Community Assets Program Frequently Asked Questions

Here are the frequently asked questions for the Community Assets Program.

What is the Community Assets Program?

The $70 million Community Assets Program is one of several programs under the Australian and NSW Governments' $207 million 2022 Community Local Infrastructure Recovery Package.

The Community Assets Program will provide funding to eligible local councils for the repair, restoration and betterment of community infrastructure that was damaged by the February and June 2022 floods.

How much funding is available through the Community Asset Program?

$70 million is available through the Community Assets Program.

The amount of funding available for each eligible council varies based on the level of damage to community infrastructure incurred from the 2022 floods.

Which local government areas are eligible for funding under the Community Assets Program?

The program is open to all 75 NSW disaster-declared local government areas (LGAs) from the February and June 2022 floods. The majority of the funding will be targeted to the 19 most impacted LGAs (in alphabetical order):

Ballina	Kyogle
Bellingen	Lismore
Byron	Muswellbrook
Camden	Nambucca
Central Coast	Narromine
Cessnock	Richmond Valley
Clarence Valley	Singleton
Glen Innes Severn	Tenterfield
Hawkesbury	Tweed
Kempsey

All LGAs that were disaster declared under AGRN 1012 and/or AGRN 1025 in 2022 may be considered for funding if they can demonstrate need and support for a project in their community with robust alignment to the program criteria.

How did the Department of Regional NSW identify the targeted local government areas?

The Department conducted analysis to better understand and document the estimated level of direct damage caused to community infrastructure by the floods in February and June 2022.

Consideration was given to multiple data sources and recovery domains, including structural damage statistics and social needs indicators such as the Australia Bureau of Statistics Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA), capturing infrastructure damage and damage to social wellbeing and cohesion.

The 19 targeted councils represent the local government areas in NSW that experienced the most significant damage to local community infrastructure.

What types of infrastructure projects would be considered eligible under the Community Assets Program?

Examples of eligible projects include:

recreational and services buildings including libraries, youth and senior citizen facilities and tourism facilities
parks and playgrounds including equipment, furniture, fencing, shades, facilities and amenities
holiday and caravan park facilities, boardwalks, footpaths, walking trails, community club structures including surf lifesaving
amenities and community/service buildings that complement and support multiple social and recreation facilities
cultural heritage and identity of place assets
wharves, jetties and boat ramps
pedestrian-only bridges, car parks, electric vehicle charging stations, retaining walls, landscaping, river/creek banks and signage in public spaces.

How will the Community Assets Program be assessed?

Applications will be assessed in line with the Community Assets Program Guidelines (PDF 2.85MB).

Is the repair and rebuild of public housing eligible under the Community Assets Program?

Public housing is defined as an essential public asset under the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements. Essential public assets are not eligible for Community Assets Program funding.

Can riverbank or creek erosion and sedimentation projects be included if they enable resilience and restoration of community infrastructure?

In some instances, it may be necessary to repair riverbank erosion to secure the future of community infrastructure adjacent to a riverbank. Where the purpose of the riverbank restoration is to enable the protection, repair or betterment of community infrastructure it could be considered an eligible Community Assets Program project.

If the primary purpose of the project is for erosion and sediment management projects including coastal and riverbank areas, it is ineligible and there may be other funding programs more suitable.

I am not in a targeted local government area. Can I still apply for the Community Assets Program?

Yes. All LGAs that were disaster declared under AGRN 1012 and/or AGRN 1025 in 2022 may be considered for funding if they can demonstrate need and support for a project in their community with robust alignment to the program criteria.

It is recommended that councils in non-targeted LGAs contact the Department at floods.recovery@regional.nsw.gov.au to discuss their project prior to applying for funding.

I am not in a targeted local government area for the Community Assets Program. What other funding is available?

The 2022 Community Local Infrastructure Recovery Program offers specific funding for the repair, restoration and betterment of community, arts and culture, sports and Aboriginal owned or managed infrastructure assets.

Additional funding programs covering these elements are being delivered by Create NSW, the Office of Sport and Aboriginal Affairs respectively.

The Department will work with eligible councils to support project identification and provide application support and technical guidance on the appropriate funding stream.

Refer to the NSW Grants and Funding Portal for other recovery funding programs.

When will the Community Assets Program open and what are the key dates?

Applications for the Community Assets Program will open from Friday 20 January 2023 and close 2pm AEDT Monday 27 March 2023 via SmartyGrants.

Successful projects will be announced from 30 June 2023.