People living with disability will be able to access better support from their peers and community after the Australian Government announced $39.8 million over two years in grants to 69 disability organisations across the country.

In June 2024, the Australian Government announced the Peer Support and Capacity Building grant round in recognition of the valuable role peer support and capacity building programs play.

The National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) today announced that 69 disability organisations have been successful in being awarded funding to provide community-based self-advocacy and peer support programs over two-years.

Minister for the NDIS, the Hon. Bill Shorten said these grants will provide important peer support for people with disability, allowing them to build their skills and connect with others who have shared similar experiences. 

“It is clear through the feedback we’ve received, including through the NDIS Review, that people with disability want to draw from the experiences of other people with disability,” Minister Shorten said. 

“Peer support and self-advocacy organisations play an important role in empowering people with disability.

“These grants will assist many smaller organisations to continue to provide important peer-led and peer support to people with disability, enabling them to connect with capacity building support and other lifelong opportunities to build decision-making skills and experience.

“This funding will be used by organisations to continue to support people with disability to engage in their community and live more independently.

The grants were available to smaller, community-based services to continue to enable them to support people with disability, families and carers. Successful organisations will deliver a combination of local, state-based, national and nationally available online programs. 

"The Peer Support and Capacity Building grant program injects funding into the community, so people with disability can continue to shape the future of how they are supported,” Minister Shorten said. 

A list of the Peer Support and Capacity Building grant recipients can be found on the NDIS website, as well as GrantConnect as Agreements are executed.

The Peer Support and Capacity Building grant round sits alongside the Department of Social Services’ Information, Linkages and Capacity Building grants program.