Growing Regional Economies Fund frequently asked questions

The Growing Regional Economies Fund is a $175 million fund to facilitate the delivery of transformational infrastructure projects that will enable economic growth and prosperity in regional communities.

The Growing Regional Economies Fund will co-fund projects that can demonstrate alignment with the Regional Economic Development Strategies and display potential to increase investment and economic activity within regional NSW’s Functional Economic Regions.

Expressions of Interest open on 8 February 2023 and close 23 May 2023.

Application to the Growing Regional Economies Fund is a two-stage process.
All applicants must submit an Expression of Interest that demonstrates the project’s eligibility.

Only applicants assessed as eligible and demonstrating alignment with one or more of the Growing Regional Economies Fund’s objectives will be invited to progress to Stage 2 - Detailed Applications.

Successful applicants from Stage 2 – Detailed Applications will be notified confidentially from January 2024 or as soon as possible after an application is approved, at the NSW Government’s discretion. Final approval and notification of all funding decisions will be at the discretion of the NSW Government. Applicants may be requested to keep the grant confidential for a period if an announcement is likely to be made by the NSW Government.

Examples of eligible projects include:

• enabling infrastructure such as roads, bridges and services to develop housing and investment precincts that can be linked to economic growth and employment
• education, research and development facilities to drive innovation in engine industries
• airport upgrades and expansions
• enabling infrastructure that will support increased investment, land activation and employment opportunities.

Applications can include final planning and approvals such as detailed design or technical studies that are required to deliver the infrastructure. Funding for this component of the project can be up to a maximum of $500,000, must be directly linked to the infrastructure project, must be completed within 6 months of being notified and the delivery of the infrastructure should not be dependent on the outcome of the final planning work.

Focus area

A focus area of the Growing Regional Economies Fund is to build enabling infrastructure that will support investment in regional housing projects to meet demand generated by growth in employment and economic activity.

Housing projects that are designed to meet short-to-medium term demand are eligible where the project can demonstrate it will deliver a long-term benefit for the community, such as utilising the enabling infrastructure to convert the development into permanent and affordable housing after the short-to-medium term demand is met.

Housing projects that are designed to meet the needs of natural population growth are not a focus of the Economic Activation Fund.

Eligible organisations can only submit one application as the lead applicant. However, they are still eligible to participate as a partner organisation in projects with other eligible lead applicants.

No, projects are required to have planning approvals in place within 6 months of being notified of a successful application.

Yes, applications can be for a minimum of $2 million up to a maximum of $30 million. 

Yes, applicants are required to have a financial co-contribution of at least 25% of the total grant amount.

No, co-contributions must be cash and cannot be made in-kind. Evidence of the cash co-contribution will be required as part of the application.

Applicants can indicate that there are extenuating circumstances preventing them from making the required co-contribution, including if the project is dependent on co-contributions that have not yet been secured and these factors will be considered by the Assessment Panel.

Projects that maximise the co-contribution from the applicant, the Australian Government and/or the private sector will be preferred.

Private businesses are not eligible applicants under this fund. 

Public/private partnerships are eligible to apply where the lead applicant is an eligible entity and where clear public benefit can be demonstrated.

Eligible applicants are:

• local councils
• Lord Howe Island Board (in its capacity as a service provider for an eligible location not covered by a local government entity)
• Regional Development Australia (RDA) Far West (in its capacity as a service provider for an eligible location not covered by a local government entity)
• joint organisations of councils or regional organisations of councils
• Australian universities
• Local Aboriginal Land Councils.

Application to the Growing Regional Economies Fund is a two-stage process.

All applicants must submit an Expression of Interest that demonstrates the project’s eligibility. 

Only applicants assessed as eligible and demonstrating alignment with one or more of the Growing Regional Economies Fund’s objectives will be invited to progress to Stage 2 - Detailed Applications.

Yes, applicants that are invited to progress to Stage 2 – Detailed Application will be required to produce a business case using the  Business case Template (DOCX 3.76MB).

The benefit cost ratio (BCR) will be independently calculated using the completed data sheet.

No, projects that are assessed as having a benefit to cost ratio greater than 1.0 will be preferred; however, it is not a requirement for funding.

No, all applicants will be required to undertake the same application process and assessed against the criteria set out in the Growing Regional Economies Fund Guidelines. 

No, projects must be located in one or more of the 93 regional NSW local government areas (LGAs), in the Unincorporated Far West region, or on Lord Howe Island. Projects located in the Greater Sydney metropolitan area, and the Newcastle and Wollongong LGAs are ineligible for funding.

The 93 eligible regional NSW LGAs are:

To help applicants prepare their application, additional information and resources will be available on the Growing Regional Economies Fund webpage, including templates and Frequently Asked Questions. 

An online information session will be held shortly after the Expression of Interest period opens. The information session will cover the program guidelines in detail and allow participants to ask questions.

Applicants are encouraged to consult with representatives from their local Regional Development Team within the Department of Regional NSW, who can provide support during the Expression of Interest and Detailed Application process. Please contact regionalnsw.business@regional.nsw.gov.au or call 1300 679 673 for a referral to your Regional Development team.

The NSW Government is committed to helping regional communities to future-proof infrastructure by funding projects that enable people with disability and accessibility requirements to function independently and with equity and dignity.

Applicants are encouraged to consider accessibility and inclusion as part of their project design to ensure it accommodates a wide range of needs and can be used efficiently and comfortably by everyone. Utilising universal design principles  within a project design can demonstrate an applicant’s commitment to accessibility and inclusion as a key part of their application.

Applicants can indicate that there are extenuating circumstances preventing them from making the required co-contribution, including if the project is dependent on co-contributions that have not yet been secured and these factors will be considered by the Assessment Panel. Information provided by the applicant could include the applicant’s current financial situation and a detailed explanation as to why the applicant is unable to provide the required co-contribution.

Applicants that indicate there are extenuating circumstances relating to their co-contribution are encouraged to provide a level of co-contribution that is within their financial means, and evidence to indicate that the project can be managed and maintained in the future.

Successful applicants may commence their projects once they have an executed funding deed. Projects must be completed by 30 June 2026.

Yes, applicants will be required to submit a datasheet as part of a detailed application. A template datasheet will be made available on the program webpage and support can be provided to assist applicants to complete the datasheet. 

The datasheet will be used as part of the assessment process to determine the benefit-to-cost ratio of a project. Projects that generate a BCR greater than 1.0 will be preferred however it is not a requirement of the funding.