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SiteComms Australia
State planning guide

Western Australia project planning

Western Australia funding routes for PA, paging and intercom projects

Understand WA school procurement, non-government-school capital routes and Lotterywest community outcomes before assuming there is grant money for a system.

School capital and approvalsAged careSelected community / early-learning routes
Check a WA projectAll funding guides

Last reviewed 20 September 2026Programme evidence and SiteComms interpretation are distinguished below

Use this as a route map, not an eligibility decision. Funding depends on the actual applicant, asset owner, approved scope, timing and the authority’s assessment. No amount is awarded or deducted from a SiteComms price estimate.

Direct to Market is a purchasing route, not new money

A WA public school must first establish the available budget and correct works classification. Direct to Market applies to appropriately scoped school-funded work within its conditions. It is not a blanket PA grant, an unrestricted contractor appointment or a reason to split a larger project.

A low-interest loan must remain a loan

Non-government schools can investigate Commonwealth capital assistance through their BGA and the separate WA Low Interest Loan Scheme. The latter carries repayment and application-cycle obligations. This funding release deliberately signposts it without estimating finance approval, interest or monthly payments.

Lotterywest needs a community outcome and an eligible project

Equipment or capital scope alone is not enough. Lotterywest assesses eligible organisations and community outcomes, with restrictions on core government activity, private benefit and retrospective costs. A community hall access or announcement project needs to explain who benefits and why this is the appropriate funding route; ordinary school or clinical infrastructure is not automatically matched.

Reviewed state and national routes

The records below use the same programme catalogue as the checker. Dates are evaluated when this page is requested, not treated as proof of live funder availability. Check the official source before applying. National records apply only to their specified organisations.

Grant programme · National programme

Commonwealth Capital Grants Program

Ongoing route — authority confirmation required

Applications follow the relevant Block Grant Authority cycle; this is not a continuously open direct Commonwealth form.

Official programme facts: Eligible non-government primary and secondary schools seek capital assistance through their Block Grant Authority. Financial need and the wider project are assessed.

SiteComms interpretation: A PA, paging or intercom component may warrant a question to the BGA when it belongs to eligible construction or refurbishment. A standalone equipment purchase is not assumed to fit.

Material conditions and next action
  • The guidelines generally exclude equipment and IT unless associated with capital works or accepted special circumstances.
  • Pre-primary facilities and projects solely undertaken by parents’ associations are not this programme’s ordinary scope.
  • School eligibility, tenure, available resources, contributions and the BGA timetable still require assessment.

Next step: Contact the BGA for the school’s state and sector before contracting. Describe the complete capital project and ask whether each communications line is eligible.

Grant programme · National programme

ACCAP: targeted aged-care capital programme

Programme watchlist — no general open round established

This is a programme-level watch route. Prior rounds and local targeted opportunities must not be treated as a new open national round.

Official programme facts: ACCAP supports targeted aged-care infrastructure, including facilities serving rural/remote locations and people with specialised access needs. Availability is opportunity-specific.

SiteComms interpretation: Communications infrastructure may form part of an eligible wider facility project. The overview does not establish that a standalone paging, PA or nurse-call purchase will be funded.

Material conditions and next action
  • Residential aged care and retirement villages are different; retirement-village operation alone does not establish access.
  • Check the particular opportunity’s provider, location, project and expenditure conditions.
  • No current award, provider endorsement or application invitation is implied.

Next step: Review the department’s current ACCAP opportunities and obtain programme advice before preparing a grant application.

Grant programme · National programme

ACCAP Critical Infrastructure Projects — invitation only

Invitation only — not open to unsolicited applications

The Critical Infrastructure opportunity is invitation-only. Its 30 June 2030 end date does not make it open to unsolicited applications.

Official programme facts: The department describes Critical Infrastructure Projects as a closed, non-competitive, invitation-only opportunity, with an end date of 30 June 2030.

