Commonwealth Low-risk Grant Agreement Risk Tool
Using the risk tool
Use the questions in the risktool to help decide whether the Commonwealth Low-risk Grant Agreement Template (the template) is appropriate for the grant.
If you have questions about therisk tool, please contact .
1. Threshold questions
Some grant activities are outside the scope of the template.
Answer the following questions to determine whether the grant is within scope.
yesno
Does the grant involve purchasing or leasing land or buildings?
Does the grant involve complex intellectual property rights?
Is the grantee located outside Australia?
If the answer to any of the above questions is ‘yes’, you should not use the template.
If the answer to all of the questions is ‘no’, then proceed to the next section.
2. Identifying program risks
A risk based approach is in place for consideration of new or revised program guidelines (including guidelines for grant programs).
Answer the following question to determine whether the grant is within scope.
lowmedhigh
What is the agreed risk rating of the grant program guidelines?
If the risk assessment rating was ‘medium’ or ‘high’,you should not use the template.
If the grants program guidelines risk assessment rating was ‘low’,you should proceed to the next section.
If the grant guidelines donot have to be assessed, as they relate to one-off or ad hoc grants, you should proceed to the next section.
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Commonwealth Low-risk Grant Agreement Risk Tool
3. Assessing grantee and activity risks
In addition to the risks identified at a grant program level, individual grants may have their own risks relating to both the activity and grantee.
Answer the following question to help determine whether to use the template.
Grantee/activity risks / low / medium / highAmount of funding / Small/insignificant in totality and as a proportion of total grant program / Moderate either in totality or as a proportion of total grant program / Significant either in totality or as a proportion of total grant program
Length of agreement / One year or less / Up to four years / More than four years
Nature of payments / Payments occur only at milestones within a single year / Payments occur at milestones over multiple years / Single/one-off upfront payment
Nature of activity / Single activity aimed at local community / Single activity aimed at multiple jurisdictions / Multiple or additional activities in single or multiple jurisdictions
Consequence of grantee’s failure to deliver grant outcome / Minimal impact to achievement of outcomes at program level / Moderate impact to achievement of outcomes at program level / High impact to achievement of outcomes at program level
Relationship with grantee / Grantee has previously delivered similar outcomes for your entity/Commonwealth / Grantee has previously delivered different outcomes for your entity/Commonwealth / Grantee has not delivered outcomes for the Commonwealth before
Nature of grantee industry or sector / Well established and stable / New or emerging / Volatile or prone to controversy
Nature of any members of the public likely to be affected by the grant / Unlikely to affect particular groups of the public directly / Likely to affect non-vulnerable or at risk groups of the community directly / Particularly vulnerable or at risk members of the public likely to be directly affected
If a majority of the answers to the above questions are‘low’ or ‘medium’the template is likely suitable for the grant.
If a majority of the answers to the above are ‘medium-high’ or ‘high’the template may not be suitable. However, as the risks are not weighted, you will need to determine if overall the risk is ‘low’. For example, asingle/one-off upfront paymentor an agreement over a numbers of years may increase or decrease the overall risk depending on the nature of the grant, such as where milestone payments over a number of years mitigates against the risk of failure to deliver.
[You should record the basis of you risk assessment.]
Approval:Date:
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