The Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Development Fund 

Applications are open.

The Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Development Fund (ATSIDF), of the National Council of Churches in Australia, is a fund set up to assist Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Peoples by giving small, usually one-off grants for community development projects. The projects are funded through the NCCA annual Martung Upah Appeal.

How to Apply

ATSIDF applications must be made on the appropriate form. Please read the guidelines before making your submission. Please note that grants over $5,000, or for recurrent funding, will not be considered. If you have any questions, please contact the NCCA on (02) 8259 0800 prior to submitting your application.

For more information on the the Program guidelines and to access the application form please visit the NCCA First Nations' website page  

Closing date: Applications for the final round of the financial year ending 30 June 2023 are due Monday 30 October 2023. 

Visit: The Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Development Fund page of our website for GUIDELINES and APPLICATION FORM 

Applications: to be completed and returned electronically to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.     

The 'Black Mist and the Ban' statement

On 15 October, 70 years ago, the first nuclear bomb on the mainland of this continent was detonated, on Aboriginal land, without consent, adequate warning or regard for the consequences that began unfolding from that day onwards.

The 'Black Mist and the Ban' statement marks this anniversary with a direct call to action from survivors and their supporters in civil society. Read it here.  

The call is for:

“Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to sign the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons without delay and initiate the process of Australia ratifying it and adhering to its obligations, including to seek universalisation and assist nuclear victims and impacted environments."

From today until 27 October, the 70th anniversary of the second nuclear test at Emu Field, SA, please take a moment to share this statement.

Everyone can help to highlight this history, remember the victims and survivors, and honour the courage of impacted communities fighting for justice and nuclear abolition. 

The 'Black Mist and the Ban' statement 

The statement has been signed by more than 130 civil society organisations, including the Australian Red Cross, Public Health Association of Australia, Health Services Union, Oxfam and Catholic Religious Australia, and outlines the escalating threat of nuclear weapons use, and calls on Australia to demonstrate its commitment to nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament by joining the TPNW.

ICAN Webinar

ICAN co-hosted a webinar to mark this significant anniversary with second generation nuclear test survivor and Yankunytjatjara-Anangu woman Karina Lester, who said:

“these are stories of survival, and courage, and just hard work. It’s not an easy story to talk about. Tears in the eyes, lump in the throat, these stories are difficult, but these stories are important.” 

 June Lennon, Yankunytjatjara, Antikarinya and Pitjantjatjara woman and nuclear test survivor said:

“Nobody thought about the effects those bombs would have on our family. But I can tell you that our family is not a well family.

We’ve had cancers, miscarriages, birth deformities… We were not considered to be people, human, to have the right to know what was happening in their own country.”

Watch

Wati Ngintakanya Wankani (Waking the Perentie Man) webinar - on YouTube here