Assistance Schemes & Grants for improving Road Safety
Australian federal and state governments have various grants and assistance programs in place to increase the public road safety awareness. These programs are aimed at minimising the number road accidents occurring every year by improving necessary infrastructure. In this section, we will discuss about some of these grants and assistance programs and their eligibility criteria.
One of the road safety awareness grants funded by the Australian government aims at reducing the national road toll under the National Road Safety Action Plan. A total funding pool of $1 billion is available from 2013-14 to 2022-23, with an ongoing commitment of $110 million every year thereafter to identify and improve the areas where road accidents occur regularly. As announced in the 2019-20 budget, the Australian Government is also committed to add an additional funding of $50 million ever year starting from 2019-20. To be eligible for this grant, applicants must be Australian residents or organisations and can be:
- state and territory governments
- local councils
- community groups and associations
- road user groups
- industry organisations and
- individuals
This program is available on an ongoing basis.
One of the state funded road safety awareness grant, aims to fund projects and initiatives related to road safety research, education and road trauma prevention. This program is designed to support the government’s road safety strategy. Grants of up to $50,000 are available under this program. If there are enough funds left, larger projects costing up to $100,000 may also be considered. Total funding pool of $400,000 is available every year.
Eligible applicants include:
- individuals
- community or private organisations
- universities
- government entities
Applications for funding received from government agencies must demonstrate how the proposed project:
- falls outside its ‘core business’
- can directly deliver road safety benefits to the state offering the grant
This program is available annually.
Funding Programs targeted at improving Road Safety
Another state funded grant offers funding of up to $50,000 for programs that are intended towards improving the community-based behavioural change. It mainly supports new, creative and innovative strategies that are capable of addressing various road safety challenges. Applicants are strongly encouraged to participate in a briefing session held annually to understand the goals of the grant for that financial year. To be eligible for this grant, applicants must:
- be incorporated under the Corporations Act 2001 or the Associations Incorporations Reform Act 2012 (Vic) and have a current Australian Business Number (ABN)
- demonstrate that they have interest in road safety
- demonstrate that the funds will be used to improve road safety in the state offering the grant
- not be a government authority
This program is available on an ongoing basis.
Above mentioned are only some of the many grants offered by Australian state and federal governments to encourage road safety awareness programs. To know more about such grants and to find out whether you and/or your business is eligible to apply for one of them, please speak to one of our advisors.
