The Australian Government has established a Disaster Ready Fund (DRF), to help communities protect themselves against the impacts of natural hazards across Australia.
Key information
- Status: Closed
- Grant amount: Up to $200,000,000
- Application opened: 10 January 2023
- Application closed: 14 February 2023, 5:00 pm
Program objective
The primary objectives of the Disaster Ready Fund are to:
- increase the understanding of natural hazard disaster impacts, as a first step towards reducing disaster impacts in the future
- increase the resilience, adaptive capacity and/ or preparedness of governments, community service organisations and affected communities to minimise the potential impact of natural hazards and avert disasters
- reduce the exposure to risk, harm and/or severity of a natural hazard’s impacts, including reducing the recovery burden for governments and vulnerable and/or affected communities.
Coordination of the NSW Application
Noting the Disaster Ready Fund encompasses multiple eligible hazards, the NSW Reconstruction Authority is the nominated coordinating ‘Applicant’. The NSW Reconstruction Authority is the successor organisation to Resilience NSW in relation to preparedness and recovery.
The NSW Reconstruction Authority will coordinate screening and submission of eligible Projects under the NSW Application for endorsement by the Minister responsible for disaster risk reduction.
The NSW Reconstruction Authority has complete discretion on Projects that will be submitted to the Australian Government under the NSW Application for assessment by the Australian Government.
Assessment of the state Application and awarding of funding will be coordinated by the Australian Government. Refer to Section 10 of the Australian Government guidelines for more information on its assessment process.
Project proponents are required to read this guidance document on how to submit a Project proposal for consideration for the NSW Application together with the Australian Government guidelines.
This program is administered by NSW Reconstruction Authority.
This program is funded by Australian Government.
Eligibility
Under the Australian Government guidelines, eligible project activities include 2 streams (refer also to Section 4.3 of the Australian Government guidelines).
Stream One
Infrastructure projects which are directed at achieving any or all of the following:
- resilience to a future natural disaster that could affect an area (whether directly or indirectly)
- preparedness for a future natural disaster that could affect an area (whether directly or indirectly)
- reduction of the risk of a future natural disaster that could affect an area (whether directly or indirectly).
Stream Two
Systemic risk reduction projects that build the long-term sustainability of a community or communities in an area that is at risk of being affected (whether directly or indirectly) by a future natural disaster.
Who can apply
- NSW Government Agencies
- Large Non-Government Organisations
- Medium to Small Non-Government Organisations
- Peak bodies
- Local Government
- Community groups
The NSW Reconstruction Authority welcomes and encourages NSW Government Agencies and, or large Non-government organisations to come forward with aggregated Projects or consortia’s, e.g. on behalf of multiple Councils or community groups, to achieve efficiencies and greater impact.
For example, this could mean aggregating multiple projects that are consolidated under a single project management structure and proposal.
Types of projects funded under this grant
Stream One
Projects must fall into one or more of the following categories:
- investment in grey infrastructure
- investment in green-blue infrastructure (including nature based solutions)
- investment in hazard monitoring infrastructure, and/or
- business case development for future infrastructure (including investigation, modelling, concept and detailed design activities).
Stream Two
Projects must fall into one or more of the following categories:
- supporting a better understanding of risk, through a better evidence base to understand and raise awareness of risk - to improve understanding of natural hazards and their potential impacts over time (i.e. hazard mitigation plans and resilience strategies)
- strengthening decision making by enhancing governance networks and communities of practice, including the development and/or alignment of resilience and risk reduction strategies
- adaptation projects that improve land use planning and development practice projects, including but not limited to the preparation of regional or local plans and updating land use planning instruments and building codes
- projects that build the capacity and capability of businesses, community sector organisations to improve their preparedness and resilience to the impacts of future disasters, and/or
- projects that enable and incentivise private investment in disaster risk reduction.
Projects can:
- encompass one or more eligible activity types
- be joined-up, and/or
- be multi- jurisdictional.
