Eligibility guidelines and criteria

River rehabilitation grants are targeted towards rural property owners and community groups within the Mid-Western Regional Council Local Government Area.

Projects must be located along the Cudgegong River or a named upper tributary of the Cudgegong River within the Mid-Western Region.

Landholders who are willing to provide in-kind assistance and a commitment to ongoing maintenance will be highly regarded. In-kind assistance included but is not limited to:

• Site preparation (slashing and/or ripping)
• Installation of fence to exclude stock
• Assist with planting
• Maintain the plantings with ongoing watering

Projects that might be funded include:

• Revegetation
• Cleaning up waterways
• Control of weeds and pest animals
• Exclusion fencing
• Installation of erosion control structures

Projects that will not be funded:

Funding is not available for:

• Project management, travel and administration costs
• Activities (or components of projects) that have been funded by other funding bodies
• Projects assessed as not meeting the eligibility and assessment criteria
• Any activity requiring clearing of native vegetation
• Activities that involve the use of fire-arms, traps or explosives
• Any activity required as an offset (as a condition of a permit to clear native vegetation) 

An additional site visit may be requested by Council in June/July 2022 to assess the value of a project prior to a final decision being made. 

Applications will be assessed according to how well they address the following:

• How important is the site to the health of the Cudgegong River?
• Will the project have real environmental benefits?
• Is there good value for money?
• How will the project’s benefits be maintained in the long term?
• How much in kind assistance is available?
• Are there known threatened species in the vicinity?
• What is the size of the project?

Applications will be scored by a panel from Council, Landcare and Local Land Services. 

Successful applicants will be required to enter into a funding agreement with Mid-Western Regional Council. Agreements detail the obligations to use funding, meet performance against described activities, the expected timeline for project expenditure and project reporting requirements and describe how grant recipients will be required to acknowledge the funding support from river rehabilitation grants.

All projects must be finalised by 30 April 2023.

Applicants must be prepared to work with Mid-Western Regional Council staff to refine the project to comply with best practise methods. Applicants may also be asked to host a ‘Farm Walk’ event or similar in future years to educate other landholders about rehabilitation practises.

Successful applicants must adhere to relevant Workplace Health and Safety requirements. 

All decisions are final and are not subject to further review. Applicants not granted funding can ask for feedback on their application and are invited to reapply for future funding rounds as funding becomes available.