Australia-Japan Foundation Grant

The Australia-Japan Foundation (AJF) seeks to advance Australia's engagement with Japan by supporting people-to-people links through programs and partnerships aligned with the Australian Government's priorities.

The AJF 2026-27 Grant Round invites grant applications for projects in the following priority areas:

• activities that promote cooperation on bilateral, economic security and broader geostrategic issues
• activities that expand Japanese literacy in Australia and/or an understanding of Australia in Japan 
• arts, culture, sport, and youth engagement 
• activities that advance cooperation in key emerging sectors, including energy transition, critical minerals, resilient supply chains, agriculture, artificial intelligence, robotics, cybersecurity and advanced technologies.

The intended outcomes of the grant round are:

• delivery of impactful and well-promoted activities that catalyse new, and deepen existing, bilateral, institutional and community partnerships and collaborations based on shared strategic goals
• increased public engagement and understanding and awareness of shared interests between Australia and Japan
• increased recognition in Japan of Australian excellence and expertise
• greater involvement of emerging leaders and youth in shaping the future of bilateral cooperation
• visible inclusion of diverse voices and communities
• creation of digital assets that can be used to promote the activity and contribute to AJF’s broader communications efforts.

This scheme's UQ Indirect Costs rate is 0%, as noted in the UQ Indirect Costs Variation Register.

Global Partnerships supports the Global Engagement Framework. The Global Strategy and Partnerships (GSP) team welcome enquiries to identify potential partners in Japan.

Overview

Eligibility

Please consult the guidelines for the eligibility of your project.

Funding

• The estimated grant value is from $50,000 to $150,000 for one-year grants and multi-year grants (up to 3 years).
• Multi-year grants may be considered in exceptional circumstances where a project addresses a specific need, demonstrates larger scale partnership and collaboration, is sustainable and has potential for a strong Australia-Japan relationship over a number of years.
• While co-contributions (in-kind and/or cash) from applicants and other parties are encouraged to strengthen the application, they are not mandatory.

Period

The maximum grant period is one year for a single-year project or 3 years for a multi-year project. Multi-year funding will only be considered and awarded in exceptional cases. You must commence your project, including the first milestone activity, (listed as the first “Planned Activity” in your application) by 30 June 2027.

How to apply

All applications must be submitted by the applicant electronically using DFAT's SmartyGrants online application form by 2pm AEST on 2 June 2026.

For questions about the grant, please send them to ajf.australia@dfat.gov.au.

The GSP team will provide a letter of support template, application cover sheet template to be completed by the applicant, a brief UQ capacity statement, and information on UQ’s engagement in the country of your application upon request. The templates and documents can be found under Key Resources on this page.

Please allow 7 working days for the GSP team to process the letter of support by 25 May 2026. A letter of support will be issued after the signed cover sheet is received by the GSP team.