What we will cover today

Overview & Objectives

Assessment Process

Round 2 Preparation

Questions

NSRF Overview

• $1 billion Australian Government program

• Funding over 5 years for priority infrastructure

• Promote sustainable economic development

• Addressing disadvantage to achieve growth

• Encouraging strong partnerships

NSRF Objectives

• Fund investment ready infrastructure projects which

support economic growth and address disadvantage

• Desired outcomes for regions

Improved level of economic activity

Increased productivity

Employment and skilled workforce

Capacity and capability to deliver major projects

Improved partnerships

Stability and viability of communities

Application Appraisal Framework

Value

Meet eligibility

requirements

Greatest relative merit

Reasonable cost

Acceptable risk

Eligibility Requirements

Applicants must comply with all of the following eligibility

requirements;

Applicants must be an eligible applicant

Projects must be an eligible project

Grant sought is at least $20,000 and up to a maximum of

$10 million

NSRF grant is matched in cash on at least a dollar for

dollar basis

Eligibility Requirements (cont..)

All partner funding is confirmed

The project completed on or before 31 December 2019

Deliver an economic benefit to the region beyond the

period of construction and

Submit a completed application, including the mandatory

documents.

Who is eligible?

Eligible Organisations

Local councils

Not-for-profit organisations (not owned by a Local,

State or Territory Government)

Other organisations can participate where they are a

member of a consortium led by an eligible applicant

Who is ineligible?

Ineligible Organisations

X State and Northern Territory Governments

X State and Territory owned corporations and not-for-

profits

X Universities, technical colleges, schools and hospitals

X Organisations supported by other Commonwealth

programmes and initiatives

X Regional Development Australia Committees

X For profit organisations

What is eligible?

Eligible Projects

Construction of new infrastructure, or the upgrade, or

an extension to existing infrastructure

Funding between $20,000 and $10 million

Match funding in cash at least dollar-for-dollar

Deliver an economic benefit to the region

Project completed by 31 December 2019

Provide all mandatory documents

What is ineligible?

Ineligible Projects are those that:

X Do not have all partner funding confirmed

X Do not deliver sustainable economic benefits

X Eligible under the National Disaster Relief and

Recovery Arrangements (NDRRA)

X Shift costs from state, territory or local governments

X Are integral elements of hospitals

What is ineligible?

Additionally, NSRF grants cannot be used for:

X Replacement of existing infrastructure

X Expenditure incurred prior successful announcement

X Provision of services and support activities

X Soft infrastructure

X Payment of existing salaries

X Administrative overheads

Round One - Who Applied?

LGA $940.4m

NFP $270.6m

Funding sought by

organisation type

Eligible applications by

organisation type

262

143

194

78

LGA NFP

Applied Eligible

Round One Eligible Applications

67%33%

405 APPLICATIONSEligible/Ineligible

Eligible

Ineligible

72%

28%

133 INELIGIBLE APPLICATIONSReason for ineligibility

Unconfirmedpartnerfunding

Other

Round One Applications - Observations

405 Applications received in Round One

$1.2b Total funding requested

272 Applications met eligibility criteria

133 Applications did not meet eligibility criteria

96 Applications did not have confirmed partner funding

110 Failed to satisfy one or more criteria

162 Were assessed as value for money

51 Applications approved for funding (12.8%)

Round 2 Preparation

What’s new for Round 2?

Changes from Round One

• Two applications per Applicant per Round

• The replacement of existing infrastructure will only be

eligible where there is a demonstrated significant increase

in productivity

• Changed weighting of Criteria

• $25 million quarantined for projects seeking less than $1m

Your application will be assessed against 4 criteria

1. The extent to which the project contributes to

economic growth in the region (15/35)

2. The extent to which the project supports or addresses

disadvantage in a region (10/35)

3. The extent to which the project increases investment

and builds partnerships in the region (5/35)

4. The extent to which the project and Applicant are

viable and sustainable (5/35)

Assessment Overview

Assessment Criteria: Criterion 1

The extent to which the project contributes to

economic growth in the region

Most important criterion (15/35)

Guidelines contain examples of what might constitute

economic growth

Must demonstrate the link between the project and

economic growth

Provide evidence to support claims

Identify any social and community benefits

Assessment Criteria: Criterion 2

The extent to which the project supports or

addresses disadvantage in a region

Project should support disadvantaged regions or

areas of disadvantage

Demonstrate link between project and disadvantage

Provide evidence to demonstrate link and benefits

Guidelines give examples of indicators that could be

used to demonstrate disadvantage

Assessment Criteria: Criterion 3

The extent to which the project increases investment and

builds partnerships in the region

Consideration will be given to:

Partner cash contributions in addition to the

mandatory dollar for dollar matching funding

Number of partners (do not have to be eligible

organisations)

In-kind support for the project

Extent and nature of partnerships

Assessment Criteria: Criterion 4

The extent to which the project and Applicant

are viable and sustainable

The project has been scoped, costed and planned

The project ‘Investment Ready’ – i.e. ready to start

construction within 12 months of signing the funding

agreement

Project delivery risks and possible mitigations

Applicant’s capacity to deliver the project

(financial/experience)

Sustainability of the Project beyond completion

Key points

Project must be investment ready

Partner funding (cash) must be

confirmed and documented

All mandatory documents provided

All 4 criteria addressed

Link benefits of project to evidence

Preparing for Round Two

• Improve your application

• Seek feedback on your Round One application

• Advice from RDA Illawarra

• Workshop the criteria

• Prepare evidence that is targeted and specific

• Make it competitive

• Clear statement of benefits

• Evidence

• Understand the selection criteria

• Weighting on economic benefit and disadvantage

Preparing for Round Two

Information Advice and Support

• Guidelines, Frequently Asked Questions and grants

portal guidance are available at

www.infrastructure.gov.au/nsrf

• Questions can be emailed to

nsrf@infrastructure.gov.au

• RDA Illawarra can advise on alignment with regional

priorities, project development and applications.

Email enquiries@rdaillawarra.com.au

Preparing for Round Two

Key Dates

NSRF Guidelines (revised) released 13 May 2015

NSRF Round Two Opened 15 May 2015

Round Two Applications Close 31 July 2015

Round Two Application Assessment

Completed31 October 2015

Announcements Round Two Projects to

be funded

Expected

December 2015

How to Apply

Online application form at http://gms.infrastructure.gov.au/UI

• Supporting documents (up to 20) only accepted online

• Max 15mb limit and no password protected documents

• Guidelines on website www.infrastructure.gov.au/NSRF

• Helpdesk for GMS portal

Other

• Strongly encouraged to participate in the Review survey

• These slides will be on the NSRF website

• Questions?