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Grant guidelines now available for Round 1 of the Growing Regions Program

Eligible applicants can now review the grant guidelines for Round 1 of the Australian Government’s new $600 million Growing Regions Program, with applications to open shortly.

The program will invest in infrastructure and community projects across regional Australia through two $300 million funding rounds – driving economic growth, enhancing liveability, bolstering social inclusion and supporting local amenity.

Local government entities and not-for-profit organisations will be able to apply for grants of between $500,000 and $15 million through the program, which will be open, competitive and merit-based.

The grants can be used to cover up to 50 per cent of eligible project costs, with lower co-funding requirements in place to further support First Nations, disaster-affected and remote applicants to bring their projects to life.

The first stage of the Round 1 application process will be an Expressions of Interest (EOI), which is expected to open shortly. Successful EOIs will then progress to the full application stage.

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