VIC Recovery Measures for Fire-Affected Communities

  • $100 million support package announced to help communities and businesses across Victoria devastated by bushfires.
  • Council Support Fund: up to $750K to help restore vital community assets and services
  • Community Organisations: Up to $75K for locally led initiatives
  • Primary Producer Grants: Up to $75K to eligible primary producers
  • More grants expected to be announced

Following the January 2026 Victorian bushfires, the State and Federal Government have announced a package of grants under the Commonwealth‑State Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA) to help primary producers, local community organisations, and councils restore operations and community assets.

Primary Producer Recovery Grants provide up to $75,000 per eligible producer from an initial $40 million pool to support essential recovery activities such as disposing of livestock and rebuilding or replacing damaged on‑farm infrastructure, enabling enterprises to resume production. These grants will be delivered by Rural Finance and will open as soon as possible.

To strengthen locally led recovery, ta $15M funding Community Recovery Officers (CROs) and Recovery Hubs funding pool across bushfire‑affected areas has been established. Within this package, community organisations can apply for grants of up to $75,000 to deliver initiatives that reconnect communities, coordinate services, and address local recovery needs identified with CROs.

The Council Support Fund will deliver almost $12 million, with up to $750,000 per council (scaled to impacts) to kickstart clean‑up and repair of public assets—such as parks, footy ovals, community centres, playgrounds and sporting fields—so communities can safely reconnect.

Key Requirements

  • Restore operations and assets. Fund essential recovery activities for primary producers and councils to reinstate operations and repair public infrastructure in fire‑affected areas.
  • Enable locally led recovery. Support community organisations (via CROs/Hubs) to design and deliver grants‑funded initiatives that respond to identified local needs.
  • Reconnection of communities. Prioritise works and programs that help residents access services, information, and safe community spaces to accelerate recovery

What is eligible for funding?

  • Primary producers: Clean‑up and reinstatement activities essential to restoring operations, including disposal of livestock and rebuilding/replacing damaged on‑farm infrastructure.
  • Community organisations: Locally led recovery initiatives coordinated through Recovery Hubs/CROs to meet community‑identified needs.
  • Councils: Clean‑up and repair of public spaces (parks, footy ovals, community centres, playgrounds, sporting fields) to enable safe community reconnection

What companies are eligible for funding?

  • Primary Producers in bushfire‑affected parts of Victoria (program details and criteria TBC).
  • Local Community Organisations delivering locally led initiatives via Recovery Hubs/CROs
  • Bushfire‑affected Councils seeking support to clean up and repair public assets

Is this grant competitive or entitlement based?

Whether a grant is competitive or entitlement-based will depend on the specific grant program. Further details are expected to be released shortly.

How can I increase my chances of winning this grant? Or get help with my application?

By engaging an accredited government grants consultant, such as Avant Group.

Competitive grants often require significant business case development and project analysis to support the application, this may include detailed presentations supporting the project’s merit, projected sales, cost-benefit analysis and more.

As part of your engagement with Avant Group, your account manager will assess the required documents and will provide the following as needed to support your grant submission.

Grant application writeup including a detailed presentation illustrating how the grant funding will contribute to your project, how the funding will contribute to the project’s budget, a project milestone plan, delivery timeline, impact on employment if applicable and a breakdown of the management and leadership team for the project

  • Industry analysis presentation
  • Competitor Analysis Presentation
  • Marketing and Sales Analysis Presentation
  • 3-5 year Cashflow Forecast
  • 3-5 year Balance Sheet Forecast
  • Cost-Benefit Analysis of Grant Funding
  • End-to-end grant application including information collating, analysis and application writing
  • CAPEX (Capital Expenditure) cost-benefit analysis
  • Stakeholder relations and Risk Mitigation Plans
  • Any other relevant forecasting that will support your application

How can I get help with my application? Or know if I’m likely to win funding?

Avant Group offers a no-obligation assessment of your eligibility for funding and will assess your likelihood of a successful grant application.