For many, the not surprising news turned up by email on Monday, 24 October which said ‘After careful consideration, the Government has decided the Building Better Regions Fund (BBRF) will be discontinued and no further funding will be available’, according to Section51.
‘Existing BBRF projects funded in Rounds one to five will continue in line with the terms of the grant agreement and grant opportunity guidelines.’
“If anyone needed a sign that grants under an Albanese Government are going to be different, this is it,” a Section51 spokesperson said.
“Not just applying but reporting. State Governments have changed too with the justifiable attention on grants, fairness and equity.
“The hints on what the future of grants in the Australian Government can be seen with the many potential grant programs for local government scattered though the Australian Government budget delivered on 25 October 2022.
“This includes the announcement of the Growing Regions Program which replaces the Building Better Regions Fund.
“The Growing Regions Program will provide access to funding for capital works for community and economic infrastructure across our rural and regional areas.
“It will be open and competitive with grants awarded on a merit basis.
“A guide to what merit may mean comes from the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit Inquiry on Commonwealth grants administration with a view to strengthening the integrity and administration of grants.
“The administration of government grants is being examined, seeking to understand and learn lessons from the administration of previous grants programs and strengthen how Commonwealth grants are delivered to ensure that future grants programs are administered consistent with the intent of the Commonwealth Grant Rules and guidelines, and in line with community expectations.”
The key message is that as the Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on the 16 October 2022 there is going to be a ‘new approach to infrastructure grants to go through local government’.
Grants, and your applications, are going to be different, very different.
Section51 writes grant applications for local government across Australia and provide training on the grants process. We also take care of reporting, funding deeds and detangling any reporting issues.
Why Section51
The Section51 team has worked inside State and Australian Governments designing and assessing grant programs. We designed the predecessor to what is now Building Better Regions Fund. We know how grants really work, and what funding providers really want to see in applications.
Section51 grants workshops commence December 2022 through to February 2023 right across Australia.
Dates and locations are available through Section51 website at section51.com.au
Or for further information, email: admin@section51.com.au
