The Regional and Local Newspaper Publishers (RLNP) program aims to help print publishers absorb newsprint price increases which threaten the sustainability of local newspapers by providing financial assistance.
On 28 September 2022, the Minister for Communications, Michelle Rowland announced that 208 regional, independent suburban, First Nations and multicultural print publishers would receive a share of the $15 million in available funding. Two regional publishers subsequently withdrew from the program, leaving 206 funding recipients:
- 131 applicants have received funding under stream 1 (regional publishers)
- 48 applicants have received funding under stream 2a (independent, suburban publishers)
- 27 applicants have received funding under stream 2b (multicultural publishers)
- 3 applicants have received funding under stream 2c (First Nations publishers)
- 3 applicants have received funding under both streams 1 and 2a.
To view the details of successful grantees, visit the GrantConnect website.
Publications can use grant funding to cover:
- printing costs during the grant period
- purchase or lease of assets and equipment, including paper, and equipment directly related to printing
- the costs of acquiring technology to assist with printing
- other costs that directly support the printing of core news content.
This was a demand-driven program, with all eligible applicants receiving a grant based on their proportion of print costs. There was no maximum grant amount per grantee but total grants could not exceed the amount of available funds.
RLNP is part of a $29 million local news and community broadcasting transition package to help regional, local and community media providers.