Round 2 will support local councils and state government agencies managing public land to combat illegal dumping. Stream 3 targets major illegal dumping projects (bushland or kerbside).
Key information
- Status: Closed
- Grant amount: $120,000
- Application opened: 31 January 2024
- Application closed: 7 March 2024, 5:00 pm
Program objective
These grants support the delivery of the NSW Illegal Dumping Prevention Strategy 2022-27 and contribute to two of the key focus areas of the strategy:
- Reducing kerbside illegal dumping activities
- Reducing public land and bushland illegal dumping activities
The four grants streams aim to support local government and state government agencies to:
- gather baseline and ongoing data on the size of their illegal dumping problem
- develop a business case for investment in illegal dumping prevention
- proactively target localised illegal dumping issues
- collaboratively address illegal dumping across land tenures
- encourage entities to undertake illegal dumping prevention projects if they have not done so before
This program is administered by Environment Protection Authority.
Eligibility
Who can apply
This stream is for major illegal dumping projects (bushland or kerbside) for the following entities:
- Individual councils
- Groups of councils e.g. ROCs, JOs, Regional Waste Group
- State government public land managers
Applicants must have baseline data on the illegal dumping problem in the project area. Individual councils and groups of councils must have baseline data on the participating LGAs.
Funding of up to $120,000 per entity is available for projects to be completed within 24 months.
Types of projects funded under this grant
This stream is for major illegal dumping projects (bushland or kerbside)
Funding of up to $120,000 per entity is available for projects to be completed within 24 months.
Projects must include strategic prevention measures to reduce the illegal dumping problem. The selection process will favour projects that show an integrated approach towards preventing and targeting illegal dumping, meaning they incorporate more than one approach to illegal dumping outlined in the NSW Illegal Dumping Strategy 2022-2027.
Projects must be planned to run either for 12 months or 24 months.
Applicants must provide baseline data of the illegal dumping problem within their jurisdiction (for example, within a local government area if the applicant is a local council). If there is no baseline data, please see Stream 1a Establishing illegal dumping baseline data.
Spending on clean-up and disposal must not exceed 50% of total grant funding.
Successful applicants must liaise with EPA regarding media or other promotion of the project. They must acknowledge the funding contribution made by EPA. Any publicity materials (such as brochures, signage, advertising, social media posts) produced for projects funded by the grant must be in line with EPA-developed Report Illegal Dumping (RID) branding and style guides.
Successful applicants must use the EPA RIDonline database as part of their project, including all data relating to project activities. Grantees must make sure that data is brought up to date in RIDonline at least every three months.
Applicants should describe how the project relates to:
- the entity’s illegal dumping strategy (if there is one in place).
- any similar illegal dumping prevention projects/activities managed by the same or related entity.
If any applicants are currently receiving EPA funding for illegal dumping initiatives, including but not limited to RID programs/squad, they should demonstrate how this project will complement the other funded initiatives.
What your application needs to include
Prepare your application with this checklist
A brief Expression of Interest (EOI) must be submitted using the SmartyGrants platform. The EPA will contact you after submitting your EOI and arrange a meeting between 11 to 21 March 2024. You can discuss your proposal in this meeting and ask questions about the grants.
The initial EOI is due by 7 March 2024, and the full application is due by 12 April 2024.
For the EOI you will need the following:
- Relevant photos or maps
- Letter of support from project partners (if relevant)
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.
Address the assessment criteria
Eligible applications will be assessed by a technical review committee against the following criteria:
- Size and complexity of the illegal dumping problem, and how well is it demonstrated (40% weighting).
- Effectiveness of proposed approaches to prevent illegal dumping across targeted area; their probable extent and longevity of impact; extent of collaboration with appropriate partners and stakeholders; extent of integration with RID squad/program (where applicable) (30% weighting).
- Probable longevity of the project’s impact (10% weighting).
- Appropriateness of budget and project value for money – predicted outcomes and outputs are proportionate to the funding amount requested and in-kind or other contributions (10% weighting).
- Robustness of project evaluation method (10% weighting).
Start the application
Applications must be submitted to the EPA using the SmartyGrants platform. You will receive an acknowledgement of your application form after submission via SmartyGrants. If you do not receive an acknowledgement email, contact the Illegal Dumping Prevention team at illegaldumping.strategy@epa.nsw.gov.au to ensure your application has been received.
Grant applications will be assessed against the selection criteria outlined in these guidelines. Well-thought-out, innovative and collaborative projects that have the potential to have the highest project impact will be prioritised in the selection process.
Entities such as councils and council groups can be the lead applicants in only one application per stream. If multiple applications are submitted by an entity, only the first application submitted will be assessed.
For state government agencies with regional offices, one application per regional office will be accepted.
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: EPA CEO. Applications will undergo an eligibility check before being reviewed by an independent technical review committee using the criteria set out below. The technical review committee will recommend projects to the EPA CEO for funding.
Applications will be assessed by a technical review committee (TRC). The committee will assess potential performance based on an applicant’s ability to meet selection criteria.
The TRC will rank the eligible applications during the assessment process. The TRC then makes recommendations to the EPA. The EPA Chief Executive Officer will make final funding decisions.
We encourage any unsuccessful applicants to request feedback and consider re-applying in future funding opportunities.
All funding is 100% contestable.
Support and contact
Need advice? The Illegal Dumping Prevention Team can advise on these guidelines and the types of activities funded by grants. To contact staff email illegaldumping.strategy@epa.nsw.gov.au.