every church or project eligible.
- ACNC: National Standard Chart of Accounts, auspicing fees
The auspicing entry explains the agreement, financial risk and legal responsibility carried by an auspicing organisation. It does not establish whether a particular funder accepts auspicing.
- ACNC: legal structure
Explains legal identity, decision-making and the relationship between a governing document and the entity recorded against an ABN.
Background links checked 17 September 2026. Each grant record has its own source verification date.
Important boundary
Guidance, not a determination
These patterns help you ask better questions. The current program guidelines and the funder’s decision control.