Resources for Regions

• Bland Shire Council
• Blayney Shire Council
• Bogan Shire Council
• Broken Hill City Council
• Cabonne Council
• Cessnock City Council
• Cobar Shire Council
• Gunnedah Shire Council*
• Lake Macquarie City Council
• Lithgow City Council
• Liverpool Plains Shire Council*
• Maitland City Council
• Moree Plains Shire Council*
• Mid-Western Regional Council
• Muswellbrook Shire Council
• Narrabri Shire Council*
• Narromine Shire Council
• Newcastle City Council
• Orange City Council
• Parkes Shire Council
• Singleton Council
• Upper Hunter Shire Council
• Warrumbungle Shire Council*
• Wentworth Shire Council
• Wollondilly Shire Council
• Wollongong City Council

*Local Government Areas impacted by gas exploration

Eligible councils are encouraged to submit joint applications, particularly for larger scale infrastructure projects across Local Government Areas.

Joint Organisations of Councils are eligible to apply as a lead applicant providing the project is located in one or more eligible Local Government Areas and the Joint Organisation of Councils has the support of an eligible council/s to allocate a portion of the council’s allocated funds towards to the project. This support can be demonstrated through a letter of support from the eligible council/s.

Grant amounts

Project categories

Example projects

• Service infrastructure such as road or bridge upgrades or waste infrastructure
• Upgrade, new or improved tourism projects that align with the region’s Destination Management Plan
• Infrastructure projects aligned to the Local Government Area’s local endowments as articulated in the relevant Regional Economic Development Strategy (REDS) or a relevant NSW Government strategy (e.g. State Infrastructure Strategy 2018-2038, Future Transport 2056, Regional Growth Plans)
• New or enhanced public spaces, recreational facility upgrades, walking and cycling tracks, community centres and halls
• Sports facilities, local pool or other publicly owned health and fitness facility upgrades
• Main street or town centre beautification projects
• Civic centre or art gallery upgrades, libraries or community or cultural spaces
• Upgrades to community infrastructure that improves accessibility and inclusion
• Common infrastructure such as amenities or other improvements to public spaces
• Environmental improvement projects
• Targeted skills development programs
• Industry development or business innovation workshops
• Projects related to the development of tourism products that align with the region’s Destination Management Plan including the development of new or enhanced tourism experiences and digital product development
• Larger scale sporting festivals, arts, culture or cultural heritage projects that are accessible and inclusive and support community involvement
• Promotion of local culture or history or land care projects
• Community programs that support or encourage mining workers or their families to relocate to the region or support wellbeing outcomes for residents of mining communities
• Aboriginal tourism or cultural heritage projects
• Inclusiveness training for mainstream services to enable community participation
• Community events to enable community networking and relationship building
• Business case development, feasibility studies or master planning to inform future investments.

Ineligible project types include those that: 

• are not in an eligible location or do not provide direct benefit to an eligible Local Government Area
• are for the day-to-day delivery of essential or core council services
• are for a privately-owned asset or are on private land unless there is a clear public benefit, and the landowner has provided documented consent
• have exclusive private benefits or provide direct commercial and/or exclusive private benefit to an individual or business 
• are for marketing, advertising or product promotion
• are the recipient of duplicate grant funding from another NSW or Australian Government grant program for the same project, including the Regional NSW – Business Case and Strategy Development Fund.

Ineligible project costs include:

• costs related to buying or upgrading non–fixed equipment or supplies, unless considered essential to program delivery and are incidental costs to the overall project budget
• financing, including debt financing, insurance or rental costs 
• purchase of land, buildings and vehicles such as cars, trucks, vans, motorhomes and boats
• costs relating to depreciation of plant and equipment beyond the life of the project
• non-project related staff training and development costs
• operational expenditure, including but not limited to regular repairs and maintenance
• ongoing or recurrent funding that is required beyond the stated timeframe of the project
• for infrastructure projects, funding for any ongoing staff or operational costs 
• for community programs, funding for ongoing staff or operational costs beyond the scope and timeframe of the funded project 
• retrospective funding to cover any project component that is already complete before funding is announced
• costs related to accommodation services, such as tourist parks unless for a common infrastructure such amenities or improvements to public spaces.
• project management and administration costs that exceed 10 per cent of the total project cost
• project contingency costs that exceed 25 per cent of the total project cost

All costs will be assessed by the Department of Regional NSW against program criteria with a focus on how the project delivers benefits linked to the key objectives of the Resources for Regions program.