What can’t you apply for
Applicants cannot spend the funding on ineligible expenditure incurred, including (refer also to Section 5.2 of the Australian Government guidelines):
- projects that have already received full funding or a commitment of full funding, including projects that have received funding from another source for the same purpose, as articulated in the application (i.e. ‘double-dipping’)
- wages that are not related to the direct delivery of the funded activities
- road infrastructure works that do not have the primary purpose of reducing community exposure to risk, harm and/or severity of a natural hazard's impacts
- road maintenance
- retrospective costs, including costs incurred by the Applicant and/or implementation partners prior to the endorsement of the Implementation Plan
- costs incurred in the preparation of an application, other than costs incurred to complete and submit the Implementation Plan (see section 13.2 of the application form)
- activities conducted outside of Australia
- subsidy of general ongoing administration of an organisation
- overseas travel
- interstate travel, where that interstate travel is not undertaken as part of a multi-jurisdictional project (see section 4.3 of the Australian Government guidelines)
- the introduction of plants, animals or other biological agents known to be, or that could become, environmental or agricultural weeds and pests.
Example projects
Stream One examples might include:
- the construction of flood levees
- fire breaks or cyclone shelters
- the construction of artificial reefs or sand nourishment on vulnerable coastlines
- tsunami warning systems
- bushfire warning systems
- investigation, planning and design to resolve emerging risks.
Stream Two examples might include:
- the establishment of jurisdiction wide hazard based information systems
- updating state and/or creating local government hazard resilience strategies
- hazard research to assist states and developers eliminate inappropriate land sources ahead of construction
- supporting community sector organisations to develop systems, train staff or have materials in place prior to the impact of a natural hazard.
What your application needs to include
Download the complete Program Guide (including the application form) (PDF 456.96KB). Also review the Australian Government guidelines and the Round 1 FAQs.
Prepare your application with this checklist
Project readiness
- Has the project secured relevant internal approvals, including an approved business case, if required?
- Will the project be ready to commence from July 2023 and has a viable 3-year schedule?
- Does the Project have assigned resources with the relevant experience and project management capability to deliver the project?
Project funding
- Is the Project a large scale project of greater than $1 million including co-contributions?
- Has the Project secured, or have a viable plan to secure, co-contribution funding?
Project details
Response must address the following:
- What the project is, in detail?
- What risk or problem does the Project seek to address? An indication of the risk before and after the proposed project?
- Who (or what) does this impact and how?
- What evidence (quantitative/qualitative) can you draw on to indicate the size and severity of the risk?
- How will the Project enable adaptation to future climate and disaster impacts?
- How will the project avoid and manage the potential for maladaptation (including any potentially negative social, environmental or economic outcomes)?
- Reference any or all of the four domains of social, economic, built and ecological.
Address the eligibility criteria
The NSW Reconstruction Authority will screen projects with the following review steps:
- That a complete Project proposal form has been submitted including any attachments listed by the Project proponent. Where a complete Project proposal form has not been completed, NSW Reconstruction Authority reserves the right to provide the proponent with the opportunity to submit the required information or the project may be set aside from further consideration.
- That the Project meets the minimum requirements for eligibility in accordance with the Australian Government guidelines. Only Projects which meet the minimum requirements for eligibility will be assessed against the suitability criteria.
- The rating of Projects against suitability criteria, which will be considered by the NSW Reconstruction Authority when determining which Projects will be put forward in the NSW Application.
Address the assessment criteria
Suitability criteria in order of relative importance are as follows:
- Outcomes and benefit
- Demonstrated need including risk being addressed
- Capability to deliver
- Demonstrated strategy to mitigate risk of adverse outcomes from the Project
- Value for Money including co-contribution
After the application is submitted
Successful applications will be decided by: The NSW Reconstruction Authority and the National Emergency Management Agency
Written advice will be provided to all proponents of Projects. If your Project is rated as “Not Suitable”, your formal notification will include details on how you may seek feedback.
Support and contact
Requests for further information can be submitted in writing to the NSW Reconstruction Authority at: drfnsw@resilience.nsw.gov.au.
The NSW Reconstruction Authority has appointed O’Connor Marsden & Associates as the probity advisor for this program. Should you have any concerns regarding the probity or integrity of this program please email to the NSW Reconstruction Authority in the first instance at: drfnsw@resilience.nsw.gov.au.