Program Guidelines

Community War Memorials Fund 2022/2023 Program Guidelines

Download a PDF copy of the guidelines

Opening dates:

Round 1 - Anzac Day, 25 April 2022

                       Round 2 - Remembrance Day, 11 November 2022

1. About the Community War Memorials Fund

The NSW Government established the Community War Memorials Fund in 2008 to help conserve, repair and protect war memorials across NSW. Since the establishment of the program, grants have been provided for a wide range of projects across NSW. These include conservation assessments, honour roll repair, specialist stone cleaning and restoration, arborist advice for war memorial trees and repairs to war memorial halls.

The program is delivered by the NSW Office for Veterans Affairs which sits within the NSW Department of Communities and Justice.

2. Purpose of the program

The objective of the Community War Memorials Fund is to help conserve, repair and protect war memorials across NSW to support community commemoration.

The Australia ICOMOS Charter for Places of Cultural Significance 2013 (‘Burra Charter’) defines conservation as ‘all the process of looking after a place so as to retain its cultural significance’.

Any work to a war memorial must:

• demonstrate best practice heritage conservation (please see the Australia ICOMOS Burra Charter). 
• be sensitive to its original material, design and setting (please see the NSW Public Works Advisory's Caring for Our War Memorials guide). 
• be undertaken by suppliers/contractors with appropriate skills, experience, and qualifications.

3. Eligibility criteria

To be considered for a Community War Memorials Fund grant, you must comply with the following eligibility criteria.

1. Applications must be for an existing war memorial commemorating Australia's military heritage and the war memorial must be located within the State of NSW or, if located outside NSW, be of direct and substantial relevance to the State.
2. The definition of a "memorial" includes public monuments, memorial places, landscaped spaces, buildings, sculptures, trees and avenues as well as indoor fixtures such as honour boards, plaques, busts or bas-relief sculptures.
3. An application may be made by any organisation, provided the owner or custodian of the memorial, local RSL sub-branch and local council support the bid, where applicable.
4. Before applying to the Community War Memorials Fund the memorial must first be recorded on the NSW War Memorials Register (warmemorialsregister.nsw.gov.au).
5. Applications must be for the repair, protection and/or conservation of existing memorials.
6. The maximum Community War Memorials Fund grant for any one application will ordinarily be $10,000, unless extraordinary circumstances prevail or a memorial of state or national significance is considered to be at risk. Grants for work to improve accessibility are capped at $2,000.
7. Applications relating to memorials located on either private or public property are eligible for funding, however the memorial must have a public function and be accessible to the public.
8. The State War Memorials Committee will announce grants biannually, with applications opening on Anzac Day and on Remembrance Day. However, the Committee may make extraordinary grants as circumstances require.
9. Applications to fund works that have already been completed are not eligible.
10. The State War Memorials Committee may, in extraordinary circumstances, approve applications that do not meet all of the above criteria.

4. Heritage advice

Applicants to the Community War Memorials Fund are expected to apply either with or for conservation advice from a qualified specialist. This could include a condition assessment or a conservation management plan.

It is important seek conservation advice before planning any physical work to a memorial to ensure that it is appropriate and aligns with best practice conservation principals and processes. Work to significant places should be based on a sound understanding of their importance and their condition. This is particularly important for older memorials such as those from the Boer War, First World War and Second World War. Your local council’s heritage advisor may be able to provide the above advice. They may also be able to undertake a condition assessment of your memorial and provide recommendations for appropriate conservation work.

The Community War Memorials Fund can award funding to pay for specialist heritage advice. If you do not have access to specialist heritage advice for your project, you should first submit a Community War Memorials Fund application for funding to have a condition assessment of your memorial undertaken. Once you have had a condition assessment undertaken, you would be able to reapply to the Community War Memorials Fund for funding to undertake physical work according to the assessor’s recommendations.

Condition assessments and conservation management plans should include at least the following:

• Address of memorial
• LGA in which the memorial is located and the local council authority
• Description of the memorial (including history, significance and statutory heritage listings)
• Photographic recording of the memorial
• Description of the memorial’s materials
• Dimensions of the memorial
• Description of the memorial’s inscriptions
• Assessment of the memorial’s condition
• Risk assessment
• Recommendation for any conservation treatment (prioritised according to urgency)
• Maintenance recommendations
• Anticipated costs for conservation and maintenance works

5. Amount available  

The Community War Memorials Fund awards grants of up to $10,000 (excluding GST).

