Partnering for Impact Fund - frequently asked questions
Certification
Will the Office of Social Impact accept alternative social enterprise certification or verification processes to what is included in the guidelines?
No, the Office of Social Impact is not accepting alternative verification processes. For applicants to be eligible, the organisation should be one or more of the following:
- Social Traders certification
- People and Planet First (PPF) verification
- an incorporated Indigenous owned and operated organisation registered via the Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations (ORIC) or certified with Supply Nation, and able to demonstrate how they deliver social impact as part of their business operation
- a not-for-profit and/or community organisation including charities (charities must be registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission).
Organisations interested in obtaining certification or verification can find further information below:
- People and Planet First verification – Queensland Social Enterprise Council (QSEC) is offering to complete a fast-tracked verification process free of charge – visit Verification – Queensland Social Enterprise Council
- Social Traders certification – visit Apply for certification | Social Traders.
Do applicants have to be certified or verified by the expression of interest submission deadline?
No, certification or verification is required by the close of stage 2 applications (3 May 2026, (subject to change).
Location
Do applicants need to be already trading in Queensland to apply?
Yes. Applicants must be operating in Queensland with a physical presence in Queensland. Refer to section 4.2 of the guidelines.
Eligibility and process
Can intermediaries that are social enterprises apply for funding to fund for-purpose organisations?
No, only eligible applicants can apply. The purpose of the fund is to provide funding directly to a social enterprise, not-for-profit or community organisations to help them access capital and deliver proposals that result in new or additional impact in Queensland. It is not intended to be delivered through an intermediary.
An eligible applicant is:
- a genuine social enterprise demonstrated via one or more of the following:
- Social Traders certification
- People and Planet First (PPF) verification; and/or
- People and Planet First (PPF) verification; and/or
- an incorporated Indigenous owned and operated organisation registered via the Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations (ORIC) or certified with Supply Nation, and able to demonstrate how they deliver social impact as part of their business operation.
- a not-for-profit and/or community organisation including charities (charities must be registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission)
Can 2 social enterprises collaborate to submit a proposal as a consortium?
Yes, this is permitted; however, one of the social enterprises must be the applicant with primary responsibility for the proposal and will be, if successful, the contracting party with the State. In addition, roles and governance arrangements between the consortium parties must be clearly defined in the application.
If a consortium approach is used, do all applicants need to be eligible applicants?
No, only the applicant who submits the application (and therefore has primary responsibility for the proposal and, if successful, will be the contracting party with the State) needs to meet the eligibility criteria.
Investment readiness – how much flexibility is there going to be around co-investor funds?
The Office of Social Impact does not expect all investors in a proposal to have completed agreements; however, initial discussions should have been undertaken as part of the scoping activities.
What sort of proposals is Office of Social Impact seeking?
Any proposal that delivers new or additional impact within one or more priority impact areas may be considered (subject to meeting all other conditions of eligibility). Refer to section 5.4 of the guidelines.
What is meant by new or additional impact?
This could be scaling of existing impact, however impact that would not happen without the Partnering for Impact Fund funding to unlock other investment.
Would a greenfield site be considered?
Given proposals need to be operational by December 2027, it is unlikely that greenfield sites would be able to meet this timeframe due to development and construction timing.
Is a new proposal delivered by an existing not-for-profit eligible?
Yes, this would be considered subject to meeting all other eligibility requirements.
If the impact is not within one of the priority areas, can the proposal be considered?
The proposal can be considered subject to the social impact being aligned to broader Queensland Government priorities; the Office of Social Impact is focussed on the new or additional social impact to be provided, recognising that impact does not always fit neatly within the impact areas.
Does aligning with multiple priority impact areas give an applicant an advantage?
No, it is the quality, breadth and depth of the social impact that is of importance.
Is there an application triage process or do we need to lodge a full application?
There is a 2-stage application process with stage one being expression of interest, and stage 2, by invitation only, is a detailed application with evidence requested to support your proposal and eligibility.
Proposal funding requirement
The slides covered during the Partnering for Impact Fund information sessions stated that funding provided may be up to 20% of the proposal funding requirement with a minimum request of $500,000 and maximum request of $2 million indicating that proposal funding requirement value may be between $2.5 to $10 million. Is there a maximum proposal funding requirement value?
There is no maximum proposal funding requirement value that can be submitted as part of an application, noting the maximum funding that could be allocated is $2 million, with a maximum of 20% of the proposal funding requirement.
For example, a proposal funding requirement of $20 million, seeking $2 million, is eligible; the Partnering for Impact Fund contribution would represent 10% of the total funding required.
Can in-kind support be used as part of the proposal value?
Yes, provided a valuation methodology for the in-kind support is clear (for example fair market value) and can be documented or evidenced as part of the Stage 2 long-form application.
Is there a defined period for reviews and Partnering for Impact Fund payments to be occurring?
No, this will be application and proposal specific.
Can a proposal that had already received Queensland Government funding be eligible for Partnering for Impact Fund funding?
