Housing Innovation Network Grant Program

The Housing Innovation Network Grant Program (the Program) is designed to accelerate the adoption of innovative solutions in delivering social, affordable and sustainable housing. The Program supports NSW-based small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) to pilot new solutions in collaboration with Homes NSW. The aim is to address key housing challenges and advance the NSW Government's housing targets. 

The Program provides grants of up to $250,000 (excluding GST) for SME's to pilot practical and innovative solutions to current challenges faced by Homes NSW. Funded projects will pilot solutions in a government housing operating environment over a period of up to 12 months. Details of these challenges and solution requirements are available at Housing Innovation Network Grant - Challenge Statements.

The Program is administered by Investment NSW within the Premier's Department (the Department), and any funding agreement will be between the Department and the successful applicant. Successful applicants will also be required to enter into an operational agreement with Homes NSW to enable the pilot to proceed. This agreement will address matters including operational access, confidentiality, data and implementation responsibilities. 

Applications will be assessed against the criteria set out in the Grant Program Guidelines. Before applying, please read the Grant Program Guidelines and the Sample Funding Agreement. These documents can be found at Housing Innovation Network Grant Program Guidelines 2026-2027 and Funding Agreement (long form).

Note: The application form is the sole method for submitting a response. Additional proposals or attachments will not be considered. 

If you have any questions regarding the Program, please contact us at HIN@investment.nsw.gov.au. 

The Applicant acknowledges and agrees that:

• submission of this application does not guarantee funding will be granted for any project, and the Department expressly reserves its right to accept or reject this application at its discretion; 
• the applicant must bear the costs of preparing and submitting this application and the Department does not accept any liability for such costs, whether or not this application is ultimately accepted or rejected; and 
• the applicant has read the Grant Program Guidelines and Sample Funding Agreement and are fully informed of the relevant program requirements. 

By submitting this application form, the Applicant acknowledges and agrees that: 

• if this project application is successful, the relevant details of the project will be made public, including details such as the name of the organisation (Applicant), project title, project description and funding amount granted;
• the Department will use reasonable endeavours to ensure that any information received in or in respect of this application which is clearly marked 'Commercial-in-confidence' or 'Confidential' is treated as confidential, however, such documents will remain subject to the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (NSW) (GIPA Act); and 
• in some circumstances the Department may release information contained in this application form and other relevant information in relation to this application in response to a request lodged under the GIPA Act or otherwise as required or permitted by law. 

By submitting this Application form, the Applicant acknowledges and agrees that: 

• the Department is required to comply with the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 (NSW) (the Privacy Act) and that any personal information (as defined by the Privacy Act) collected by the Department in relation to the program will be handled in accordance with the Privacy Act and its privacy policy; 
• the information it provides to the Department in connection with this application will be collected and stored on a database and will only be used for the purposes for which it was collected (including, where necessary, being disclosed to other Government agencies and/or external parties in connection with the assessment of the merits of an application) or as otherwise permitted by the Privacy Act;
• they have taken steps to ensure that any person whose personal information (as defined by the Privacy Act) is included in this application has consented to the fact that the Department and other Government agencies may be supplied with that personal information, and have been made aware of the purposes for which it has been collected and may be used. 

To be eligible for consideration, your application must meet all eligibility requirements and be completed in its entirety for consideration. Please ensure that any information to be treated as confidential is clearly marked. 

Multiple applications for the same solution will not be accepted from the same business or Related Parties. In the case that two applications for the same challenge are submitted by the same business or Related Parties, the first application lodged will be deemed the application submitted for assessment. Subsequent applications lodged will be deemed ineligible and will not progress any further. 

Please declare this application meets the Program eligibility criteria: 

• To be eligible for the Program, applicants must:
  • be one of the following entity types:
    • a company incorporated under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (including a company limited by guarantee)
    • an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Corporation registered under the Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Act 2006 (Cth)
    • a NSW University or other NSW-based Publicly Funded Research Organisation (PFRO) applying through its appropriate technology transfer office or the Chief Executive Officer (or equivalent) of the PFRO that will create a separate entity before entering into a legally binding Funding Agreement with the Premier's Department 
  • be an SME, and demonstrate this by meeting one of the following:
    • have an aggregate turnover of less than $50 million for each of the three financial years prior to the lodgement of your application; and/or
    • have fewer than 200 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) employees 
    • note if you apply through a NSW University or other NSW-based Publicly Funded Research Organisation (PFRO) you will be required to meet one of the above prior to entering into a legally binding Funding Agreement with the Premier's Department
  • have an active Australian Business Number (ABN) 
  • be headquartered in NSW 
  • have an account with an Authorised Deposit-taking Institution 
  • hold the relevant Intellectual Property or rights to commercialise the solution 
  • agree to the following:
    • all data generated throughout the Program will be owned by the NSW Government and may be used for future projects or data analysis and 
    • data must be provided in the format specified by Investment NSW in the Funding Agreement
• To be eligible, the project must:
  
  • address one of the challenges identified in Housing Innovation Network Grant - Challenge Statements
  • involve a solution that either: 
    • has progressed beyond early-stage development, has been tested in a relevant environment, and is suitable for pilot deployment but not yet fully commercialised; or 
    • an already-commercialised solution in a different setting that has not yet been tested in the NSW social housing environment. 
  • demonstrate that your proposed solution is at Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of 6 or higher. This means that the applicant will have a prototype that has been tested in a relevant environment and is ready for demonstration in an operational setting. The applicant will need to provide evidence such as test results, prototype specifications or previous trial data. 
  • directly relate to the piloting or demonstration of the solution within the NSW government housing sector. 

Note: failure to meet these requirements or provide valid documentation will result in your application being ineligible. Ineligible applications will not be assessed.