Please note that grants for work to improve the accessibility of war memorials are capped at $2,000 (excluding GST).

6. How to apply

Applications to the Community War Memorials Fund must be completed and submitted online via SmartyGrants at https://veteransnsw.smartygrants.com.au. The online application form will be accessible from the NSW Office for Veterans Affairs SmartyGrants portal when a grant round is open.

7. Assessment process and criteria

Applications to the Community War Memorials Fund are assessed by the State War Memorials Committee which is comprised of senior representatives of the Returned and Services League of Australia NSW Branch, Public Works Advisory, Heritage NSW and the NSW Office for Veterans Affairs. All applications are assessed by two panels from these organisations.

The Community War Memorials Fund application process is competitive. This means that applications received by the closing date for each round will be assessed against evaluation criteria and ranked in order of merit. The assessment criteria include the following:

• Does the application meet the program’s eligibility criteria?
• Does the project align with the Community War Memorials Fund objective to protect, conserve and repair war memorials in NSW to support community commemoration?
• Is the proposed work consistent with the principles and processes of best practice heritage conservation?
• Does the application present a clear and sound project rationale?
• Has the applicant provided large and clear photographs that show the condition of the memorial and the need for the proposed works?
• Does the application demonstrate that the current condition of the memorial is poor or very poor?
• Does the current condition of the war memorial or its surroundings pose a threat to public safety?
• Does the current condition of the war memorial or its surroundings negatively impact its meaning, use or functionality?
• Has the applicant sought and provided specialised advice for the project?
• Has the applicant engaged a contractor with suitable skills and experience to undertake the work, such as a specialised conservator?
• Has the applicant demonstrated that the proposed works are based on sound research and planning, such as a heritage conservation management plan or a condition assessment?
• Does the application demonstrate that the project is reasonably likely to succeed in achieving its stated aims with regard to planning undertaken, proposed resources, expertise, and delivery mechanisms?
• Does the project have the support of the owner or custodian of the memorial, the RSL and local council, where applicable?

8. Types of projects that might be funded

• Specialist conservation advice for war memorials
• Condition assessment reports
• Conservation management plans
• Arborist advice for war memorial trees
• Structural assessment reports

• Preservation work
• Protective measures for memorials e.g. repairs to damaged barriers and fences that surround and protect a memorial
• Having protective coatings applied by a specialist conservator
• Stabilisation of fabric
• Painting

• Restoration work
• Removal of inappropriate accretions e.g. graffiti
• Cleaning and corrosion removal by specialist conservators e.g. treatment of rusted original memorial gates or fences
• Repairs to the damaged lettering on war memorial cenotaphs and rolls of honour e.g. regilding, repainting
• Conservation and repairs to stonework on war memorials
• Repointing mortar joints
• Restoring war memorial landscapes to their original design, intent or purpose
• Repairs to damaged sculptures
• Replacement of decayed or missing elements where repair is not feasible 

• Other
• Works to improve equitable access to a memorial ($2,000 cap)
• Relocation of memorials for public safety

9. Projects that are not funded by the Community War Memorials Fund

• Work that does not meet the eligibility criteria
• Inappropriate work and methods that do not align with best practice heritage conservation
• Work that has already been started or completed
• Constructing new war memorials
• Replacing existing war memorials
• Adding of new commemorative elements e.g. plaques, service badges
• Maintaining or replacing flagpoles
• Adding names to war memorials
• Capital expenditure for the purchase of assets e.g. office furniture, equipment
• Costs incurred in the preparation of a grant application or related documentation
• Council approval costs
• Ongoing expenditure, i.e. website hosting, memorial maintenance
• Projects relating to the display of military memorabilia
• Work to graves
• Seating for war memorials
• Interpretive signage
• Work to war memorials that are not recorded on the NSW War Memorials Register

10. Important things to remember

♦ The Community War Memorials Fund application process is competitive.

