Funding for community infrastructure to improve urban, suburban and peri-urban areas

The Thriving Suburbs Program drives urban economic prosperity by providing access to funding for community-focused infrastructure projects throughout urban, suburban, and peri-urban communities of Australia.

The Thriving Suburbs Program will run over 3 years from 2024-25 to 2026-27. The program will deliver place based benefits by investing in community-focused infrastructure which creates and enhances amenity, liveability and social cohesion throughout urban, suburban and peri-urban communities in Australia. The Government is committed to urban renewal and supporting equitable access to amenities to create strong and vibrant communities.

The objectives of the program are:

• constructing or upgrading community infrastructure that fills an identified and immediate gap or unmet need for community infrastructure, particularly for communities that have experienced substantial growth
• contributing to achieving social outcomes and increased community cohesion, liveability and accessibility for urban, suburban and peri-urban growth areas, fringe areas and inner suburbs
• strategic alignment with the Australian Government’s National Urban Policy to deliver targeted and place-based investment that promotes sustainable growth and enables communities to thrive.

The intended outcomes of the program are:

• provision of multi-use infrastructure which benefits a broad section of the community by improving access, equity and social inclusion
• to enhance amenity and liveability, particularly in suburban and peri-urban areas (new and outer suburbs) that are experiencing growth
• to contribute to the achievement of Government priorities supporting the resilience, adaptability, accessibility, sustainability and liveability of communities, including in First Nations communities
• delivery of funding where it is needed across a broad geographic spread of urban, suburban and peri-urban areas in Australia
• delivery of diverse project types and a balance of large and small projects
• supporting and encouraging projects from lesser-resourced project proponents and low rate-based councils (see Appendix E of the program guidelines).

Further information on the application and assessment process is outlined in the program guidelines.

We will continue to provide updates for the program on this page.