QLD Reef Coastal Restoration Program

What is eligible for funding?

To be eligible your project must: 

• assist in achieving the goals and aims of both the Reef 2050 Plan and the Reef Trust Outcomes 1, 2, and/or 3.
• be aimed at the program objectives
• deliver immediate, tangible and reportable benefits, outcomes and enhancements for the coastal environment of the Reef.

Eligible activities can include but are not limited to:

• restoration of hydrological regimes in Reef costal habitats/ecosystems.
• initiating projects and/or managing multiple projects aimed at rehabilitating and/or restoring various interconnected coastal habitats and ecosystems within the Reef. This approach is designed to optimise rehabilitation and restoration outcomes by leveraging ecological facilitation.
• activities that build on small scale pilot projects that have previously demonstrated the successful testing of site-specific restoration techniques.

Eligible projects may be an extension of, or build on, an existing project however you must clearly demonstrate the project is additional to any existing projects or grant activities.

We may also grant approval for additional activities where you can demonstrate that restoration or rehabilitation actions can produce immediate, tangible benefits to the Reef coastal environment.

Your project can encompass various activities across multiple locations within the Great Barrier Reef Coast Marine Park, the Great Barrier Reef Natural Resource Management regions, or specific habitats/ecosystems within the Great Barrier Reef Catchments that directly impact the Great Barrier Reef Coast Marine Park and the broader Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.

Grant funding can only be spent on eligible expenses incurred on the agreed project, as specified in your grant agreement.

Eligible expenditure items include the following, where they are directly related to the project: 

• the contractor’s costs for delivering eligible project activities. All contractors must have a written contract prior to starting any project work. Invoices from contractors must include a comprehensive description and breakdown of the work including the number of hours and hourly rates
• labour and on-costs for personnel directly employed in delivering the project activities (this should be calculated on a pro-rata basis according to their time commitment). This excludes project management or project coordination such costs are covered under administrative support below 
• costs associated with monitoring and reporting activities are limited to a maximum of 5% of total eligible expenditure.
• costs associated with administrative support activities up to a maximum of 10 per cent of total eligible expenditure incurred through the delivery of eligible project activities 
• costs associated with purchase, lease or hire of equipment where needed to undertake eligible activities
• the cost of an independent audit of project expenditure up to a maximum of 1 per cent of total eligible project expenditure.
• staff training that directly supports the achievement of project outcomes 
• domestic travel limited to the reasonable cost of accommodation and transportation required to conduct agreed project activities in Australia 

If your application is approved, we may request confirmation of the project expenses you’ve detailed in your submission, which might entail supplying supporting documentation like estimates for significant expenses.

To be eligible, expenditure must: 

• be a direct cost of the project
• be incurred by you for required project audit activities. 

You must incur the project expenditure between the project start and end date for it to be eligible unless stated otherwise.

You have the option to initiate your project upon receiving notification of your successful application. However, any expenses incurred prior to the execution of a grant agreement are your responsibility. The Commonwealth should not be regarded as liable for, nor held responsible for, any activities carried out before the grant agreement is formalised.