Grants to improve critical air infrastructure

To be eligible you must:

• have an Australian Business Number (ABN) 
• be an owner and/or operator of an existing aerodrome/airport 

And be one of the following entities:

• an entity, incorporated in Australia
• an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Corporation registered under the Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Act 2006 (Cth)
• an incorporated trustee on behalf of a trust
• an Australian local government agency or body as defined in section 14 of the grant opportunity guidelines
• an Australian state/territory government agency or body
• a corporate Commonwealth entity.

State agencies or other eligible entities may apply on behalf of aerodrome/airport owners/operators. In such cases, the state agency or other eligible entity will be the lead applicant in a joint application and will be wholly responsible for the project, including administering, reporting and acquitting all project expenditure. Only the lead organisation can submit the application form and enter into a grant agreement with the Commonwealth.

We can only accept applications where:

• your aerodrome/airport is identified as Inner Regional or Outer Regional as defined by the 2021 Australian Statistical Geographic Standard (ASGS) Remoteness Area (check your aerodrome/airport location is Inner Regional or Outer Regional using ABS Maps) 
• your aerodrome’s/airport’s passenger throughput was below 300,000 passengers (from all flight types) in 2024
• you can provide evidence from your board or council (or chief executive officer (CEO) or equivalent if there is no board) that the project is supported by the applicant organisation, and that the organisation is willing to accept responsibility to complete the project and meet the costs of the project not covered by grant funding
• if you are not the owner of the aerodrome/airport, you confirm you have support from the owner to undertake the project.

You can’t apply if you are:

• an organisation not included in section 4.1 of the grant opportunity guidelines
• an organisation, or your project partner is an organisation, included on the National Redress Scheme’s list of Institutions that have not joined or signified their intent to join the Scheme
• an employer of 100 or more employees that has not complied with the Workplace Gender Equality Act (2012)
• an individual
• a partnership
• the owner/operator of a leased federal airport
• a trust (however, an incorporated trustee may apply on behalf of a trust)
• a non-corporate Commonwealth entity.

Partner with other organisations

You can partner with one or more other organisations that also meet the eligibility criteria. But you must decide who the lead organisation is.

The lead organisation must fill out the application form.

If we give your group the grant, the lead organisation:

• signs the grant agreement
• is responsible for making sure your group follows the rules in the grant agreement.

You must complete your project by 30 December 2028.

Your project must:

• be aimed at improving safety and accessibility and/or the transition to net zero at aerodromes/airports in regional areas of Australia
• have at least $20,000 in eligible expenditure.

Eligible activities must directly relate to the project and may include the following:

• works to improve all weather capability of the aerodrome/airport and aircraft safety including: 
  • sealing and/or re-sealing and/or re-sheeting of aircraft pavements 
  • extending or strengthening a runway, taxiway, parking bays and/or related areas
  • repair, restoration and/or reconstruction of the airstrip, taxiway and/or apron
  • airside drainage works
  • basic airside ambulance and passenger shelters to support patient health in transit. 
• works to enhance aerodrome safety for aircraft operations including:
  • installation or restoration of animal fencing
  • provision of navigational aids and safety equipment
  • works to reduce safety hazards at an aerodrome
  • provision of safety related operational and/or training manuals and training for key operational personnel.
• works to better enable night time operations including:
  • installation of runway and taxiway lighting
  • provision of power for aerodrome lighting
  • installation of Pilot Activated Lighting Control systems.
• works to support air services transition to net zero including, for example:
  • works to support use of sustainable aviation fuel, differently fuelled, fuel efficient and lower emission aircraft operations
  • electric chargers, hydrogen fuel storage and refuelling. 

We may also approve other activities. Any additional activities must be in line with objectives and outcomes in section 2 of the grant opportunity guidelines.

You can apply for a grant between $20,000 and $5 million.

You can use this grant funding for:

• contractor costs:
  • costs associated with contractors who undertake project activities (including capital items and materials purchased by contractor). 
• employee costs:
  • the portion of employee costs directly related to undertaking core elements of the project.
• aviation-safety related staff training:
  • costs associated with the provision of aviation-safety related staff training including in the safe use of low or zero carbon fuels.
• capital expenditure for the purchase of assets, including:
  • power provisions
  • lighting and control systems
  • markers and navigational aids
  • training materials
  • low or zero carbon fuel storage, hydrogen fuelling or storage facilities, electric chargers for air services.
• materials costs associated with the purchase of materials for:
  • airstrip sealing, re-sealing and sheeting
  • repair, restoration and reconstruction or drainage works
  • fencing
  • airside ambulance and passenger shelters.
• tender design and process costs:
  • costs associated with final engineering specifications and drawings required for tender design and construction process up to a maximum of 5% of eligible project cost
  • contingency costs/escalation costs combined up to a maximum of 10% of the eligible project cost. Noting that we only make payments based on actual cost incurred.
• independent audit:
  • the cost of an independent audit of project expenditure up to a maximum of 1% of total eligible project expenditure or a maximum of $5,000 (mandatory for projects over $500,000 or where we request one).