Funding for each grant round is limited and the NSW Office for Veterans Affairs usually receives a large number of applications. Your application will be evaluated against the program’s eligibility criteria, assessment criteria and the other applications received in the same round.

♦ You must read the Caring for our war memorials guide before applying to the Community War Memorials Fund.

Your project proposal and funding application should be consistent with the principles and processes outlined in the Caring for our war memorials guide. This document sets out the NSW Government’s advice for the care and management of war memorials. It demonstrates many of the State War Memorials Committee’s expectations for war memorial projects and will help you to prepare a strong application to the Community War Memorials Fund.

♦ You must ensure that the war memorial your application relates to is recorded on the NSW War Memorials Register before applying to the Community War Memorials Fund.

Please ensure that the Register’s photographs and information about your war memorial are accurate and up-to-date. The Register relies on community contributions of photographs and information.

♦ You must provide enough detail and supporting evidence for assessors to understand the detail of your project.

Carefully read through the questions on the application form, and any hints that have been included to assist you. Providing all of the requested supporting documentation, such as detailed quotes, conservation advice and clear photographs of the memorial, will strengthen your application. You may also wish to include maps and plans.

♦ Your application be supported by detailed heritage advice such as a condition assessment or a conservation management plan.

Not seeking and providing written heritage advice will make your application less competitive. An exception to this would be if you are applying for funding for a condition assessment or a conservation management plan. Section 4 of this document outlines what should be included the heritage advice you obtain.

♦ You must provide at least one quotation for each element of the proposed work.

Detailed quotes with a clear breakdown of costs, proposed methodologies and materials are preferred by the State War Memorials Committee and will strengthen your application.

 ♦ Your quotation(s) must be from suitably qualified and experienced suppliers and/or contractors for the proposed works.

You will need to attach evidence of your selected supplier/contractor’s skills, experience and qualifications. Please refer to the Caring for our war memorials guide for advice on selecting a contractor. Heritage NSW’s Heritage Consultants Directory might also be a useful resource to find appropriate heritage professionals and consultants for your project.

♦ You will need to provide letters of support from key community stakeholders such as the owner/custodian of the memorial, local council and the local RSL sub-branch.

The letter of support your seek from your local Council’s heritage advisor should include the following:

• A summary of the memorial’s cultural significance and its condition.
• Details of any statutory or non-statutory heritage listings of the war memorial.
• Details of approvals required for the proposed works.
• Whether he/she supports the proposed methodology as per the quotation/s that must be attached to your funding application.
• Whether the proposed contractor is appropriately qualified and experienced.

 ♦ The Community War Memorials Fund does not fund retroactively.

This means that you cannot request funding for work that will commence and/or will be completed prior to announcement of the round you are applying to.

 ♦  Unsuccessful applicants interested in reapplying to the Community War Memorials Fund should seek detailed feedback from the NSW Office for Veterans Affairs.

When reapplying to the Community War Memorials Fund after an unsuccessful application, it is important that you understand and address the State War Memorials Committee’s feedback on how your application could have been improved. You can request feedback by contacting the NSW Office for Veterans Affairs.

11. Key dates

Applications to the Community War Memorials Fund must be completed and submitted online via SmartyGrants prior to the round closing dates. Please monitor the NSW Office for Veterans Affairs website for updates.

Please note that funds are not awarded retroactively. This means that you should not plan to start the work you are requesting funding for until after you have been advised of the outcome of your application. If your project has ongoing stages, you should not commence the stage your grant application relates to until you have been advised of the outcome. See the below table for an indication for when round outcomes will be announced.

If your application is successful, the expenditure of awarded funding will need to comply with terms and conditions, including any special conditions that may be applied by the State War Memorials Committee.

CWMF Process	Round 1	Round 2
Applications open	Anzac Day, 25 April 2022	Remembrance Day, 11 November 2022
Applications close	5pm, 25 July 2022	5pm, 13 February 2023
Approximate date for announcement of outcomes	October 2022	May 2023

 

12. Staff contact

You can contact the NSW Office for Veterans Affairs to discuss your project and ask questions about your grant application. Please email VeteransGrants@veterans.nsw.gov.au.