Grants in Major infrastructure & construction

The Queensland Government's $2B Residential Activation Fund aims to accelerate the delivery of critical infrastructure essential for initiating residential housing projects. This includes infrastructure such as water supply, sewerage, stormwater management, power, and transportation (e.g., roads). 50% of the funding is allocated to regional, rural, and remote local government areas outside Southeast QLD. Round 1, with $500M available, focuses on projects ready to commence promptly.

The Industrial Transformation Stream (ITS) is designed to support the decarbonisation of existing industrial facilities located in regional Australia. Through targeted funding, the program enables projects that reduce Scope 1 and/or Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions. This can be achieved through a range of approaches, including electrification, energy efficiency improvements, the integration of renewable energy technologies, fuel switching, and the development of enabling infrastructure such as energy storage and demand management systems.

The Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation has released the Local Capability Fund, which provides grants to help small and medium enterprises to enhance their competitiveness and secure work on large-scale projects in Australia and overseas. The Supplying Key Projects Round is designed to support Western Australian SMEs in enhancing their business capabilities and capacity to supply to major projects undertaken by the Federal, Western Australian and local governments, along with the private sector. The priority sectors for this funding round include energy, mining, civil construction, defence and marine.

The Urban Precincts and Partnerships Program (uPPP) was announced in the 2023-24 budget and will launch in 2024-25. The Australian Government has allocated $150 million ($120 million estimated to be available) over three years across two streams: Precinct Development and Planning, and Precinct Delivery. The program aims to develop urban precincts in capital cities, creating more liveable suburbs and improved cities to better serve local communities. The initiative supports urban growth, enhancing community resilience and complementing existing areas, activities, and transport.

The Priority Sector Collaborative Grants provide funding to Northern Territory business groups to develop common-use infrastructure, services, or data. These grants may offer up to 50% matched funding to consortia of three or more businesses to advance sector-wide initiatives that enhance local industry capability, innovation, and business development in priority sectors.

Solar Sunshot – Round 2 is part of the Australian Government’s broader $1 billion Solar Sunshot Program, delivered by ARENA. This round focuses on inputs to solar PV modules and deployment technologies, aiming to strengthen Australia’s solar manufacturing capabilities and reduce deployment costs. Its objectives include advancing and automating the production of solar module components to support local manufacturing, increasing cost competitiveness and resilience across solar module inputs and related technologies, scaling up domestic solar PV deployment, and encouraging innovative approaches to reduce the overall cost of solar PV implementation.

The programme aims to improve the quality of life in regional Australia, revitalise regions, and bring about both economic and community advantages through investing in community-focused infrastructure.

The Building Bush Tourism Fund is structured to provide financial assistance for the development of new and improved tourism-related infrastructure. It extends to improving the amenity and accessibility of social, community, and tourism infrastructure or experiences. The primary objective is to attract and increase both regional participation and visitors to the region.

The Industry Growth Program offers support to innovative small and medium enterprises (SMEs) engaged in commercialisation and/or growth projects within the priority areas of the National Reconstruction Fund (NRF). This program comprises Advisory Services and opportunities for matched grant funding. Businesses that have received Advisory Services through the program are eligible to apply for matched grant funding to enhance their projects.