The $280 million Black Summer Bushfire Recovery Grants program will help communities address priorities for recovery and resilience after the 2019-20 bushfires.
This grants program comes from the National Bushfire Recovery Fund and is additional to support already provided through a range of bushfire recovery programs.
Key facts
The program covers every Local Government Area that was disaster declared as a result of the 2019-20 bushfires.
Community organisations, businesses and local councils can apply.
Applications opened for submissions on 22 July 2021 and close at 5pm on 6 October 2021.
Decisions on successful projects are expected to be made from December 2021.
You can apply for a grant of between $20,000 and $10 million.
Who can apply?
This grants program is not available for individuals, partnerships or trusts.
You will be eligible if you have an Australian Business Number (ABN) and are one of the following :
an entity incorporated in Australia
a company limited by guarantee
an incorporated association
an incorporated not-for-profit organisation
an Aboriginal Land Council or Indigenous corporation
a local governing agency or body (such as a Council) or ACT governing agency.
The criteria we are using is broad, so as many groups can access support as possible. So please look at the guidelines, as you might be eligible even if you cannot see yourself in the list above.
Check out the Guidelines on the Business Grants Hub page for more detail.
Which locations are eligible?
All of the Local Government Areas (LGA) that were disaster declared as a result of the 2019-20 Black Summer bushfires are covered by the grants, including the ACT, Tasmania and four bushfire affected alpine resort areas in Victoria.
There is a ‘funding envelope’ which is just a guide for how much might be spent in each LGA. More or less funding may be provided in an LGA depending on the projects that are put forward.
The most heavily impacted LGAs have a guide amount of $4.5 million for projects in that LGA.
Remaining LGAs having a guide amount of $1.6 million for projects in that LGA.
The allocation will help to ensure that all eligible LGAs have access to bushfire recovery funding support.
The amount of money that is directed towards each LGA will depend on the project applications that are submitted.
The projects that best address community recovery from the 2019-20 Black Summer bushfires, and meet the eligibility and assessment criteria, will be recommended for funding.
Any money from the funding envelopes that remains after all the eligible projects in an LGA are allocated will be available for projects in other LGAs until the grant funding is exhausted.
Projects may not receive the full grant amount requested.
Check whether your LGA is covered in Appendix A of the grant guidelines on the Business Grants Hub page.
In our region and surrounds the following LGAs are eligible:
Category 1 : Snowy Valleys
Category 2 : Cootamundra-Gundagai
Greater Hume
Wagga Wagga
Get in touch with us if you would like advice or assistance in completing your application.