Regional connectivity funding to boost remote education

Applications for the Australian Government’s $53 million Regional Connectivity Program are now open.

The program will provide targeted investment in local telco infrastructure projects to maximise economic and social opportunities in regional and remote communities across the country. Projects that could be funded include upgrades to mobile infrastructure to improve community access for remote education, among other things.

The Member for Wannon, Dan Tehan, and the Minister for Communications, Cyber Safety and the Arts, the Hon Paul Fletcher MP, and the Minister for Regional Communications, the Hon Mark Coulton MP, are encouraging regional development organisations, telecommunications providers, as well as government organisations in Wannon to collaborate on projects and apply for funding.

“We are taking a ‘place based’ approach to investment through the program because we recognise that regions such as Wannon have distinct digital needs and in some cases require customised solutions to complement existing infrastructure,” Minister Fletcher said.

“Collaboration is an excellent method to give an application real ‘bite’. We are looking for projects that will provide the most profound benefit to local communities, and by joining forces, I’m confident we will see many great solutions come from the bush to improve services in the bush,” Minister Coulton said.

“I encourage applicants to use the Program Noticeboard to share ideas and work together to develop proposals that will improve connectivity across Wannon and drive benefits for our community,” Tehan said.

The online Program Noticeboard provides a portal for collaboration where applicants can find and register potential projects, linking regional communities and industry providers.

Applications are open until 20 October 2020 (5:00pm AEDT). The guidelines and application process are available on the government’s central grants website: www.grants.gov.au.

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