Apply for Collaborative Exploration Initiative funding

Use this form to apply for funding under Round 8 of the Collaborative Exploration Initiative (CEI).

Make sure you've read this year's guideline for applicants before submitting your application. We have templates for your proposal and budget to help you prepare your application:

Submissions for Round 8 will close at 23:59 (AEST) on 11 January 2024. Contact the CEI team if you have questions about your submission:

11 January 2024 Deadline for application submissions via web form (23:59 AEST)
1 April 2024 Funding deeds must be executed between applicants and department
1 September 2024 Finalise access to project site
16 September 2024Start activity by this date
18 November 2024 Complete activity by this date
2 December 2024 Submit final report, costing report and data
16 June 2025 Release onto Geoscience Open Data Portal
30 January 2026 Submit drill core and rock chips to the department

Make sure you have the following documents prepared to submit with your application. For more detailed information on these, refer to the guideline for applicants (PDF, 675KB).

  • Technical proposal document. A technical proposal template (DOCX, 48KB) is available, with prompts for each section.
  • Additional maps and figures as required.
  • Proposed budget in excel format. Download and use the budget template (XLSX, 51KB), and customise line items as required. Provide as much detail as possible of anticipated expenses, as we use this to track the estimated, quoted and actual expenses to provide reimbursement.
  • Director's assurance letter, or similar evidence confirming that the applicant has the funds and technical capacity to carry out the work.
  • Evidence that relevant land access is in place for on-ground activities. This could be:
    • a recent Notice of Entry sent to relevant landholders
    • the signatory page of a CCA in draft or fully executed, for more advanced activities.
  • Evidence that native title agreements are in place, with provisions for cultural clearances for high-impact activities (where relevant).
  • Contractor letters that guarantee availability within the given timeframe to do the work.
  • Evidence of public liability insurance for at least $20 million, in the name of the applicant.

This form will time out after 2 hours, and you can't save your progress. Before you start, make sure you have your supporting documents prepared, and we recommend you read the guideline for applicants (PDF, 675KB) (opens in new window).

You must complete all the required questions in a section of this form before you can progress to the next section. Once you've completed a section, you can return to it later to make adjustments.

  • Last reviewed: 8 Nov 2023
  • Last updated: 24 Nov 2023