$5.3 million for heritage protection projects

The Albanese Labor Government today opened a new round of grants to support projects that will protect and restore some of Australia’s most precious heritage sites.

Australian Heritage Grants are available to fund projects across significant Indigenous, natural and historic National Heritage listed sites, like the Ningaloo Coast, the Australian Alps, and Ku-Ring-Gai Chase National Park.

A total of up to $5.3m will be available to applicants such as Traditional Owners, conservation groups, and place managers through the latest round of the grants program.

Grant funding has helped to protect some of Australia’s most iconic heritage places through recent projects including:

• $400,000 to restore and preserve ancient finger markings and unique archaeological deposits dating back more than 22,000 years at Koonalda Cave in South Australia
• $400,000 to support feral deer eradication efforts in the Walls of Jerusalem National Park, Tasmania
• $68,000 to protect and conserve heritage fabric at the Bonegilla Migrant Camp in Victoria, and
• more than $380,000 for assessing and monitoring wildlife populations on remote sub-Antarctic Macquarie Island.

Applications for the 2023–24 grant round are open until 12 October 2023. Grants range from $25,000 to $400,000.

To find out more and apply, visit business.gov.au, GrantConnect or phone 132 846.

Quotes attributable to Minister for the Environment and Water, Tanya Plibersek:

“We live in a beautiful country, and we know Australians love their own backyard. That’s why the Government is committed to better protect and restore the 120 places on our National Heritage List.

“Our heritage has shaped who we are today, and it is important that we continue to invest in projects that will protect, repair and manage these places better for our kids and grandkids.

“These places include Uluru - Kata Tjuta National Park, Abbotsford Convent, Budj Bim National Heritage Landscape, Lord Howe Island, Bondi Beach and Western Australia’s Ningaloo Coast.

“With the support of Traditional Owners and conservation groups, we are delivering projects right across the nation to do things like eradicate feral species, protect Indigenous cultural heritage sites and undertake critical infrastructure work.”