Maitri Grants

The Centre is seeking to fund projects that will:

• drive new areas of business engagement between Australia and India in sectors outlined in A New Roadmap for Australia's Economic Engagement with India, including the four superhighways of growth and other key priorities:
  
  • clean energy technology to further advance both countries’ energy transitions and deliver supply chain resilience 
  • initiatives that promote education and skills, including transnational education, research and industry collaboration and foreign branch campus sustainability
  • maximising agribusiness opportunities under the Australian-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (AI-ECTA) through knowledge sharing, improved productivity and efficiency, and collaboration on innovation
  • initiatives that will promote tourism from India to Australia, including business visitation, research of key Indian tourist cohorts, and major events tourism
  • projects that bolster the capacity to increase two-way investment 
  • identify and provide education and opportunities for businesses without mature existing channels for market access, including SMEs and First Nations businesses
  • activities that support sports collaboration to generate economic engagement, including leveraging Australia’s experience in delivering Commonwealth and Olympic Games, and align with the India-Australia Roadmap for Sports Collaboration
• deliver high impact cultural, and people to people projects, activities and exchanges that may:
  
  • build India capability at major Australian cultural institutions to improve mainstream understanding of India and promote institutional linkages
  • leverage the Audiovisual Co-production agreement
  • deepen public understanding of India and offer strategic policy options for the Australia-India bilateral relationship 
  • harness diaspora influence to promote the Australian Indian relationship, including the Indian economic opportunity. 

All applications to the Maitri Grant Program must demonstrate their alignment to four key selection criteria: 

• How will the project contribute to the intended objectives and outcomes of this opportunity?
• How effective and efficient will the applicant be in delivering the grant?
• How will the activity’s impact be maximised and deliver sustainable outcomes beyond Maitri funding?
• How innovative is the project?

In addition to the selection criteria, applications will be compared against each other to assess value for money and ensure diversity in the spread of projects. 

Applications may be submitted by one entity or a consortium of partners. Applications may be submitted by businesses, non-governmental organisations, academic institutions, or other entities.   

Applicant organisations can originate from any country; however, they must be able to operate in Australia.  

Applicant organisations need to be able to meet the requirements of DFAT’s due diligence process, including: 

• ABN registration with a business or other recognised registration/accreditation body
• Not listed on sanctions lists, including those published by the Australian Government, the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, African Development Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, or the Inter-American Development Bank.
• Other background criminal and reputational checks. 

The below dates are indicative only and subject to change. 

• 5 November 2026: Applications open.
• 14 December 2026: Deadline for submission of concept notes at 5:00pm AEDT.
• March/April 2027: Successful proposals are selected and proceed to due diligence and contracting.
• June 2027: Implementation begins. 

Please apply via SmartGrants by clicking the following link:  2026-27 Maitri Grant Program

The Grant Guidelines can be viewed by clicking on the 'Download' link below.

Email us at MaitriGrants@dfat.gov.au with any questions. 

Please monitor our social media for information about the upcoming information session.