Strengthening community engagement and wellbeing in our regions

Dept of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications

The Albanese Labor Government continues to invest in regional, rural and remote communities to make them more resilient, sustainable and liveable.

In partnership with the Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal (FRRR), 43 locally-led groups across the country will share in over $330,000 to support their recovery from the impacts of COVID-19.

Funded under the FRRR’s Strengthening Rural Communities (SRC) program, grants of up to $10,000 will support projects that encourage enhanced community engagement, including:

  • In Bellingen, New South Wales, where $10,000 has been awarded to the local youth orchestra to rebuild connections, reduce social isolation and foster a stronger, more resilient community by purchasing musical instruments and making them available to disadvantaged young people – supporting musical development in areas affected by COVID-19.
  • In Warrnambool, Victoria, where $5,000 has been awarded to the community hospice to sustain the work of volunteers after COVID-19 by developing a volunteer education and engagement program.
  • In Cloncurry, Queensland, where over $9,000 has been awarded to MultiSkill Centre Ltd to provide mental health training to staff to enable them to better support disengaged young people to access services after COVID-19.

The funding is part of the Albanese Government’s $5 million investment from 2022 to 2024 in the FRRR’s SRC Rebuilding Regional Communities stream.

/Public Release. View in full here.