Applications open for Growing Regions Program in Australia (Round 2)

Deadline: 10-Oct-2024

Applications are now open for the Growing Regions Program (Round 2) to enhance the regions by supporting liveable and connected communities.

The program will provide investment in community-focused infrastructure which creates and enhances amenity, liveability and social cohesion throughout Australia’s regions. The program is intended to support projects that fill an unmet need, respond to local priorities, are well developed with mature planning and development in place, and provide benefits to a broad cross section of people within communities.

Objectives

• 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
  • delivering increased amenity, liveability and community connectedness in line with the Investing in Places priority focus area of the Australian Government’s Regional Investment Framework to deliver targeted and place-based investment.

Funding Information

• The Australian Government has announced a total of $600 million over 4 years for the program.
• For Round 2, $393 million is available over 3 years.
  • The minimum project funding amount is $500,000.
  • The maximum project funding amount is $15 million

Outcomes

• The intended outcomes of the program are:
  • to enhance liveability and amenity in regional communities
  • provision of multi-use infrastructure which benefits a broad cross section of the community by improving access, equity and social inclusion
  • 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 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

Eligible Activities

• To be eligible your project must:
  • construct new community infrastructure or expand or upgrade existing infrastructure for wider community benefit
  • not be standard capital works of other Commonwealth, state, territory or local government bodies including, but not limited to, roads, housing and essential service provision
  • not have commenced construction
  • not have received Commonwealth funding to undertake the same funding activities.

Eligibility Criteria

• To be eligible you must:
  • be an incorporated not-for-profit organisation
  • A not-for-profit organisation must demonstrate not-for-profit status through one of the following:
  • current Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) registration; or
  • state or territory incorporated association status; or Constitutional documents and/or Articles of Association that demonstrate the not-for-profit character of the organisation.
• or
  • be a local government agency or body
• and
  • have an Australian Business Number (ABN) or ORIC registration
  • deliver the project in an eligible location
  • declare the project will be shovel ready at the time of signing a funding agreement.

Ineligibility Criteria

• You are not eligible to apply if you are:
  • an employer of 100 or more employees that has not complied with the Workplace Gender Equality Act (2012)
  • a partnership
  • a Regional Development Australia Committee
  • an unincorporated association

For more information, visit Australian Government.