Northern Rivers Towns and Villages Resilient Business Activation Program

The Northern Rivers Towns and Villages Resilient Business Activation Program (RBAP) is part of a larger commitment to support the long-term recovery, betterment, and disaster resilience across the seven most impacted Local Government Areas (LGAs) in the Northern Rivers region of NSW. 

The RBAP is being administered by the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (the Department) on behalf of NSW Reconstruction Authority (RA).
 

Funding for the RBAP will be administered through two separate funding streams.

Eligible applicants for Stream 1 are:

• Small and Medium sized businesses (less than 199 FTE employees) who:
• hold an active ABN registered prior to 22 February 2022;
• were operating in an eligible location for at least 12 months prior to 22 February 2022;
• are physically located and operating in an eligible LGA and this is reflected as the main business location on the Australian Business Register;
• suffered significant direct damage to assets as a direct result of the disaster events;
• intend to continue or re-establish their main business operations within an eligible location; and
• can demonstrate they were financially viable prior to the disaster events.

Eligible applicants for Stream 2 are:

• local councils.

In addition, applicants from both streams must meet all of the following requirements:

• have an Australian Business Number (ABN)
• be one of the following:
• a company incorporated in Australia
• an incorporated association or co-operative
• a partnership
• a sole trader
• a local council
• a Local Aboriginal Land Council.
• not be insolvent, bankrupt or subject to ongoing legal proceedings
• be able to demonstrate that they have at least $20 million public liability insurance or be willing to secure the insurance before entering into a Funding Deed if the application is successful.

Projects that are for the repair, resilience or restoration of infrastructure assets that benefit the local community and align with one or more of the Program Objectives.

A list of project examples is available under Eligible Project Types in the Program Guidelines. 

A Regional NSW Flood Impact Analysis was undertaken following the February/March 2022 floods in NSW.  The data shows that the vast majority of commercial property damage from these floods occurred in the 7 Northern Rivers LGAs, which contain 75% of destroyed and 90% of severely damaged commercial properties. 

The program consists of a two-stage application process, comprising of an Expression of Interest (EOI) and Detailed Application.

EOIs open on Friday 6 September 2024 and close Friday 4 October 2024 at 2pm.

Successful EOI applicants will be notified and invited to submit a Detailed Application. A link to the Detailed Application will be provided to those applicants by email.

The Detailed Application period commences on Wednesday 25 October 2024 and closes Friday 29 November 2024 at 2pm.

Stream 1 applicants can apply for a minimum of $250,000 and a maximum of $2 million in funding.

Stream 2 applicants can apply for a minimum of $50,000 and a maximum of $500,000 in funding.

Applications are required to have a financial co-contribution of at least 30 per cent of the total grant amount.

Co-contributions must be cash and cannot be made in-kind, and evidence of the cash co-contributions must be provided as part of the application.

Applicants can indicate that there are extenuating circumstances preventing them from making the required co-contribution and these factors will be considered by the Assessment Panel.

Projects that maximise the co-contribution from the applicant, or other funding sources will be preferred.

Visit https://rd.smartygrants.com.au/rbap to submit an Expression of Interest application form. Please contact programdesigndelivery@regional.nsw.gov.au for more information. If business and potential applicants wish to speak with us, please call 0447 071 702.

Successful EOI applicants will be notified and invited to submit a Detailed Application. A link to the Detailed Application will be provided to those applicants via email.

See “How to Apply” in the Program Guidelines.

Stream 1 applicants can submit only one application.

Stream 2 Local council applicants can submit multiple applications but must submit only one project per application.

Projects must commence within six (6) months of the commencement date of a Funding Deed and must be completed by October 2027.

The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development will assess projects on the eligibility and merit assessment criteria outlined in the Program Guidelines.

It is unlikely that there will be future funding rounds.