This is possible, the proposal and use of funds would need to be assessed to ensure no duplication in use of funding and that new or additional impact is being unlocked.
What is the evidence required to demonstrate that Partnering for Impact Fund funding is needed? Does that mean that without Partnering for Impact Fund funding, the proposal would not proceed?
The Office of Social Impact seeks to provide patient and catalytic capital, to allow impact investors or philanthropists that may otherwise have not funded a proposal due to higher risk or lower returns to invest. The Office of Social Impact will seek to assess the risk appetite and parameters or limitations of co-investors.
Will a social enterprise’s ability to fundraise be considered when looking at a funding gap?
This would be informed by assessment of the proposal and the applicant’s historic financial information and financial model submitted.
Can you clarify how the funding looks from a timeline perspective (capital expenses vs operational expenses)?
Capital expenses cover purchasing assets to establish the proposal, while operational expenses address cash flow shortfalls, typically proposal earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) less interest paid.
If the Partnering of Impact Fund funding was used for a deposit or to get a guarantee, when would it need to be paid back?
This would be informed by assessment of the proposal, applicant and proposal funding sources.
Is $500,000 the minimum funding amount for this fund?
Yes. $500,000 is the minimum funding amount. Your total proposal funding requirement (value) must be at least $2,500,000 to be eligible.
Proposal funding requirement
1. How is proposal funding requirement calculated under the fund?
The proposal funding requirement under the fund is the total of:
- establishment or capital investment phase funding requirement; plus
- initial operational phase funding requirement.
The establishment or capital investment phase and the initial operational phase are defined in section 4.5 of the guidelines.
The Office of Social Impact does not require a proposal to request funding for both components. Each of these components are described in more detail below:
Establishment or capital investment phase funding requirement
Means the total sum of all costs to complete a proposal from initiation (post execution of the funding agreement) to commissioning (commencement of the operational phase). The proposal establishment or capital investment phase costs can also be incurred during the initial operational phase, and these costs also form part of the proposal funding requirement up to and including year 4 (2029). It includes a full financial forecast beyond just construction or development and includes both hard costs (physical construction) and soft costs (design, legal, fees etc).
Initial operating phase funding requirement
Means the cashflow shortfall due to the ramp up of operations of the proposal. For the fund, a proposal’s cashflow shortfall is defined as the proposal’s total operating revenue less the proposal’s total operating expenses (excluding non-cash expenses such as depreciation and amortisation).
Using an accounting definition, a proposal’s cashflow shortfall would be calculated as the Proposal’s EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortisation) less interest on debt used for the proposal.
Cashflow shortfalls (up to year 4, 2029) will generally be eligible for part of the proposal funding requirement.
Repayment of debt principal, disbursements to equity and any other repayment of capital including all costs related to refinancing are excluded from any calculation of the cashflow shortfall.
Are any costs excluded from the calculation of proposal funding requirement?
The following costs must be excluded from the calculation of proposal funding requirement:
- all expenses or costs that arise prior to the execution of the fund’s funding agreement between the State and successful applicants
- future stages or expansion of the proposal beyond 4 years from the execution of the fund agreement
- repayment of debt principal, disbursements to equity and any other repayment of capital including all costs related to refinancing.
Eligibility and priority areas
2. Which priority impact areas will be considering for funding?
Proposals must deliver new or additional high social impact within at least one of the impact areas as follows:
- ensuring quality jobs for disadvantaged Queenslanders
- helping vulnerable young people thrive, and reducing crime rates
- addressing the drivers and impacts of addiction and mental health issues
- reducing the number of children in out-of-home care, especially residential care
- improving women’s safety – preventing family and domestic violence and lessening its impacts
- reducing homelessness and increase social and affordable housing
- creating place-based initiatives to enable all communities to thrive
- other opportunities to generate high social impact for Queenslanders.
3. Does my organisation have to be located in Queensland to be eligible?
Yes, your organisation must be operating in Queensland with a physical presence in Queensland. Your organisation does not need to be headquartered in Queensland.
4. Can start-ups apply for funding?
Yes, if they meet the fund’s applicant eligibility requirements and are not a sole trader or individual. Organisations in the start-up phase that do not have historical independent financial statements can apply but will need to demonstrate that:
- a related (i.e. parent) entity can provide the requested historical financial figures for three years in Stage 1 and submission of the historical financial statements in Stage 2
- they have access to related (i.e. parent) entity and third party funding for at least 80% of the proposal funding requirement
- they have project partners that supports management, technical and financial capability to support delivery the proposal.
5. Can an organisation apply for funding if they are currently in the process of obtaining People and Planet First verification or Social Traders certification?
Yes, organisations who are currently in the process of obtaining verification or certification are eligible to apply. This process will need to be completed by the Stage 2 closing date which is 11.59pm AEST 3 May 2026 (note this date may be subject to change).
