Building our Regions funding is available to local governments located in regional Queensland. This includes areas of the state outside of South East Queensland, as well as the Toowoomba urban area and the local governments of Lockyer Valley, Scenic Rim and Somerset.
Eligible applicants have been allocated to one of the three funds and are only eligible to apply under that fund. The three funds managed by the department are:
- Regional Capital Fund
- Royalties for Resource Producing Communities Fund
- Remote and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities Fund.
Funding limits and co-contributions
Eligible applicants need to ensure that funding being sought for projects falls within the following funding limits. While co-contributions are voluntary, they are encouraged from applicant local governments and other contributors, which may include collaborating local governments, industry, the Queensland Government, the Australian Government and others (e.g. community groups).
| Fund | Project type | Funding limit | Co-contributions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regional Capital Fund ($34 million available) |
Construction | $250,000 to $7 million | Voluntary contributions are encouraged and are viewed favourably during assessment |
| Planning | $300,000 (limit one project) | ||
| Royalties for Resource Producing Communities Fund ($26 million available) |
Construction | $250,000 to $7 million | Voluntary contributions are encouraged and are viewed favourably during assessment |
| Planning | $300,000 (limit one project) | ||
| Remote and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities Fund ($10 million available) |
Construction | $50,000 to $1 million | Voluntary contributions are encouraged and are viewed favourably during assessment |
| Planning | $300,000 (limit one project) |
Construction timeframes
| Round | Commence by |
|---|---|
| 1 | 30 September 2016 |
| 2 | 30 June 2017 |
| Supplementary | 28 February 2018 |
| 3 | 30 April 2018 |
| 4 | 31 July 2019 |
| 5 | 30 April 2020 |
Building our Regions–funded projects do not have a mandated completion date. If a project is successful, a completion date will be negotiated between the department and the local government and included in the funding agreement.
Funds
Local government eligibility has been predominantly determined on geographical grounds using the Australian Bureau of Statistics' (ABS) Remoteness Structure, which divides each state and territory into several regional categories, providing a measure of remoteness for each local government area.
View the current fund areas (
2.3 MB) for the Building our Regions program.
Assessment of applications
All applications are assessed by the department with input from other relevant Queensland Government agencies. Assessments are made against published criteria outlined in the program guidelines.
An advisory committee of senior representatives from agencies reviews the assessment outcomes and makes recommendations to the Minister for State Development, Manufacturing, Infrastructure and Planning for approval.