Key information
- Status: Open
- Grant amount: Royalty Deferral limit of $250 million across all applications
- Application opened: 1 July 2025
- Application closes: 30 June 2030
Program objective
The Schemes objectives are to:
- Promote investment in NSW critical minerals industry: Support the development of critical minerals projects by addressing a known barrier to strengthen NSW's position as a competitive destination for investment.
- Enable regional economic development: Create jobs and stimulate regional growth by facilitating critical minerals projects.
To view the Critical Minerals Royalty Deferral Guidelines please visit: Critical Minerals Royalty Deferral Scheme | NSW Resources
This program is administered by NSW Resources.
Eligibility
Who can apply
To view the Critical Minerals Royalty Deferral Guidelines, please visit: Critical Minerals Royalty Deferral Scheme | NSW Resources
To be eligible to submit an application for a critical minerals project under the scheme, applicants must:
- be a NSW mining lease holder
- the primary purpose of the mining lease the subject of the application must be the recovery of one or more critical minerals
- demonstrate that the mining lease holder, or related body corporate to the mining lease holder, has a market capitalisation, or market valuation of less than $5 billion
- confirm that the critical minerals the subject of the application have not been previously mined under the nominated mining lease, or any mining lease in effect over the same land immediately before the grant of the lease that is the subject of the application.
Types of projects funded under this grant
Eligible minerals
- All minerals listed in Part 7 of Mining Regulation 2016 at the time of application are eligible under this scheme
What costs you can apply for
Scope of scheme costs
- This scheme only applies to royalty payments that are payable to the Crown (administered by Revenue NSW) for eligible minerals under the Mining Act 1992 and Mining Regulation 2016 for the nominated project.
- This scheme does not cover any additional taxes, levies or other costs incurred by the applicant as a result of operating the nominated project or participating in the scheme.
What your application needs to include
Prepare your application with this checklist
The application must include, but is not limited to:
- status of all mining leases for project
- development consent approval
- annual production forecast for minerals to be extracted at the project
- recent mineral resource and reserve statement
- capital expenditure necessary for the project
- statement of market value of mining lease holder if company not publicly listed
Address the eligibility criteria
Each applicant, as part of an application response, must confirm that they meet the eligibility criteria.
Applicants that do not address the eligibility criteria in full may be excluded from the application process at the department's discretion.
Start the application
Applications for this grant are accepted via the SmartyGrants portal.
Note: If you are a new applicant to SmartyGrants, you will need to register and create a password. If you are already registered, you can log in with your existing username and password.
Apply now
After the application is submitted
Successful applications will be decided by: Minister for Natural Resources
The Department will assess all applications using an eligibility screening process.
During the assessment, the Department may ask applicants to provide additional information to assist the assessment process. Advice may be sought from other government agencies or subject matter experts to assist in the assessment of applications.
This assessment will also consider:
- a compliance report supplied by NSW Resources Regulator
- any personal, financial, business and/or probity risks that could cause reputational or other risk to the NSW Government
Ministerial determinations
The Minister for Natural Resources will consider assessable applications and, if the Minister decides to grant the application, the Minister will make a determination for successful applicants under the Mining Act 1992 s.291
Indexation will be applied on all deferred royalty payments based on the quarterly market rate at the time of indexation.
Please note:
- Royalty payments cannot be deferred unless a Ministerial Determination is in place
- Late royalty payments before the approved deferral period commences will attract interest and penalty tax as outlined on Revenue NSW’s website
The Minister has the authority to revoke a Ministerial Determination at any time if it is determined –
- the mining lease is to be transferred to another holder during the royalty deferral period
- the mining lease holder has an unsatisfactory compliance history
- the mining lease holder has been declared not fit and proper
In such instances, any outstanding royalties would become due immediately upon revocation.
Notification of application outcome
- NSW Resources will notify all applicants, successful and unsuccessful, regarding the outcome of their application.
- The NSW Government may choose to publicly announce successful deferral applications, including some project details.
- The Department will offer unsuccessful applicants feedback if requested.
Support and contact
Contact NSW Resources if you need more information on eligibility, time frames, or if you have questions about the application form on the portal: