$44 million for the repair, restoration or betterment of Aboriginal-owned social infrastructure that was damaged by the February and June 2022 severe weather and floods.
The $44 million Aboriginal-owned Assets Program, under the 2022 Community Local Infrastructure Recovery Package, is co-funded by the Australian and NSW Governments and is a firm commitment to ensuring flood impacted Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities have what they need to thrive.
Under the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA), regional communities have existing support to repair essential public assets like roads. However, these measures do not necessarily extend to repairing damaged social infrastructure such as parks, playgrounds, walkways and places of cultural heritage, all of which contribute to a community’s sense of belonging and identity.
The Aboriginal-owned Assets Program will support the recovery of communities impacted by the February and June 2022 severe weather and floods, by providing funding for the repair, restoration and betterment of Aboriginal-owned community infrastructure and will bring people together to fulfil cultural obligations, improve social connectedness and restore places of importance to the community.
This program is funded and administered by Department of Regional NSW.
Eligibility
Who can apply
Eligible applicants must be a Local Aboriginal Land Councils (LALC) or an Aboriginal organisation that owns and /or manages social infrastructure within the disaster declared LGAs (AGRN 1012 and/or AGRN 1025).
75 LGAs are eligible to apply for funding. However, the program targets the 19 LGAs most impacted during the severe weather and flood events in February and June 2022.
Organisations in non-targeted LGAs can apply if they can substantiate the impact of the disaster on a community asset and demonstrate strong community need.
Who can’t apply
Ineligible applicants include:
Australian or NSW government agencies
State Owned Corporations
Volunteer organisations
Local councils and joint organisations of councils
Private, for-profit businesses.
Types of projects funded under this grant
Examples of eligible projects include the repair, restoration or betterment of:
recreational and service buildings including libraries, youth and senior citizen facilities, childcare services, tourism and arts and culture facilities and significant records
parks and playgrounds including equipment, furniture, fencing, shades, facilities and amenities
boardwalks, footpaths, walking trails, wharves, and jetties
pedestrian-only bridges, car parks, retaining walls, landscaping, river/creek banks and signage in public spaces.
amenities and community/ service buildings that complement and support multiple social and recreation facilities
Aboriginal-owned and managed road infrastructure
Healing, resilience and connection of:
salvage, repatriation and rehousing of significant objects inclusive of eligible cost such as an Aboriginal Culture and Heritage Assessment
pedestrian and vehicle access to significant cultural landscapes such as weatherproofing roads or upgrading drainage and surfacing etc
preservation and disaster-resilience mitigation measures of cultural landscapes and/or objects such as erosion control works, stabilisation works or revegetation etc
betterment of cultural sites for responsible usage, signage and interpretation, amenities fencing, restriction of vehicle access etc
Repair, restoration and or betterment of:
Aboriginal-owned and/or managed social infrastructure including LALC offices and facilities, Aboriginal day-care centres, Aboriginal medical and aged-care facilities, culture centres, keeping places, archives, amenities etc
infrastructure associated with cultural camps including camp kitchens, water tanks, toilets and amenities, shelters, decks etc
tourism and education infrastructure such as walking tracks, interpretative infrastructure, performance and dance spaces, shelters, decks, amenities etc
Aboriginal-owned and managed road infrastructure
Types of projects not funded under this grant
Ineligible projects include:
social infrastructure that meets the definition of an essential public asset under the DRFA 2018 including roads, tunnels and utility bridges
social infrastructure associated with the function of an essential public asset under the DRFA 2018 including road furniture and retaining walls
projects that have been funded through other government grant(s)
repair projects or elements of repair projects where an applicant has claimed and received insurance*
social infrastructure that was not directly damaged as a result of the 2022 storms and floods
projects in LGAs not disaster-declared in AGRN 1012 and ARGN 1025
projects that do not relate to the repair, restoration or betterment of Aboriginal owned and/or managed social infrastructure
projects for the primary purpose of asset waste clean-up and/or make-safe works
projects that would fund the day-to-day operations and/or business as usual activities of the organisation
projects that require ongoing funding from the NSW Government
erosion and sedimentation management projects including coastal and riverbank areas**
projects that are not aligned to the objective of the Aboriginal-owned Assets Program.
* Applicants must seek to claim insurance on asset repairs where relevant prior to seeking Government funding. If a social infrastructure owner has not made an insurance claim, the applicant must justify why not. If a social infrastructure owner has received a part insurance payout, the unclaimed/ uncovered/ uninsured component only will be considered under the Program.
** Except where the erosion and sedimentation management project relates directly to the repair, restoration and/ or betterment of an eligible essential community asset or is the location of a significant Aboriginal cultural site(s) and/or object(s).
Most recent recipients
Awabakal Enterprises Ltd
$350,037
Port Stephens Medical Centre new roof, hydraulic upgrade and damage repairs
keyboard_arrow_down
What was approved
Approved for Awabakal Enterprises Ltd
$350,037
The project will provide support for the repair of the Port Stephens Medical Centre facilities roof and guttering and provide additional coverage and protection to external areas. These works will allow the Medical Centre to be more resilient to future flood events and to continue to provide safe provision of medical and allied health services to the Aboriginal community.
