The Australian Government has allocated almost $1 billion to the Regional Development Australia Fund (some of which is subject to the passage of the Minerals Resource Rent Tax).
The RDAF is administered by the Department of Regional Australia, Regional Development and Local Government (the Department).
On 3 November 2011, Minister for Regional Australia, Regional Development and Local Government, the Hon Simon Crean MP, launched Round Two of the RDAF and provided a further $200 million to support priority projects in regional Australia.
Key changes
- A two-stage application and assessment process, including a short paper-based Expression of Interest (EOI);
- A stronger role for Regional Development Australia (RDA) committees;
- Applicants can submit one EOI and application for a single project;
- Maximum grant of $15 million;
- Preference for applications that demonstrate partnership funding of 1:1 for grant requests of $5 million and less, and 1:2 for grant requests of more than $5 million;
- At least 50 per cent of partnership funding must be cash;
- Not-for-profit organisations must have a minimum annual income of $1.5 million;
- Projects located in capital cities must demonstrate how the proposed project will benefit the broader region, or other parts of regional Australia; and
- Provision of guidance on content of mandatory documents.
Expression of Interest
The Expression of Interest (EOI) reduces costs for applicants, and provides early certainty. It also gives local stakeholders the opportunity to participate in decision-making, and recognises that local communities are best placed to provide advice on local needs and priorities.
The Expression of Interest (EOI) reduces costs for applicants, and provides early certainty. It also gives local stakeholders the opportunity to participate in decision-making, and recognises that local communities are best placed to provide advice on local needs and priorities.
Regional Development Australia committees will consider all EOIs from their region and select three viable priority projects to proceed to full application and assessment.The EOI lodgement form - [
PDF: 157 KB].
The EOI lodgement form - [DOC: 138 KB]
Documents
Round Two Timeline
| Milestone |
Anticipated Dates |
| RDA Regional Plans finalised |
Monday 31 October 2011 |
| RDAF Round Two announced |
Thursday 3 November 2011 |
| RDAF Round Two Guidelines published |
Thursday 3 November 2011 |
| Expressions of Interest open |
Thursday 3 November 2011 |
| Expressions of Interest close |
Thursday 1 December 2011 |
| RDA committee decisions on Expressions of Interest |
Wednesday 21 December 2011 |
| Notification of outcomes of the Expression of Interest process by the Department |
Wednesday 11 January 2012 |
| Full applications for Round Two close |
Wednesday 15 February 2012 |
| Minister announces successful projects |
Commences mid to late May 2012 |
| Funding Agreements negotiated and executed |
Within 8 weeks of Minister's announcement |
