What are the COGS changes?

The changes to COGS include who can apply to COGS and the ability to request funding for up to three years in one application.

The changes to who can apply to COGS are:

• your organisation must have less than $2 million annual operating expenditure for each of the past two years to make a request to COGS
• your organisation includes your national/regional office and any branches under the same legal entity

These changes have been made to ensure that funding aligns with the purpose of COGS to support smaller organisations with limited access to other funding.

The table below explains what we mean when we talk about an ‘organisation’ and ‘operating expenditure’ and if your organisation is eligible to request COGS funding:

Element	Explanation
Organisation	An ‘organisation’ includes the national and/or regional office and any branches or affiliated organsiations that come under the same legal entity. Branches or affiliated organisations of your organisation that are legal entities in their own right are considered as separate organisations. Your organisation must be a legal entity to request $10,000 or more for any one year.
The level of operating expenditure	You will not be eligible to request COGS funding if your organisation has operating expenditure of $2 million or more for each of the past two financial years. ‘Operating expenditure’ does not include large, one-off capital works (usually projects), depreciation, or money your organisation owes (such as loans).