LOCAL communities are being prioritised for Federal disaster resilience funding under a new program which opened last Friday.

Under the Preparing Australian Communities Program – Local stream, communities across the following local government areas are being prioritised for assistance:

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● Bushfire risk LGAs: Port Macquarie-Hastings LGA and Port Stephens LGA
● Flood risk LGAs: MidCoast LGA and Port Macquarie-Hastings LGA

Guidelines for the program are available online www.business.gov.au/grants-and-programs/preparing-australian-communities-local-stream.

Federal Member for Lyne Dr David Gillespie said it was a brand-new funding stream prioritising communities at greater risk of floods, bushfires and cyclones.

“Grants from $20,000 to $10-million will be available for eligible projects,” Dr Gillespie said.

“This is another significant financial opportunity for our region and I would strongly encourage local businesses, community organisations, indigenous organisations, councils and Regional Development Australia committees to take a look at the guidelines and apply.”

Applications are open from Friday 10 December to Thursday 6 January 2022.

Eligible activities may be related to planning for, or raising awareness about disaster risk and mitigation, or they may be improving infrastructure projects such as new or relocated assets or infrastructure to mitigate disaster risk, including but not limited to levees, sluice gates, retarding basins, bridges or community refuges; upgrading existing public hazard defence infrastructure, or refurbishing a community building to serve multiple purposes.

In May 2021, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the $600 million Preparing Australian Communities Program in response to the recommendations of the Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements, to bring a greater focus to disaster risk reduction.

Further information about the Preparing Australian Communities Program is available at recovery.gov.au/preparing-australia-program.