The Department of Social Services (DSS) has recently received reports that members of the public have been contacted via phone and social media, by an individual or individuals offering government grant funding.
Examples of recent Scams
These claims are false and these individuals do not represent DSS or the Commonwealth.
DSS officers do not:
It is a serious matter to impersonate a Commonwealth public official. It may even be a criminal offence carrying a penalty of imprisonment in some circumstances.
If approached in this manner, do not give any personal information. If you are uncomfortable with the nature of the call or approach, simply hang up.
We encourage you to report incidents of this nature. You can visit Scamwatch on www.scamwatch.gov.au to report to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), and you can contact the DSS fraud reporting hotline on 1800 133 611.
If you contact DSS in the first instance, we will obtain as many details as possible from you about the incident, including your contact details. If appropriate, DSS will refer it to the police or other relevant authority including the ACCC.
If you have already provided information to a caller or are concerned that a crime has or may be committed, please immediately contact the police, your bank or the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) if it relates to your passport details.
The Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hubs Grant is an open and competitive grant opportunity to establish eight multidisciplinary and inclusive Hubs in major climatic and agricultural zones in regional Australia. View grant
The Scholarships for Women in Finance and Economics: Administration Service grant opportunity aims to encourage more women to study accounting, business, finance and economics, or to renew, upskill or refresh their skills in these areas. View grant
The Economic and Community Participation Program aims to increase the social and economic participation, including employment outcomes, of people with disability. The Economic Participation (EP) stream is one of three streams used to implement the program. View grant
The Australian Government is inviting applications from organisations via an open competitive process for grant funding for 12-month projects that help enable the participation of people with disability in community life. View grant
The Seniors Connected initiative contributes to the Government’s 2019 election commitment ‘More Support for Older Australians’ from 2019-20 to 2023-24 to alleviate loneliness and social isolation experienced by older Australians. View grant
The Intercountry Adoptee and Family Support Service (ICAFSS) is a free, national service that provides post-adoption support, including counselling, information and education, to young and adult adoptees, adoptive parents and prospective adoptive parents. View grant