NSW Sustainable Communities Program

This program provides community assistance to help reduce the social and economic impacts of water recovery measures on NSW communities under the Murray-Darling Basin Plan.

an aerial photo of a country town (Griffith in NSW). Buildings are laid out in a circle and there are roads and trees around the buildings. The sky is blue and has lots of wispy white clouds
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The NSW Sustainable Communities Program (NSW SCP) will provide $160 million to projects and initiatives that support and create jobs, establish industry, and support existing industry to innovate and stimulate economic development.

The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (the department) is delivering the Sustainable Communities Program in NSW.

The department is taking a three-stage approach to delivery of this program:

  • Early investment: targeted support for communities exposed and highly vulnerable to the effects of early rounds of water purchasing by the Australian Government. The Early Investment Round is now open.
  • Consultation: place-based consultation with exposed Basin communities to understand their priorities and the necessary investments needed to support these communities
  • Substantive investment: delivery of multiple streams of support for Basin communities to mitigate adverse socio-economic impacts from water recovery measures. This support will be informed by place-based consultation, available evidence, and aligned with the community adjustment assistance principles set out in the Australian Government’s Restoring Our Rivers Framework.

Next steps

The Federation Funding Agreement (FFA) to deliver the Sustainable Communities Program in NSW has been signed by the Australian and NSW governments and the department is now undertaking initial steps to implement the first delivery stage of the NSW Sustainable Communities Program.

Initial implementation activities will focus on supporting communities that are highly exposed and vulnerable relating to the first round of water purchasing activity by the Australian Government.

The NSW Government has commenced place-based consultation within the southern Basin communities. The consultation will seek to understand communities’ priorities and the investments needed to strengthen southern Basin economies exposed and vulnerable to water recovery measures.

Further updates on the NSW Sustainable Communities Program will be provided as delivery of the program progresses.

Background

In August 2023, Basin governments agreed to implement the Murray-Darling Basin Plan. As part of that Basin Plan, the Australian Government reaffirmed its commitment to recover the 450 GL of additional environmental water for the Basin.

The Restoring Our Rivers Framework sets out the Australian Government's approach for achieving the 450 GL water recovery target, which includes water purchasing (buybacks) as one of the measures to achieve the target.

The NSW Government has advocated for and secured more time and flexibility for projects that deliver on Basin Plan commitments without buybacks (see the NSW Alternatives to Buybacks Plan), along with advocating for funding from the Australian Government to support affected communities and industries.

The Australian Government has announced the $300 million Sustainable Communities Program which provides Basin states with community adjustment assistance to mitigate the socio-economic impacts from water recovery measures, including buybacks. The program will be delivered over four years by Basin states. 

More information

Consultation with communities

The Australian Government has made available $160 million for NSW Basin communities (of the $300 million available to all Basin states), to minimise the socio-economic impacts of water recovery for the 450 GL target of additional environmental water under the Murray-Darling Basin Plan (Basin Plan). The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (the department) is leading consultation with New South Wales (NSW).

Place-based consultation with exposed Basin communities is a key stage in the design and delivery of the $160 million NSW Sustainable Communities Program. Basin communities understand their communities’ needs and will play an important role in the NSW SCP to ensure funding is targeted towards sustaining these communities into the future.

This consultation will complement other available evidence to further develop the NSW SCP so that funding is targeted where it is most needed. Other evidence being used to design the NSW SCP includes:

  • community adjustment assistance principles set out in the Australian Government’s Restoring Our Rivers Framework
  • information and advice on anticipated water recovery impacts
  • regional and local economic development strategies and plans
  • complementary regional development programs and initiatives
  • lessons learnt from previous community adjustment assistance programs

The department will seek input from local communities to better understand their priorities and the types of investments needed to support these communities to:

  • help regional communities diversify and build resilience
  • support communities to build capacity for a different future
  • respond to local challenges, opportunities and priorities
  • proactively manage the longer-term socio-economic impacts of water recovery.

What we are consulting on

The NSW SCP is informed by evidence-based design. Place-based consultation will complement the existing evidence base and provide valuable insights to assist in the design and delivery of the NSW SCP.

This includes local priorities, scope of funding and investment themes.

The objectives of this consultation are to:

  • hear directly from stakeholders on what is needed to assist communities in adjusting to and mitigating adverse socio-economic impacts of water recovery measures aligned to regional strategies and plans
  • gain local insights into potential impacts, vulnerabilities, challenges and opportunities
  • identify examples of place-based investment priorities to inform the NSW SCP design and development
  • raise awareness and create support for the NSW SCP
  • engage with communities to support the design and delivery of the program.

Information gathered from consultation will not be used to measure the impact of water recovery measures nor to provide opportunities to change Australian or NSW Government water policy. Instead, the consultation is focused on how to best invest the available funds into exposed and vulnerable communities.

Who we will consult

The department will consult widely, including with the following key stakeholders:

  • Council (local government) / Joint Organisations
  • key regional leaders
  • members of the public within a local community
  • local businesses and independent farmers including those directly impacted by water recovery measures
  • other business owners who may be indirectly impacted by water recovery measures (e.g. retail, hospitality, real estate and emerging businesses)
  • community groups and organisations
  • Aboriginal Land Councils, communities and organisations
  • local/regional bodies of state/national peak body groups
  • industry representatives

Place-based Aboriginal engagement will be delivered in conjunction with our department’s Aboriginal Partnership Managers.

How we will consult and share information

  • Targeted engagement:
    • place-based, integrated workshops: bringing together key representatives from business, industry, local government and community to understand and identify investment priorities
    • stakeholder group engagement: hear from specific stakeholder groups on potential impacts, vulnerabilities, challenges and opportunities
  • An overview webinar for the NSW Sustainable Communities Program
  • ‘Have Your Say’ process to gather information on local challenges, local opportunities and investment priorities. This process will commence shortly so that NSW Basin stakeholders can share their thoughts and insights on what is needed to minimise the socio-economic impacts of water recovery in their communities

How feedback will be used

The information gathered during consultation with exposed communities will be collated and analysed. Insights will be used to inform the design of the substantive round of the NSW SCP. A summary of feedback will be released as a ‘What we heard’ summary and will be available on the NSW SCP website at the conclusion of consultation activities.

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