Deadline: 27-Feb-25
The NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water (NSW DCCEEW) is inviting eligible entities to lodge an Expression of Interest (EOI) to apply for funding under the Australian Government’s National Water Grid Fund (NWGF).
The NWGF is the Australian Government’s multi-billion dollar, 10-year water infrastructure investment program. It has been developed to improve water access and security by delivering nationally important water infrastructure projects that unlock potential, build resilience, and promote growth and sustainability.
Objectives
- Under the NWG Investment Framework, the Australian Government will identify and invest in projects that address the program’s 3 key strategic objectives:
- Provide safe and reliable water for regional and remote communities – Increasing water access, quality, and security to better meet essential town water needs in regional and remote Australia.
- Generate Public benefit through responsible investment in water infrastructure for productive use – improving water access, quality and security for agricultural, primary industry and industrial use to support regional economic growth and development.
- Build resilient water infrastructure that is environmentally and culturally responsive – strengthening the National Water Grid so that water infrastructure investments will support the protection of the cultural heritage and better meet future challenges from climate change, while managing environmental impacts.
Funding Streams
- The NWGF has 3 key funding streams which will be evaluated as per their stream:
- Capital Program: Water infrastructure to improve availability, reliability, efficiency, or quality of the water supply, for town water or productive use. Can be used for Preliminary Business Case, Detailed Business Case, Pre-construction, or Construction phase of a project.
- First Nations Water Infrastructure Program: Projects to address specific water challenges faced by First Nations communities. Projects may include, but are not limited to, replacing leaking pipes, drilling, and equipping bores, or installing water treatment systems.
- Science Program: Research to provide an evidence base to underpin water infrastructure planning and investment decisions. Three priority themes include water resource analysis, alternative and emerging options, and new information sources including communicating the science.
Eligibility Criteria
- To be eligible, the proponent must be a registered business and be one of the following entities:
- local council/authority (including County Councils and Joint Organisations)
- water utility
- irrigation water supply corporation or trust
- First Nations organisation
- science agency
- NSW Government Department; or
- private corporations, where the project has multiple beneficiaries
- Any private entity can put forward an application, however the proposal must have a public benefit.
- Note: NSW Government agencies may also apply for funding through the EOI process and will be subject to the same assessment process as other proponents.
Ineligibility Criteria
- They do not fund:
- Organisations or entities without an ABN, CAN, ICN or ACNC
- Private individuals
- Proponents who put forward projects that only have one beneficiary
- Proponents whose project is not based in regional or remote NSW.
For more information, visit NSW Government.