SiteComms interpretation: An urgent aged-care communications failure is not itself an invitation or eligibility decision. An invited provider must have the department confirm the proposal and expenditure scope.

Material conditions and next action
  • An existing invitation, required provider status and the specific grant documents must be checked.
  • No inference is made that every urgent safety or maintenance request qualifies.
  • Full opportunity conditions require departmental confirmation; this record relies on the official programme overview.

Next step: An invited provider should use its departmental contact. Without an invitation, seek programme advice rather than treating this as an open application.

School-funded procurement — not new funding

WA public-school Direct to Market / departmental works

Ongoing route — authority confirmation required

A procurement mechanism for appropriately scoped school-funded work. It does not provide a grant or a school budget.

Official programme facts: WA publishes Direct to Market arrangements for eligible low-risk minor works/maintenance and departmental mechanisms for other work.

SiteComms interpretation: Before sourcing a communications contractor, the school must confirm the works category, current value limit, risk and the appropriate purchasing route.

Material conditions and next action
  • Direct to Market does not establish available money or permission for every project.
  • Broader building, electrical, network or higher-risk work may need a different departmental route.
  • Do not split a project to fit a procurement threshold.

Next step: Ask the school’s authorised staff to confirm scope and procurement classification before requesting or accepting quotations.

Repayable loan — finance phase signpost

WA non-government-school Low Interest Loan Scheme

Ongoing route — authority confirmation required

A repayable capital loan with sector-specific application arrangements, not a grant. Detailed finance assessment is deferred.

Official programme facts: The state scheme assists eligible non-government-school capital development through a repayable loan arrangement.

SiteComms interpretation: A communications item would need to fit the eligible capital project and loan terms. The existence of the scheme is not finance approval.

Material conditions and next action
  • Confirm the relevant sector application cycle and planned drawdown year.
  • Repayment obligations and authorised borrowing must be reviewed separately.
  • No interest rate, loan affordability, credit decision or approved amount is calculated here.

Next step: Contact the school’s sector/body and review the official scheme. Treat this as a finance-phase lead, not money awarded to the project.

Grant programme

Lotterywest community equipment / facilities pathway

Ongoing route — authority confirmation required

Contact Lotterywest to identify the right current opportunity and timing; this is not a blanket open equipment entitlement.

Official programme facts: Lotterywest supports eligible not-for-profit and local-government community projects, including appropriate equipment and capital facilities.

SiteComms interpretation: A communications improvement may be relevant where it delivers a demonstrable community outcome outside excluded core-service or private benefit.

Material conditions and next action
  • Core government agency business, private benefit, ordinary operating support and retrospective costs have restrictions.
  • Applicant/auspice eligibility, tenure, community outcomes and the proposed activity must be confirmed.
  • A school or healthcare label alone is not evidence of eligibility for its normal infrastructure.

Next step: Discuss the community outcome, legal applicant and cost scope with Lotterywest before making commitments.

Prepare a scope the responsible people can assess

Identify the legal applicant, project owner, site location and permission to do works. Separate the communications requirement from building works, network upgrades, clinical nurse call and regulated emergency systems. Record what is already committed and what remains only a proposal.

Use itemised supplier quotes that identify equipment, installation, commissioning, cabling, training, support and exclusions. A preliminary SiteComms range helps planning but does not replace the quotations or professional evidence a programme requests.

The quote-comparison guide and school requirements guide help define that scope. For care sites, keep general PA and intercom separate from clinical systems.

Coverage and remaining research

No unverified WA early-childhood programme or broad retirement-village grant has been inserted. Eligible community organisations may have a Lotterywest discussion; residential aged care has separate national programme restrictions. Regional distance is a delivery consideration, not an automatic grant entitlement.

SiteComms can review your technical requirement and reply with suitable providers’ public contact details. We do not approve grants, submit an application to the funder, promise a funding outcome or forward your enquiry to providers.

Check a WA projectPlan the system budget