The Victorian Government is making $30 million available in grants for country Victorian businesses as part of its updated Regional Jobs and Infrastructure Fund.
Victorian Minister for Regional Development, Jaclyn Symes, released updated guidelines for Fund, the Victorian Government’s flagship fund for regional development.
The Regional Infrastructure Fund will move to a competitive round-based process, to ensure the best projects receive support – with grants of up to $500,000 available to councils and council-sponsored projects.
More generous funding ratios will make it easier for smaller councils and local community organisations to access funding, so their lower rate bases don’t preclude them from delivering projects for their communities.
“We’ll target investments in high-value and growing sectors like agriculture, renewable energy, advanced manufacturing and technology to create new jobs that will be here for the long-term,” Ms Symes said.
Applications will open on 6 November 2019 and close on 18 December 2019.
By helping businesses create more jobs in regional Victoria, supporting community projects and assisting councils to build the infrastructure locals need, the Fund aims to make Victoria’s regional cities and country towns better places to live, work, invest and visit.
The Regional Jobs Fund remains unchanged, which means it is open for applications year-round to support businesses to create or keep jobs in regional Victoria alongside initiatives like the regional payroll tax reduction and free TAFE.
Investments will target high potential, high value sectors to drive regional Victoria’s jobs growth – including food and fibre, advanced manufacturing, professional services, new energy, medical technology, biological sciences and healthcare, transport, defence and construction technology, and international education.
Grants of up to $50,000 are also available throughout this financial year via the Stronger Regional Communities Program to support rural and regional towns to attract families and young people to regional Victoria.
The Regional Jobs and Infrastructure Fund is part of the Government’s record $2.6 billion Delivering for Regional and Rural Victoria Program unveiled in the Victorian Budget 2019/20.
The investment is delivering quality education, health, transport and record jobs. Victoria’s regional unemployment rate is 3.7 per cent, the lowest in the country, compared with 6.6 per cent under the former Coalition government.
Information and guidelines for the Regional Jobs and Infrastructure Fund are available at www.rdv.vic.gov.au.
