Improving Farm Water for Livestock and Biodiversity

The budget is a very important aspect to every project application as it is where the assessors get a very detailed understanding of the proposed activities. 

It is also used to determine how cost effective the project is.

The budget should outline the requested funding from Northern Tablelands Local Land Services and outline any in-kind contribution from the applicant (such as your labour, time, materials, maintenance etc). 

There is no requirement for applicants to include any in-kind contribution, however, such contributions will be highly rated as part of the assessment process.

• All budget figures must be GST exclusive.
• Money allocated to projects will be based upon the submitted budget and no allowances will be made for price increases.
• Monitoring and on-going weed control are ineligible costs.

Please seek assistance from Northern Tablelands Local Land Services if you are unsure, as the project budget is critical to the approval of the project.

Project and applicant eligibility must ensure:

• all project activities must directly contribute to the implementation of works which contribute to improved water quality for the benefit of livestock production and biodiversity. Projects that are primarily focused for example on aesthetics, improving irrigation infrastructure, or recreational assets will not be considered.
• projects must occur on a holding larger than 10 ha and must take place on land within the Northern Tablelands LLS region.
• applicants must be the owner of the land where the project will take place, or must have written authority from the landowner authorising their ability to commit to the project on the landowners behalf.
• all previous works funded by Local Land Services on the applicant’s property must be completed or maintained as per any current management agreement.
• state, federal and local government authorities, bodies, departments, statutory corporations, state-owned corporations and other similar entities, and land owned by such entities, will not be eligible for this program (including crown leases).
• applicants must:
  • have no outstanding debts to Local Land Services
  • be willing to enter into a written agreement with Local Land Services and undertake certain works in accordance with set specifications and agreed timeframes
  • be an Australian citizen
  • be registered for tax purposes in Australia and have an Australian bank account
  • be willing to declare any conflicts of interest when submitting an application. Persons who have associations that are considered by Local Land Services to represent a conflict of interest which cannot be managed will not be eligible
  • have public liability insurance for a minimum of $20 million
  • abide by and implement as required all Local, State, and Federal Government laws, regulations, and Acts as they are relevant to an individual project, and
  • be able to complete all on-ground activities by 16 June 2023.
• applications must contain a fully completed application form and a map or sketch of the proposed site.
• any water body that is the subject of this incentive program must be able to store water for a full 12-month period based on median rainfall for the area where the site is located.
• project sites must be no smaller than 0.5 ha in total.

In general terms, applications will be assessed on whether they align with desired outcomes of the program, provide public benefit, deliver long-term outcomes and represent good value for money.

Specifically:

1. An Evaluation Panel will be convened and will assess projects deemed to meet the eligibility criteria.
2. The Evaluation Panel will assess projects according to the Evaluation Criteria and rank them in order of highest to lowest. The Evaluation Criteria will be based on: The scale of the project and the water body, the expected improvements in water quality and biodiversity, the expected benefits to livestock production (particularly cattle), value for money, the type of work(s) being proposed, the location of the proposed project, demonstrated ability to complete the project.
3. Applications will then be offered funding in ranked order until the allocated funding is expended.
4. Successful applications will receive a site visit to confirm site and project details.
5. Where an on-site assessment is undertaken, and there is found to be significant variation between information provided during the application process and data collected on-site, Northern Tablelands Local Land Services reserves the right to review the project ranking for that project. Any changes to the assessment will be based on advice from the Northern Tablelands LLS staff member completing the site assessment and will require the Evaluation Panel to review such projects.
6. Any applications that meet the assessment criteria but do not receive funding due to higher ranked applications exhausting the available funding, will be placed on a second round offer list in order of ranking. If further funding becomes available offers may then be allocated in order of that ranking by the panel using the same principles/process as outlined in this plan.
7. Any disputes over eligibility or ranking will be resolved by the Evaluation Panel.
8. The program aims to ensure some geographical spread of projects across the Northern Tablelands LLS region so projects can act as local demonstrations to encourage adoption of improved practices. Northern Tablelands LLS will reserve the right to review application rankings to achieve a spread of projects accordingly, without compromising on the quality or expected outcomes of individual projects and the program in general.
9. In the event the program does not receive sufficient eligible applications to achieve the outcomes required, Northern Tablelands LLS reserve the right to make direct approaches to landholders or community groups to help identify projects that would contribute to the program outcomes. Any projects that are developed in this way will be subject to the same funding conditions and expectations of those projects developed through the open call process.

Contracts will be offered to eligible project proponents until program funds are exhausted. All works will be funded through a standard contract linked to the application. The contract will require ongoing maintenance of the works for a 10 year period and the submission of (basic) monitoring and evaluation information, such as the provision of photo point monitoring.

Once a fully executed contract is received by Northern Tablelands Local Land Services, up to 100% of the maximum grant application will be provided to the applicant to be spent on works and activities related to the project. The project is to be fully implemented to the satisfaction of Northern Tablelands Local Land Services to enable eligibility for future funding opportunities. Landholders will be required to provide a compliant Tax Invoice and evidence of (any) in-kind contribution(s) where appropriate.