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Funding for community infrastructure to improve regional areas
Update to Stage 2 – Full application
28 November 2023: Projects approved to proceed to stage 2 of the Growing Regions Program have been invited to submit a full application. Applications close on 15 January 2024.
Growing Regions Program Round 1
The Growing Regions Program drives regional economic prosperity by providing access to funding for community-focused infrastructure projects throughout rural and regional areas of Australia.
What do you get?
Grants between $500,000 and $15 million to cover 50% or more of eligible expenditure.
Who is this for?
Incorporated non-profit organisations, First Nations Community Controlled Organisations and local government agencies or bodies in regional areas.
Overview
The Growing Regions Program – Round 1 will deliver grants up to a maximum of $15,000,000 over 3 years to deliver community infrastructure projects.
It will deliver community and economic benefits by investing in community-focused infrastructure which revitalises regions and enhances amenity and liveability throughout regional Australia.
The objectives of the program are:
- constructing or upgrading community infrastructure that fills an identified gap or need for community infrastructure
- contributing to achieving a wide range of community socio-economic outcomes
- is strategically aligned with regional priorities.
The intended outcomes of the program are:
- delivery of community-focused infrastructure which contributes to local and regional priorities
- provision of infrastructure which benefits the community by improving equity and supports diverse social inclusion
- to contribute to the achievement of broader Government priorities such as net zero emissions, gender equity, and/or First Nations priorities
- growing local economies and enhancing amenity and liveability in the regions.
Growing Regions Program Round 1 will be delivered through a two-stage selection process.
You must first submit an Expression of Interest at Stage 1 and if successful, you will be invited to submit a full application at Stage 2.
We will assess applications in two stages. The first stage is a submission of an Expression of Interest (EOI). If you are successful in the EOI, you will be invited to lodge a full application.
First we check that you meet the eligibility criteria. Then we review your EOI to determine:
- how ready your project is to proceed
- how well it meets the objectives of the program
- how strongly your project aligns with the regional priorities for the area.
We will use a multi-party parliamentary panel to make recommendations.
The assessment criteria are a set of rules that describe how we must assess each application.
We give each criterion a certain number of points.
We’ll decide whether to award you the grant based on the total number of points we give your application.
- Assessment criterion 1: Contribution to economic opportunity and social and community inclusion (40 points)
- Assessment criterion 2: Alignment with broader Government and regional strategic priorities (20 points).
- Assessment criterion 3: Capacity, capability and resources to deliver and sustain the project (40 points).
The amount of detail and supporting evidence you provide should be relative to the project size, complexity and grant amount requested.
The Minister makes the final decision.
Contact
Need help?
Let us answer your question over the phone, email or live chat.
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Open Hours:
Monday – Friday, 8am – 8pm across Australia
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