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Our Watch seeks proposals from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Controlled Organisations (ACCOs), to outline a prevention of gender-based violence project, with early childhood education and care settings.
As a non-Indigenous organisation, Our Watch recognises that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, communities and organisations hold the expertise, cultural and community connections and strengths to lead this work.
Background
In 2024 Our Watch undertook a review and consultations about primary prevention activity and evidence in early years settings and found:
- the early years sector is actively engaged in primary prevention activity
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities are leading primary prevention programs in early years settings that promote self-determination, positive representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and connection to Country and culture
- there are opportunities to further explore prevention activity and evidence building in early years settings
- a need for further evaluation to better support primary prevention work being led by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
Our Watch seeks to amplify, strengthen and support primary prevention of gender-based violence activity led by ACCOs in early childhood education and care settings.
Applications
The focus of proposals will be the coordination, development and delivery of a primary prevention of gender-based violence project.
Your project idea could be:
- a new project focused on primary prevention of gender-based violence in an early childhood education and care setting or
- an expansion or scale-up that builds on existing primary prevention of gender-based violence practice and/or
- a community-led process to explore and expand primary prevention of gender-based violence with an early childhood education and care setting.
Contract value:
- up to $400,000 for one project
- optional: Additional $80,000 - $100,000 to appoint an external evaluator for the project. Please see full RFP document for more information about this.
Your proposal should outline the community you expect to engage with and include information about:
- what will be developed and delivered as part of the project
- how the project is ACCO-led
- the method or how this will be developed
- how the project supports primary prevention of gender-based violence in early childhood education and care settings.
Proposals for activity that will engage with early years settings in rural, regional and remote communities will be highly regarded. If this is relevant to your project, you should provide a statement addressing how this relates to your proposed approach.
Key documents
Request for proposal
Documents to support your proposal process
Request for proposals – Information sheet
Request for proposals – Concept template
Key dates
For more information about the application process refer to the information sheet.
We are holding an information session about the Request for Proposal process. Attendance is optional but registration is required to attend.
Thursday 19 June, 1pm–2pm (AEST). Please register via this link.
Final proposals must be submitted in response to the selection criteria, as outlined in the Request for Proposal document, by 25 July 2025.
Key dates for this request for proposal
19 June 2025 Applicant information session held online (optional attendance).
23 June 2025 Closing date for questions and submissions of draft project concepts for review (optional process).
8 July 2025 FAQ document provided to all applicants and feedback provided to applicants who submitted project concept briefs.
25 July 2025 Closing date for final applications.
Contact
For more information please contact Samantha McGuffie innovation.projects@ourwatch.org.au.
This project is funded by the Commonwealth Department of Social Services (DSS).