Federal Member for Cowper Pat Conaghan says communities devastated by the 2019/20 bushfire can now apply for the $280 million in the latest round of the Black Summer Bushfire Recovery Grants program.

He said the grants build on measures implemented by the government over the past 18 months to support disaster response, relief and recovery in bushfire affected areas.

Mr Conaghan said recovery takes time and we continue to stand with communities on their recovery from the devastating Black Summer bushfire season.

“We want these communities across the Cowper electorate to know that they are not forgotten, and there is still important support and financial backing, like this grants program, to support them as they rebuild their communities and livelihoods,” he said.

“To date, $2.3 billion in Federal Government support has been provided to help bushfire affected communities, including more than $1.6 billion spent so far from the National Bushfire Recovery Fund.

“The Black Summer Bushfire Recovery Grants will help address priority work that communities need to support their ongoing recovery.”

Mr Conaghan the grants will help communities build back by funding a broad range of recovery and resilience projects, from social and community wellbeing projects through to projects that support the recovery of local economies and built environments.

“I encourage people to consider what projects will benefit their community best in the long run and keep in mind the grants can range from $20,000 to $10 million,” he added.

Grants are available in every Local Government Area that was disaster declared as a result of the 2019-20 Black Summer bushfires.

For more information about applying for these grants, or the support available including registering for workshops, visit www.recovery.gov.au/black-summer-grants

Click here to see the impact bushfire had on our local government areas.

https://www.bushfirerecovery.gov.au/your-community/local-area-profiles#/map