The ‘Supporting Local Government’ 2026-27 factsheet says; ‘The Albanese Labor Government recognises the essential role local government plays in delivering services to all Australians and is delivering record funding to strengthen their capacity. Through this Budget the Australian Government is providing support to local governments through funding for roads, housing and community infrastructure.’
0 Comments
Both Urban and Regional Precincts Partnership Programs have been paused without notice for new applications so the batch assessment process can be undertaken. This change is effective from midday AEST Friday September 5 2025. Applications will be assessed in two batches.
The Government remains firm that this is a pause only, the funding has not been closed. An extract from their Regional Precincts and Partnerships Program email is below. Exciting news, guidelines have been released for round two of the Growing Regions Program. Applications open on 5th September and close on 10th October.
Many things different to round one. Expression of interests have gone, there is $400 million available instead of $200 million, the type of eligible projects has been refined, the merit criteria have changed, and probity is now a core part of the assessment process. On 25 June 2024 we obtained the final numbers for Growing Regions round 1. There were 650 EOI applications requesting $2.7 billion, 311 got through to full application requesting $1.4 billion and 40 were successful made up of 31 council and 9 community groups receiving funding of $207 million.
Just 6% of applications were successful. On 16 May 2024, the Hon Catherine King MP, Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government announced funding for 40 projects under Round 1 of the Growing Regions Program.
Minister King’s media release can be found at Investing in Communities in Regional Australia. The successful projects that have been offered funding under Round 1 are provided at Growing Regions Program – Round 1 successful projects. The Commonwealth Department of Social Services is offering up to half of the cost to build Changing Places facilities in Local Government Areas (LGAs) across Australia. Changing Places are accessible toilets with extra features and more space to meet the needs of people with disability and their carers.
As at 1 February 2024, the Department of Social Services has increased the funding offer to provide:
Further information can be found at Changing Places | Department of Social Services, Australian Government (dss.gov.au). |
Section51 GRANT Blog
CategoriesArchives
May 2026
|