Applications are now open for North East Victoria communities recovering from the Black Summer bushfires to apply for funding under an Australian Government grants program.
Nationals Senate Leader and Senator for Victoria Bridget McKenzie said applications for the $280 million Black Summer Bushfire Recovery grants program are now open to community organisations, businesses and councils in Local Government Areas that were disaster-declared as a result of the 2019-20 bushfires.
“We know recovery is a long haul and needs to match the pace of communities – so this is a great chance to access funding for priorities in our local area,” Senator McKenzie said.
“The Black Summer Bushfire Recovery grants will be delivered directly by the Liberal and Nationals Government to help communities address priority recovery work that is needed to support their ongoing recovery.”
“These grants, ranging from $20,000 to $10 million, will fund a broad range of recovery and resilience projects, from social and community wellbeing projects right through to projects that support the recovery of local economics and built environments.”
Senator McKenzie said the grant criteria and process has been designed to be as simple and flexible as possible, with applications open until 2 September 2021.
“The guidelines were released at the beginning of July so applicants could start thinking about local recovery needs and plan their projects. Now is the time to finalise those project ideas and begin lodging your application,” Senator McKenzie said.
“This funding will help our communities continue their recovery, making sure that every dollar from the National Bushfire Recovery Fund is being used where it’s needed most.”
The $280 million grants program is part of the Australian Government’s $2 billion National Bushfire Recovery Fund and builds on other bushfire recovery support provided over the past 18 months.
To date, $2.3 billion in Australian Government support has been provided to help bushfire affected communities, including more than $1.6 billion spent so far from the National Bushfire Recovery Fund.
Information about applying for these grants and the support available, including workshops (in person and online), are available at recovery.gov.au/black-summer-grants.