Building Better Regions Fund

Building Better Regions Fund - FUTURE ROUNDS CANCELLED

UPDATE: As at October 2022 the ð—•ð˜‚ð—¶ð—¹ð—±ð—¶ð—»ð—´ ð—•ð—²ð˜ð˜ð—²ð—¿ ð—¥ð—²ð—´ð—¶ð—¼ð—»ð˜€ ð—™ð˜‚ð—»ð—± (ð—•ð—•ð—¥ð—™) ð—µð—®ð˜€ ð—¯ð—²ð—²ð—» ð—°ð—®ð—»ð—°ð—²ð—¹ð—¹ð—²ð—±

The Hon Catherine King MP. Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government announced today that the Australian Government will not be proceeding with the Building Better Regions Fund Round 6. Furthermore, the Community Development Grant Program has also been scrapped.

Instead, the Australian Government will commit $ðŸ ð—¯ð—¶ð—¹ð—¹ð—¶ð—¼ð—» to ðŸ® ð—»ð—²ð˜„ ð—¿ð—²ð—´ð—¶ð—¼ð—»ð—®ð—¹ ð—½ð—¿ð—¼ð—´ð—¿ð—®ð—ºð˜€ that will invest in much needed community infrastructure in a way that is more transparent, fair and sustainable:

The Growing Regions Program will provide new opportunities for regional local councils and not-for-profit organisations through an annual open, competitive grants process - to replace the BBRF, with new guidelines to be prepared that will ensure best practice transparency and consistency of process, including the FAIRER distribution of funds across regional areas.

The Regional Precincts and partnerships Program will provide a strategic, nationally-consistent mechanism for funding larger-scale projects to benefit communities in regional Australia.

RDA Goldfields Esperance is aware of the impact this announcement has had on applicants, and we acknowledge the hard work, time and resources organisations have invested into extensive grant application processes that will no longer be going forward.

We optimistically look forward to analysing the 2022-23 October Budget tomorrow night, to ascertain what opportunities these announcements may present, given we now expect fairer, more transparent regional grant programs to become available as a consequence.

Read the Minister's media release here: http://ow.ly/Cnu250LiKBv

For any queries, reach out to RDA Goldfields Esperance Director ð—¥ð—®ð˜‡ ð—œð—¼ð—»: director@rdage.org.au

About the Programme

The Building Better Regions Fund (BBRF) will create jobs, drive economic growth and build strong regional communities across Australia by funding infrastructure and community investment projects.

$1.38 billion has now been made available through this program to fund projects in regional Australia outside the major cities of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and Canberra.

The BBRF is a competitive, merit based grant program with two streams:

The Infrastructure Projects Stream supports projects that provide economic and social benefits to regional and remote areas. The projects can be either construction of new infrastructure or the upgrade or extension of existing infrastructure. The Infrastructure Projects Stream only supports investment ready projects.
The Community Investments Stream will fund new or expanded local events, strategic regional plans, or leadership and capability strengthening activities that provide economic and social benefits to regional and remote areas. Infrastructure projects are not eligible under the Community Investments Stream.

If you are considering an application, we encourage you to seek the support of your RDA Committee for your project. Your RDA Committee can:

assist you to identify and develop a strong project proposal that will contribute to long term economic growth and is a priority within your region; and
work with you to prepare a competitive application, supporting documents and evidence, including economic impact modelling.

Guidance for BBRF Applicants

RDA Goldfields Esperance have collated the below helpful information for those considering applying for the BBRF Round 6.

Round Six (Closed 10 February 2022)

The Australian Government has announced $250 million in the 2021-22 Budget towards a sixth round of the BBRF.

As in previous rounds, there are two streams - Infrastructure Projects and Community Investments. Your project will need to deliver economic and social benefits to a regional or remote community.

For most projects grant funding will be up to either 50% or 75% of your eligible project costs. Your location will determine the percentage of grant funding you can receive. You may apply for a partial or full exemption to your contribution requirement if you can demonstrate that you are experiencing exceptional circumstances.

What do you get? Grants of $20,000 to $10 million to cover 50% or more of eligible project costs.

Who is this for? An incorporated not-for-profit, local government agency or body or non-distributing co-operative.

We strongly encourage BBRF Round 6 proponents to consult with RDA Goldfields Esperance prior to submitting your application, as we may be able to offer project support including economic impact modelling to help demonstrate an evidence-based approach to your application as well as letter of support for projects that would truly be of benefit to the Goldfields Esperance region.

Round Five

RDA Goldfields Esperance supported numerous applications in Round Five and are pleased to confirm that the following applications in the Goldfields Esperance region were successful:
Kalgoorlie-Boulder Basketball Association, which received $4.5 million, providing funding for 34% of the project's total cost to redevelop the existing Kalgoorlie Boulder basketball stadium which had long ceased meeting the needs and demands of the community; and the
Esperance Bay Yacht Club, which received $2.09 million, providing funding for 73% of the project's total cost to redevelop of the Esperance Bay Marina and upgrade facilities to increase capacity of the marina

A total of 197 projects to the value of $294 million were approved for funding under the Infrastructure Projects Stream. The successful applications can be viewed here.

A total of 101 projects to the value of $6 million were approved for funding under the Community Investments Stream. The successful applications can be viewed here.

Round Four

A total of 109 projects to the value of $205 million were approved for funding under the Infrastructure Projects Stream. The successful applications can be viewed here.

A total of 54 projects to the value of $2 million were approved for funding under the Community Investments Stream. The successful applications can be viewed here.

Round Three

A total of 166 projects to the value of $197.4 million were approved for funding under the Infrastructure Projects Stream. The successful applications can be viewed here.

A total of 164 projects to the value of $6.9 million were approved for funding under the Community Investments Stream. The successful applications can be viewed here.

Round Two

The successful applications for the Infrastructure Project Stream were announced on 9 July 2018 and a full list can be viewed here.

The Community Investments Stream was announced on 4 July 2018 and a list of successful applicants can be viewed here.

Round One

The successful applications for the Infrastructure Project Stream were announced on 4 August 2017. The full list of Infrastructure Project Stream applications is available here.

Successful projects from the Community Investments Stream were announced on 22 September 2017. The list of successful Community Investments Stream funding offers is here.