The new 2026-27 BEST Program

What is the Building Excellence in Support and Training Grants Program (BEST Program)?

The BEST Program forms part of the Australian Government’s commitment to supporting the work of ex-service organisations (ESOs) in providing free advocacy services to the veteran and Defence communities.

The program assists ESOs by providing a contribution to the work of their advocates and support staff. Advocates provide veterans and families of veterans with free advice and assistance about claims, entitlements and services. ESO advocates can assist in improving claims assessments efficiency.

The BEST Program is changing in 2026-27, making it easier for ESOs to provide these important free advocacy services.

Changes to the BEST Program in 2026-27

The BEST Program has been restructured in response to the 2025 Senate Inquiry into Issues relating to advocacy services for veterans accessing compensation and income support, as well as Recommendation 99 of the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide: Improve compensation advocacy by funding professional, paid advocates.  

Please visit the new BEST Program presentation for key changes to the program.

Grant Round and Agreement Type

Previously the BEST Program had an annual grant opportunity each financial year, with single year grant agreements in place. The 2026-27 BEST Program will run over a 3-year period, with agreements commencing in the 2026-27 financial year and ending on 30 June 2029.  

The introduction of 3-year agreements will eliminate the requirement for ESOs to reapply for funding each year, reducing administrative workload and providing longer term funding certainty and stability for the employment of advocates.  

In accordance with this change, grant rounds to apply for funding under the program will be offered once every 3 years.

• Year 1 – 2026–27 – applications open in March 2026
• Year 1 – 2026–27 – multi-year agreement commences
• Year 2 – 2027–28 – milestone reporting year
• Year 3 – 2028–29 – milestone reporting year & final year of agreement

Grant Funding

The BEST Program is receiving a substantial funding increase, from $4.8 million in 2025-26 to $16.9 million in 2026-27, with further growth scheduled for future years. A total of up to $58.6 million is available over 3 years from 2026-27 to 2028-29 under the Advocacy Grants and Support Program.  

To support the development of new professional advocates, Advocacy Training and Development Program (ATDP) enrolled trainees are now supported under the BEST Program. If your organisation employs paid ATDP trainees, you can include those salary costs in your application.  

ESOs also have more flexibility in how funding is spent. Funding can be used across eligible grant activities and expenditure.

Application Process

Applications for the 2026-27 grant funding round opened on Wednesday 11 March 2026 and will close on Wednesday 15 April 2026.  

Further information about the application process can be found on the 2026-27 BEST Program grant opportunity webpage.  

You will no longer be required to provide complex historical claims data when applying for the BEST Program. Instead, you only need to provide the number and qualification level of trained advocates (including trainees) and advocacy and wellbeing support staff in your employment. This shifts the focus to increasing advocate workforce capability and future capacity, rather than attributing funding to past activity.

Please refer to the factsheet below to assist you with completing your application:

• Completing your new BEST Program application forms (DOCX 1.9 MB)
• Completing your new BEST Program application forms (PDF 812 KB)

Eligibility Requirements

Eligibility requirements for the BEST Program remain the same for the 2026-27 round.  

From 1 July 2026, the new Veterans’ Entitlements, Treatment and Support (simplification and harmonisation) Act 2025 (VETS Act) will come into effect. For further information on the VETS Act, please visit The VETS Act – what it is and what it will do. This may impact reporting requirements in years 2 and 3 of the grant agreement.

Funding Model  

The funding model has been simplified to a streamlined attribution model based on your ESO’s advocate workforce. Funding will be proportionately calculated based on:

• the number of compensation and wellbeing advocates, wellbeing support officers, trainees and administrative support officers employed by your ESO  
• the ATDP level of compensation and wellbeing advocates and whether they are:
  • paid employees or volunteers
  • working full time or part time hours.

Equipment and administrative costs will be automatically factored into any approved funding based on the number of advocates/staff working for your organisation.  

As per previous BEST Program funding rounds, the maximum funding granted will be limited to the amount requested on the application.  

More information about the funding model can be found in section 3.1 of the Grant Opportunity Guidelines on the GrantConnect website.