6. What are the financial model requirements for Stage 2 long form applications?
Stage 2 long form applications must include a detailed financial model covering a minimum 5-year period. The model must demonstrate viability, sustainability, and the ability to repay third-party debts, including potential fund funding. It must include:
- employment, wages, capital, operational expenditure, funding requirements and timing
- proposed amounts and timing of all sources of funding for the proposal (the applicant, all partners, related members, funders and fund funds) including capital, debt, and grant contributions, interest, equity distributions and repayments of capital
- a description of all assumptions to support the financial model.
7. What type of repayable funding instruments will be considered by the State?
Repayable funding support is intended to be concessional and catalytic to de-risk financing of the proposal. Any funding offer made by the State will be determined by the Office of Social Impact’s assessment of the proposal, the financial position of the successful applicant and the other sources of funding and/or investment. Examples of potential funding instruments are:
- Concessional debt – may be structured in different ways depending on the level of flexibility and conditionality in repayment terms. Features may include (but are not limited to) grace periods or deferred repayments, longer maturities, subsidised or capped interest rates that are lower than commercial market rates.
- Recoverable grants – can be structured in different ways depending on the level of flexibility and conditionality in repayment terms. For the fund, recoverable grants may be structured as an upfront payment (the recoverable grant) with an automatic repayment after a grace period or repayment on achievement of a proposal specific event (such as achieving a profit above a set forecast).
- Loan guarantees (full or partial) – is a guarantee provided by the State to a third party funder to reduce the funder’s risk of default.
Funding support may be provided as one or a combination of the above options. However, the value of the funding support is limited to 20% of the proposal funding requirement (section 4.6 of the guidelines and FAQ point 1) capped at $2,000,000.
Funding support will not include non-recoverable grants.
8. What level of information and certainty is required from potential funders?
For Stage 1, applicants are expected to provide an overview of funding secured or identified to date from potential private or philanthropic funding sources including (if available) any preliminary terms and security requirements for the proposed funding.
At Stage 2, applicants are required to provide a non-binding letter of support from potential funders which includes a clear statement indicating the applicant and the proposal it supports and details of its proposed funding includes the nature of funding and any conditional funding terms and security requirements.
Key fund concepts
9. How will competition be assessed under the fund?
The assessment of competition will be based on considerations of the proposal’s outputs; location(s) where outputs are to be provided; and scale of outputs in the location(s) and in Queensland relative to existing business (both for purpose and for profit) providing the same or similar outcomes in the location(s) or in Queensland.
10. How is new or additional social impact defined under the fund?
New or additional social impact refers to the creation of additional or expanded, products and services for the benefit for individuals and communities within the priority impact areas set out in guidelines. Applicants must clearly demonstrate how their Proposal will generate new or additional social impact in Queensland.
For example, buying an existing social enterprise would not be considered eligible as a stand-alone Proposal as the transaction is considered a change in ownership not delivering new or additional social impact.
Application process
11. How can I submit applications to the fund?
You will need to submit a Stage 1 (expression of interest) application. Please note, you will need to register with SmartyGrants to be able to complete and submit your application.
12. Can I submit my Stage 1 (expression of interest) before the closing date?
Yes, Stage 1 applications can be submitted any time before the closing date and time of AEST 11.59pm 15 March 2026.
13. How will applicant be notified after submitting a Stage 1 applications?
All applicants will be notified via email of the outcome of their expression of interest submission on 7 April 2026*. Shortlisted applicants will be invited to submit a Stage 2 Long form applications from 7 April 2026*. Feedback will be provided to unsuccessful applicants if requested.
14. What are the key date and timelines for the fund?
- Stage 1 (EOI) closes at 11.59pm AEST 15 March 2026
- Stage 1 Applicants will be advised on the outcome by 7 April 2026*
- Stage 2 (Long form applications) opens to shortlisted Stage 1 Applicants on 7 April 2026*
- Stage 2 (Long form applications) close 11.59pm AEST 3 May 2026*
- Successful Stage 2 Applicants will be selected, and funding agreements finalised by 30 June 2026*.
15. What if my proposal is not investment ready?
If your proposal is not yet investment ready, it may be beneficial to consider waiting for future allocations of funding or potentially exploring other initiatives under the Social Enterprise and Impact Investing Roadmap, such as the Ready to Launch Fund or Financing Growth Fund when they become available.
The timing and process for the next allocation will be announced after 30 June 2026* on the Queensland Treasury website.
If you would like to subscribe to the Office of Social Impact’s mailing list, you will receive updates about the fund as well as upcoming programs that may be suited to your organisation.
16. What support is available during the application process?
The Office of Social Impact is providing public information sessions on the fund on the following dates and times:
- Friday 20 February 10am to 11am AEST
- Monday 23 February 10am to 11am AEST
- Wednesday 4 March 2:30pm to 3:30pm AEST.
Interested organisations are encouraged to register to attend these sessions.
Review the FAQs page from time to time for any updates and review the fund’s guidelines for detailed information.
For further information or questions, please email your query to: pfifund@treasury.qld.gov.au.
Note:*(these dates may be subject or change)