VIC Circular Economy Recycling Modernisation Fund (Round 5) – Australia

Focus Areas

• The fund focuses on building capacity, capability, and resilience within the sector, supporting businesses in complying with national waste export regulations, improving the quality of materials for manufacturing, and creating jobs in the circular economy.

Objectives

• Projects must achieve at least one of the following objectives:
  • Increase the recovery and local reprocessing of hard-to-recycle plastics (including plastics from e-waste and soft plastics)
  • Increase the capacity for domestic reprocessing and manufacturing of hard-to-recycle plastics affected by the National regulation of waste exports
  • Improve the quality of recovered hard-to-recycle plastics to increase market uptake and/or meet market specifications
  • Increase the use and market demand of recovered hard-to-recycle plastics in remanufacturing and to make new products.

Funding Information

• Applicants must contribute at least $1 for every $1 funded. Higher investment from the Applicant will be looked upon more favourably. In-kind contributions are not permitted.

Eligible Projects

• Funding will support projects that:
  • Meet one or more of the fund’s objectives.
  • Operate at an existing facility, increasing processing capability and capacity or improving the quality of hard-to-recycle plastics to meet product specifications for products or re-manufacture.
  • Target hard-to-recycle plastics, which are plastics in waste streams characterised by:
    • Very low recovery and recycling rates due to recycling difficulties.
    • Limited infrastructure and technology solutions to support circularity in the supply chain.
  • Align with the Recycling Victoria: A New Economy policy and, for applicable materials, the Australian Government’s national regulation of waste exports.
• Project types:
  • Purchase, install, and commission new equipment or upgrades to existing equipment that meet one or more of the fund’s objectives.
• Projects must:
  • Source 50% or more of the project feedstock (materials) from Victorian sources.
  • Meet regulatory and/or planning requirements.
  • Be located in and service Victoria.
  • Enter into a funding agreement within 60 days of being notified of a successful outcome.
  • Be commissioned and operational by 30 April 2026.

Eligible Costs

• Capital purchases: Equipment only (including shipping, installation, and commissioning) that delivers on the fund’s objectives.

Eligibility Criteria

• Eligible organisations must be one of the following organisation types:
  • An Australian business.
  • A social enterprise (must be currently registered with Social Traders or prove accreditation before entering into a funding agreement).
  • A Victorian local government organisation.
  • Other not-for-profit organisation, ideally registered on the ACNC charity register.
• Applicants must:
  • Have a current Australian Business Number (ABN). If the applicant is a Trust, the Trust as the trading entity must meet this requirement
  • Have been operating for a minimum of 2 years by the application closing date (to be validated by the date that the organisation’s ABN is active from)
  • Be able to demonstrate financial viability to undertake the project (will meet or exceed the minimum co-contribution requirements)
  • Agree to comply with the Terms of Participation in Grant Programs
  • Agree to comply with the funding terms and conditions in the General grant funding agreement terms and conditions
  • Agree to implement recycled content traceability consistent with the National Framework for Recycled Content Traceability and register the use of the national framework with the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water
  • Submit their Fair Jobs Code Pre-Assessment Certificate Number with their application if applying for $500,000 or more (exclusive of GST). A Certificate must be held prior to applying for the grant.

For more information, visit Avant Group.