Submit Applications for Living Carbon Grants Program (Australia)

Objectives

• Living Carbon grants focus on lowering barriers for landholders that prevent them from entering the carbon market. Living Carbon projects will focus on cleared land in NSW eligible for the Environmental Plantings 2024 method under the Australian Carbon Credit Unit Scheme (ACCU Scheme), spotlighting revegetation of habitat for iconic and threatened species, including koalas.
• Living Carbon grants are for landholders willing to directly participate in the ACCU Scheme and work with on-ground support partners in each eligible region to design and implement planting projects up to 200 hectares in size. Government funds will be used to de-risk abatement projects, reduce transaction costs, and provide access to advice and training through the on-ground support partners.
• In return for funding, grantees will commit to sharing information and experiences about their project. Grantees will document each stage of their project, including co-benefits, and help communicate their learnings to others who might be thinking about doing a similar project.

Priorities

• The goal of the Living Carbon grants is to build a mass of carbon projects in NSW, in line with government priorities. Investing in abatement projects will allow NSW DCCEEW to:
  • fund projects that result in carbon abatement while also assisting in habitat restoration that benefits threatened and iconic species
  • where possible, demonstrate the potential impact of biodiversity co-benefits on ACCU sale price
  • provide basic carbon management training to on-ground support partners and landowners across eligible regions in NSW that can be utilised to assist landholders beyond the lifetime of the grant project
  • provide funding to landholders who may not have the ability or resources to take part in carbon projects with large co-funding requirements, such as High Impact Partnerships
  • create demonstration sites across NSW that showcase successful implementation methods by landholders using the ACCU Scheme.

Funding Information

• A total of $5 million of funding is available under the Living Carbon grants. If you are successful, you will receive up to $200,000 (excl. GST) for your project. You are expected to provide co-funding either through direct funding or in-kind contributions. There is no minimum amount of co-funding.

Eligible Expenditure

• Soil preparation (such as through ripping or augering)
• Fencing materials and labour for standard stock fences, funded up to 50% of the total fencing costs, not exceeding 50% of your total grant request
• Direct seeding costs, seeds and direct seeding
• Tube stock
• Tree protection material such as tree guards
• Planting of tube stock, including the installation of tree protection
• ACCU Scheme and Accounting for Nature (AfN) costs, set funding amount of $5000

Target Regions 

• Two Local Land Service (LLS) regions and one Local Government Area (LGA) in NSW are currently eligible for grants under this funding round:
  • the North Coast LLS region,
  • the Riverina LLS region, and
  • the MidCoast LGA.

Eligibility Criteria

• Criterion 1:
  • You must demonstrate that you comply with all relevant insurance and financial requirements, including:
    • Public liability insurance ($10 million per claim for private landholder, $20 million for charity, business, or government entity)
    • Worker’s compensation insurance as required by all relevant laws of Australia relating to worker’s compensation
    • If a business, is not subject to any insolvency event, including the subject of an order or resolution for winding up or dissolution (other than for the purposes of reconstruction or amalgamation) or the appointment of a receiver, liquidator, administrator or similar.
    • Has requested funding from the NSW Government to a value up to $200,000 to be used only on permissible tasks as outlined in the grant guidelines
    • Whether or not you have received any other funding, whether from a private or public source, for the same project.
    • Whether or not you have received any other funding, whether from a private or public source, for the same project.
• Criterion 2:
  • You must be:
    • A private landholder who is the proponent of the registered carbon project; or
    • An Aboriginal organisation or Traditional Owner group that owns or has legal right to the land and who are the proponent of the registered carbon project.
• Criterion 3:
  • You must:
    • Confirm that your project delivered through this grant will occur only in an eligible region of NSW
    • Confirm that the total planned planting area is between 10 and 200 hectares
    • Confirm that all funded project activities will not commence until after a funding deed has been signed by all parties and will be completed within 18 months of signing
    • Confirm that you will apply the principles of Free, Prior and Informed Consent and acknowledge Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property where applicable
    • Commit to starting your project within 1 month of grant award.

For more information, visit NSW Government.