$350,037 was approved by
Minister of Regional NSW
Date approved
November 2023
Location of the recipient
Port Stephens
About the grant
Applications approved
27
Applications received
31
Aboriginal-owned Assets Program
Agency funding this grant
Department of Regional NSW
Program term
Project completion by 30 May 2025
Bawrunga Aboriginal Medical Service
$468,854
Bawrunga Aboriginal Medical Service Nambucca Heads Medical Centre roof and hydraulic upgrade
keyboard_arrow_down
What was approved
Approved for Bawrunga Aboriginal Medical Service
$468,854
The project is for repair and betterment works to roofing, guttering, walls, flooring, pipes, and stormwater drainage of the Bawrunga Aboriginal Medical Service facility at Nambucca Heads.
$468,854 was approved by
Minister of Regional NSW
Date approved
November 2023
Location of the recipient
Nambucca Valley
About the grant
Applications approved
27
Applications received
31
Aboriginal-owned Assets Program
Agency funding this grant
Department of Regional NSW
Program term
Project completion by 30 May 2025
Birrigan Gargle Local Aboriginal Land Council
$611,784
Repairs and restoration of the Ngaru Village Community Centre
keyboard_arrow_down
What was approved
Approved for Birrigan Gargle Local Aboriginal Land Council
$611,784
The project is for repairs and betterment to the Ngaru Village Community Centre at Pippi Beach Research. The community centre provides the local Yaegl people with critical social infrastructure to meet and promote resilience, prosperity and cohesion of the local Aboriginal community.
$611,784 was approved by
Minister of Regional NSW
Date approved
November 2023
Location of the recipient
Clarence Valley
About the grant
Applications approved
27
Applications received
31
Aboriginal-owned Assets Program
Agency funding this grant
Department of Regional NSW
Program term
Project completion by 30 May 2025
Bundjalung Tribal Society Ltd
$4,264,023
Aboriginal Cultural & Ecotourism Centre
keyboard_arrow_down
What was approved
Approved for Bundjalung Tribal Society Ltd
$4,264,023
This project will support the Bundjalung Tribal Society to rebuild an Aboriginal Cultural & Ecotourism Centre on a parcel of owned land, replacing the previous property utilised and destroyed in the 2022 floods. The rebuilt centre will ensure that it will continue to be a community hub for social housing, partnering to sell native foods and produce, and a place to host other support organisations while providing education, drug, and alcohol programs.
$4,264,023 was approved by
Minister of Regional NSW
Date approved
November 2023
Location of the recipient
Ballina
About the grant
Applications approved
27
Applications received
31
Aboriginal-owned Assets Program
Agency funding this grant
Department of Regional NSW
Program term
Project completion by 30 May 2025
Dorodong Association Incorporated
$821,351
Dorodong Association Incorporated: Internal Road and Causeway Recovery and Betterment
keyboard_arrow_down
What was approved
Approved for Dorodong Association Incorporated
$821,351
This project will restore roads and causeways to provide safe access to Dorodong Association incorporated land and repair damaged buildings. The site is of cultural significance and the sheds are used to run Gumbaynggirr language workshops and TAFE courses.
For further details about the Aboriginal-owned Assets Program including key dates, available funding, and application and assessment processes, refer to the program guidelines (PDF 5.72MB).
1
All applications need to include:
a clear project scope
evidence of direct damage
a project budget based on quotes or detailed estimates, reasonable assumptions or previous experience with similar projects
evidence of current $20 million Public Liability Insurance in the name of the applicant, or a willingness to purchase
funding is available for directly damaged, Aboriginal owned and/or managed social infrastructure in disaster declared LGAs under AGRN 1012 and AGRN 1025
LALCs and Aboriginal Organisations that own and/or manage social infrastructure are eligible to apply
LGAs are allocated a funding pool based on the assessed impact to social infrastructure in that LGA
The majority of funding will be targeted to the 19 most impacted LGAs
Only assets that have been directly damaged from 2022 severe weather and flood events (AGRN 1012 and/or AGRN 1025) are eligible
project scope can include repair, restoration, or betterment activities
if the value of the notional allocation per funding pool is exceeded, or not met, then the funding may be redistributed to one or more eligible LGAs. This will be determined by the Assessment Panel and as per Assessment Criteria
For further details about eligibility, including eligible applicants, assets, projects and costs, refer to theprogram guidelines (PDF 5.72MB).
3
Applicants must be able to demonstrate:
the ability of the project to contribute to the social recovery (healing, wellbeing, resilience and prosperity) of the community
that community needs are being met
alignment with applicant or partnering organisation, operational or strategic plans
the project will complement (and not duplicate) other pre-existing recovery initiatives already funded or underway
that the project will deliver betterment and resilience to future disasters together with robust design, inclusivity and material consideration
the ability of the project to commence construction within 12 months from announcement of funding approval
An assessment panel made up of NSW Government and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander representatives will assess each application against criteria outlined in the program guidelines.
The Department of Regional NSW will notify all applicants about the outcome of their application. Feedback sessions will be provided for unsuccessful applicants.
Successful projects will be managed through a funding deed which will include requirements for successful applicants to participate in regular reporting and program evaluation.