Assessors can only score what you write. Here's how to answer each criterion.

The short answer: to address grant assessment criteria (also called selection criteria), answer each criterion as its own question, covering every part of it, in the funder's words. For each point, make a clear claim, back it with evidence and say what result it will lead to. Spend the most effort on the criteria worth the most, and stay inside the word limit.

Assessment criteria can feel like a test where you don't know the marking guide. The good news is that most funders publish it. Once you know what assessors are looking for and how they score, answering each criterion gets much more manageable, even if you've never written a grant before.

1. What assessment criteria are

Assessment criteria are the key points your application will be judged against. The Victorian Government's grant terminology guide says an application must meet all of them to be successful. Programs also call them selection criteria or merit criteria.

They're different from eligibility criteria. Eligibility is a yes or no check on whether you can apply at all. Assessment criteria decide how well your application scores against everyone else's. In the federal Industry Growth Program guidelines, for example, applications are checked for eligibility first, and only eligible ones go on to be assessed against the criteria.

You'll find the criteria in the program guidelines, usually in a section called "assessment criteria" or "how applications will be assessed". The application form often turns each one into a question.

2. Read the weightings and minimum scores

Many programs tell you how much each criterion is worth. That's your guide to where to spend your time. Two real examples, and your program may differ:

• Industry Growth Program (Early-Stage Commercialisation). Two criteria: alignment with the program's objectives, benefits and outcomes (40 points), and capacity, capability and resources to carry out the project (60 points). Applications must score at least 50 per cent against each criterion to be funded.
• Glen Eira City Council Annual Community Grants 2026 to 2027. The guidelines list seven criteria. Three are worth 20 per cent each (strategic alignment, community need and benefit, diversity and inclusion) and four are worth 10 per cent each (aims and outcomes, organisational capacity, access to other funding, and the budget).

Two lessons follow. First, weight your effort: a criterion worth 60 points deserves more care than one worth 10. Second, where there's a minimum score per criterion, a strong answer in one place can't rescue a weak one somewhere else. Every criterion needs a solid answer.

3. Break each criterion into parts

Criteria often pack several questions into one. The Industry Growth Program's first criterion, for instance, lists seven things to cover, from the customer problem you're solving to your target market and forecast return on investment. Its second asks about leadership commitment, capacity and experience, and your project plan.

Before you write, turn each criterion into a list:

• Copy the criterion and any sub-points word for word.
• Split every "and" into its own item. "Capacity, capability and resources" is three things.
• Note any examples the funder gives in brackets. They're hints about what assessors expect to see.
• Answer the items in the same order, so an assessor can tick them off as they read.

GrantAlly drafts answers to the funder's questions from your own project details and shows which parts of each question are still missing, so nothing gets skipped. You review and edit every answer. See how drafting works.

4. Use the funder's words

Assessors read a lot of applications, often with a scoring sheet beside them. Make their job easy. If the criterion asks about "community need", use the phrase "community need" in your answer. If the guidelines name priorities or objectives, refer to them by name and show how your project connects.

This isn't about stuffing in keywords. It's about making it obvious which part of the criterion each paragraph answers. Some applicants use the criterion's parts as short subheadings, where the form allows it.

5. Structure each answer: claim, evidence, result

A pattern that works for most criteria:

• Claim: the point you're making, stated plainly.
• Evidence: the facts that show it's true, such as numbers, dates, feedback or past results.
• Result: what will change because of your project, and how you'll measure it.

Here's what that looks like in practice.

6. Choose evidence an assessor can trust

Assessors can only score what you show them. Useful evidence includes:

• your own records: waiting lists, attendance, enquiries, sales, survey results
• published data from government, council or industry sources, with the source named
• letters of support from partners, customers or community groups
• results from similar projects you've delivered before
• quotes, project plans and budgets that match what you've written.

Some programs count attachments as part of your answers. The Industry Growth Program says your attached documents are considered part of your criteria responses, and that the detail you provide should be relative to the project's size, complexity and grant amount. Check whether your program works the same way, and refer to attachments by name in your answer.

Only include evidence you can stand behind. Everything in an application should be true and able to be backed up if the funder asks.

7. Work within the word limit

Limits can be tight. The City of Melbourne's Community Inclusion Grants 2027 form, for example, sets many questions at 20 to 200 words. Online forms often cut off text over the limit.

• Draft long, then cut. Get everything down, then remove repetition and general statements first.
• Lead with the answer. Put your main point in the first sentence, in case the assessor skims.
• Keep the specifics. Numbers, dates and names carry more weight per word than adjectives.
• Say each thing once. Each criterion asks for something different, so put each point where it belongs.

8. How merit scoring works

Processes vary, but the pattern is similar. Staff or a panel read each eligible application and score it against each criterion, often using the weightings in the guidelines. Scores are often combined and ranked, and recommendations go to whoever makes the final decision. In the Industry Growth Program, applications are considered on their merits, based on how well they meet the criteria and whether they provide what the guidelines call "value with relevant money".

Two things follow for you. First, assessors usually score only what's in front of them, so don't assume they know your organisation or your area. Second, there's often no chance to explain afterwards. The Industry Growth Program guidelines, for instance, say merit decisions can't be reviewed. Your written answer is the whole case.

9. Common mistakes

• Answering the question you wish they'd asked, not the one on the form.
• Covering one part of a criterion and missing the others.
• Writing about how good your organisation is without linking it to the project.
• Making claims with no evidence, such as "there is strong demand".
• Pasting the same paragraph into several criteria.
• Saying "see attached" instead of answering, unless the guidelines allow it.
• Figures that don't match between answers, the budget and attachments.
• Spending equal effort on every criterion, regardless of weighting.

For the wider process, from reading the guidelines to submitting, see how to write a grant application in Australia, where step 4 covers criteria in brief.

Frequently asked questions

What's the difference between selection criteria and assessment criteria?

Usually nothing. Programs use selection criteria, assessment criteria and merit criteria for the same thing: the points your application is scored against. Eligibility criteria are different, because they decide whether you can apply at all.

Should I use headings in my answers?

If the form allows formatting, short headings that match the parts of the criterion can help an assessor find each answer. In plain text boxes, start each paragraph with the part it answers instead.

Can I refer to an attachment instead of answering in full?

Only if the guidelines say attachments are assessed as part of your answers, and even then, summarise the key points in the answer itself, so your main points are clear without opening another document.

What if a criterion doesn't seem to apply to my project?

Answer it anyway. Explain briefly how your project relates to it, or why it applies in a limited way. Leaving it blank is likely to score poorly, and some programs set a minimum score for every criterion.