Australia-Korea Foundation Grant 2026-27

The Australian–Korea Foundation (AKF) strengthens the Australia–Korea relationship by deepening mutual understanding and expanding people‑to‑people links. Guided by the 2021 Australia–Republic of Korea Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP), the AKF supports initiatives that advance cooperation across its three pillars: strategic and security; economic, innovation and technology; and people‑to‑people engagement.

Through its annual grant program, the AKF funds projects that promote awareness of both countries, build partnerships and collaborations (including with diaspora communities) and enhance the ability of Australians and Koreans to engage effectively with one another. In doing so, the AKF contributes to Australia’s foreign policy priorities and economic diplomacy objectives.

The AKF 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 Korean literacy in Australia and/or an understanding of Australia in Korea
• 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 AKF will prioritise high-quality projects that promote diversity and inclusion - for example, through First Nations and gender-balanced representation, inclusive participation in the development and delivery of the activity, and representation of communities across Australia. The AKF will also look favourably upon projects that inspire and engage the next generation of leaders and champions in the bilateral relationship.

The AKF strongly encourages projects with an identified partner from the other country who is actively engaged in the project and contributes resources - such as time, in-kind support, and, where possible, financial resources - to help achieve project outcomes.

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 Korea.
• increased recognition in Korea 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 AKF’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 Korea. 

Overview

Funding

• The estimated grant value is from $50,000 to $150,000 for one-year grants and multi-year grants (up to three 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-Korea relationship over a number of years.
• While co-contributions 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 three years for a multi-year project. You must commence your project including the first milestone activity (listed as the first “Planned Activity” in your application) by 30 June 2027.

Eligibility

Eligibility and important information relating to the grant can be found in the guidelines.

Examples of previous grants 

Discover the previous projects and award amounts for the Australia-Korea Foundation 2025-26 grant recipients

How to apply

All applications must be submitted electronically by the applicant using DFAT's SmartyGrants online application form by 3pm AEST on 13 May 2026.

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

The GSP team will provide a letter of support template, application cover sheet template to be completed by the applicant, 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 the right hand margin of this page.

Please allow 7 working days for the GSP team to process the letter of support (by 4 May 2026). Letter of support will be issued after the signed cover sheet is received by the GSP team.