Kinetic has announced the recipients of its 2026 Moving Communities Fund, with 43 grassroots organisations across Australia and New Zealand sharing more than $180,000 in grants and in-kind transport support.
The Australasian bus operator said more than 1,200 organisations applied for support this year, up from more than 700 in 2025, highlighting growing demand for community-based assistance. Grants of up to $10,000 are being provided alongside practical support including free charter transport and access to buses for community events, programs and appointments.
The program is focused on organisations addressing issues including youth mental health, food security, employment support, disability inclusion and school attendance.
Kinetic Managing Director Australia Matthew Campbell said the fund was designed to support organisations already delivering practical outcomes within their local communities.
“A vehicle that gets a family to a medical appointment. Bikes that get kids to school. Therapy equipment that helps a child with autism feel safe in a classroom,” Campbell said.
“These are practical problems being solved by practical people, and that is exactly what this fund is for. We are proud to back the organisations that show up for their communities every day.”
Australian recipients are working across a broad range of areas, including autism education and therapy, employment preparation for women returning to the workforce, support for veterans’ families, First Nations sporting and cultural programs, youth mental health, school breakfast programs and transport assistance for students.
One recipient, Far North Queensland Legacy, will use its funding to put a low-access community transport vehicle on the road.
The organisation supports veterans’ families across an area stretching from Cardwell to Cape York.
Far North Queensland Legacy Executive Officer Rebecca Milliner said access to transport can have a major impact in regional communities.
“For the families we serve across this vast, remote corner of Australia, that vehicle is not just transport. It is connection. It is dignity. It is someone showing up and saying you are not forgotten,” she said.
Transport is also central to several of the New Zealand projects receiving funding.
Aspire Community Support in Waikato will use its grant to help people with disabilities progress from supported group travel to using Hamilton’s bus network independently.
The organisation’s Tim Bray said the program would help participants build the confidence and skills required to travel to work, training and community activities without relying on another person.
Kinetic Managing Director New Zealand Calum Haslop said many of the projects demonstrate the role transport can play in improving independence and access to essential services.
“It is about giving people independence and choice, and it happens to be built on public transport, which is our business,” Haslop said.
The Moving Communities Fund was launched in Australia in 2024 and expanded into New Zealand in 2025. Kinetic says it has now committed more than $480,000 to more than 100 community projects covering areas including youth mentoring, literacy, family violence awareness, road safety, homelessness support, disability inclusion and food security.
The program forms part of the broader community investment strategy of Kinetic, which operates a global network of around 12,000 buses, 36,000 employees and 200 depots through Kinetic and subsidiary Go-Ahead.
