The Regional Growth - Environment and Tourism Fund supports projects that enhance local tourism. These projects focus on iconic tourism activation, nature-based tourism, Indigenous cultural tourism and tourism in Far West NSW.
Key information
- Status: Not open for application
- Grant amount: The NSW Government has invested $300 million through the Regional Growth - Environment and Tourism Fund.
Program objective
To increase tourist visitation by investing in regional environment and tourism infrastructure, particularly focusing on assets that will grow and diversify NSW regional economies.
The Regional Growth - Environment and Tourism Fund is now fully committed with 70 projects funded across the entire program since its inception.
This program is funded and administered by Department of Regional NSW.
Program evaluation
Round 1 - Regional Growth Environment and Tourism Fund Round One Process Evaluation
Round 2 - Regional Growth Environment and Tourism Fund Round Two Process Evaluation
Regional Aboriginal Programs Meso Process Evaluation
This Meso Process Evaluation evaluated the design, funding approach and administrative processes of five programs with a focus on improving outcomes for Aboriginal community members living in regional NSW. The purpose of the evaluation was to understand how DPIRD can best approach the design and delivery of funding programs to achieve positive outcomes for Aboriginal people living in regional NSW. The combined suite of programs represents an investment of $75 million across the following programs:
- Regional Growth – Environment and Tourism Fund (RGETF), Round 2, Stream 4: Indigenous Projects
- Business Case and Strategy Development Fund (BCSDF), Stream 2: Aboriginal Prosperity
- Community Local Infrastructure Recovery Program (CLIRP) 2022, Aboriginal Owned Assets Program (AoAP)
- Infrastructure Package for COVID-19 Impacted Aboriginal Communities in Far West NSW (IPCIC)
- Speaking in Colour (SiC) program and funding model 2023.
A culturally safe and inclusive approach was taken to this evaluation, including engagement of an independent Aboriginal consultant to conduct on-Country yarning with Aboriginal stakeholders. Where programs were designed with a focus on self-determination enabled through culturally safe and inclusive engagement, an increased alignment was identified between program/project objectives and the priorities of Aboriginal communities. Application timeframes and processes were found to have impacted the accessibility of some funding programs. Where funding provisions were made for application writing and project management support, this effectively supported grantees to navigate these processes to access the funding opportunity.
The evaluation identified the importance of a contextualised, strengths-based approach to ensure program design and delivery are aligned with the needs, aspirations and available resources of Aboriginal communities. Eight key recommendations were identified, including the need for program design and delivery to be underpinned by the principles of self-determination, equity, flexibility, transparency and collaboration. The report contains 25 operational recommendations grouped under program design and delivery domains including guidance for culturally safe and inclusive program administration. Stakeholders highlighted the critical importance of showcasing the achievements and strengths of Aboriginal communities, including projects enabled through the funding programs.
Date of publication: October 2025
Regional NSW Tourism Grant Programs: Process Evaluations Report
The report looks at 3 tourism funding programs run by the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development.
These programs were designed to improve tourism facilities, help local economies grow and support communities to recover through tourism and events.
Programs included:
• Regional Growth – Environment and Tourism Fund (RGETF)
• Regional Events Acceleration Fund (REAF)
• Regional Tourism Activation Fund (RTAF).
Together, they supported 261 funded projects across regional NSW, with more than $431 million in grant funding provided.
The findings show that the programs were aligned to government priorities and met the needs of regional communities. A valuable improvement was the inclusion of the accessibility requirements and universal design principles, which made the programs more inclusive.
Overall, the department managed the programs well and delivered them effectively. The report highlights recommendations where administration could be improved, giving opportunities to make future programs even stronger.
Regional NSW Tourism Grant Programs: a Synthesis of Process Evaluation Findings (PDF 8.57MB)
Date of publication: December 2025
Support and contact
Email: contact@regional.nsw.gov.au