Western Australia upgrades grant governance with new guidelines

The new framework responds to longstanding concerns from the WA auditor general about inconsistent practices and echoes Commonwealth standards.

WA Auditor General Caroline Spencer flagged the need for such a framework in a 2021 report into grants administration, noting that “while some entities and officers are adept in their practices, grant administration across the WA public sector generally needs improvement”.

At the time she recommended adopting a structure similar to the Commonwealth’s to “help put grants administration in this State on a trajectory towards consistently better practice”.

“I trust the findings of my Office’s latest audit reinforce the merit of developing standardised guidance to promote excellence in the administration of WA’s many and varied grant programs.”

The 2025 update introduces the investment principle and other grants administration principles for agencies to follow and brings WA into line with practices in other states.

The investment principle requires grantmakers to consider whether a grant program is the most effective “investment” or policy tool to achieve government goals.

The grants administration principles set new standards for program design, probity, transparency, merit-based processes, outcomes-oriented reporting, proportionality, and the use of improved evaluation and improvement methods.

The guidance also provides a set of templates and tools, including checklists, sample funding approval letters and sample funding agreements to support standard practices across departments.

Overall, the guidelines seek to ensure grants deliver a public benefit, measurable outcomes and value for money.

More information

WA Grants Administration Guidelines 2025