More time to apply for bushfire grants

The Australian Government is extending the closing date for the $280 million Black Summer Bushfire Recovery (BSBR) Grants program to 6 October 2021, giving the Blue Mountains and Hawkesbury communities more time to apply.

Minister for Emergency Management and National Recovery and Resilience Senator the Hon Bridget McKenzie said extending the application period by an extra month will enable communities impacted by the 2019‑20 Black Summer bushfires to recover and rebuild. 

“We have listened to extensive feedback from the impacted communities, and are providing them with this extension to put forward their best ideas and projects that will meet local needs,” Minister McKenzie said. 

“We’re pleased to have committed $2.8 billion of Commonwealth support towards the recovery from the devastating 2019‑20 Black Summer bushfires, with $2.4 billion already spent to get people back on their feet.”

Liberal Senator for Western Sydney, Senator the Hon Marise Payne, again encouraged the Blue Mountains and Hawkesbury communities to consider making a grant application.

“Building on the foundations of the Bushfire Local Economic Recovery Fund, this grants program is yet another valuable opportunity for our community to identify and invest in further priority recovery and resilience projects,” Senator Payne said.

“As promised, our government is continuing to work alongside the community on the road to recovery.”

Coordinator-General for the National Recovery and Resilience Agency the Hon Shane L Stone AC QC said the new closing date buys people much-needed time. 

“Many Australians are facing a major disruption to their lives due to COVID-19 and a lot of the communities impacted by the Black Summer Bushfires are now in lockdown. It’s understandable that filling out a grant application may not have been someone’s highest priority.

“It made sense to shift the closing date to give them a bit more time. We want people to have the time to think of projects that will bring the greatest benefit to their communities, and to get as much information and support as they can before pulling their applications together,” Mr Stone said.

The NRRA is continuing to support people in a range of ways to prepare their applications, for example online workshops are still available, as well as short videos and answers to Frequently Asked Questions on the NRRA website.

To date, the Blue Mountains has received over $42 million in direct economic and financial support for bushfire recovery. This has included:

• • 1,271 businesses having received the $10,000 Small Business Grants, representing over $12 million;
• • 9,053 individuals have received Disaster Recovery Payments, representing over $10 million;
• • 38 properties have been cleared to a cost of over $2.7 million; 
• • Project funding through the Regional Tourism Bushfire Recovery Grants program;
• • Blue Mountains City Council received an emergency standalone payment of $1.3 million to repair damaged infrastructure and boost community resilience; 
• • Over $12 million for 11 community-led projects under stage 2 of the Bushfire Local Economic Recovery Fund; and
• • A multi-million dollar investment in several expert-led environmental projects to repair habitat and wildlife, boost resilience and address the impact of climate change. 

Black Summer Bushfire Recovery grants are available in every Local Government Area that was disaster declared as a result of the 2019–20 Black Summer bushfires.

For more information on the assistance that is available, including workshops, visit: www.recovery.gov.au/black-summer-grants

To start your application visit: https://business.gov.au/bsbr