These grants support eligible landholders in priority areas of the Local Land Services Hunter region to implement on ground projects that improve riparian vegetation and associated land management practices.

Program objective

Land Management Incentives Program funding is available in priority areas of the Local Land Services (LLS) Hunter region.

Funding is provided to assist landholders to implement onground works and management practice change to improve the extent and condition of riparian vegetation, in order to improve the health and resilience of rivers, estuaries and aquatic ecosystems.

Funding is aimed at assisting with projects that revegetate riverbanks, fence riverbanks, control stock access to riparian areas, provide offstream stock water and control riparian weeds.

The program seeks to support rural landholders along priority rivers in the Hunter LLS Region to implement improved riparian management practices that:

• improve the extent and condition of riverbank vegetation and improve water quality in the short to medium term
• improve long term river resilience to flooding and drought impacts in the long term.

Land Management Incentives Program

This program is funded and administered by Local Land Services.

Eligibility

Who can apply

To be eligible to apply you must

• be a landowner or an occupier with signed landowner permission to undertake the project on the land or if the landowner or responsible entity is a company or organization, an application signed by an authorized representative of the entity
• hold or commit to obtaining public liability insurance of not less than $10 million per occurrence or hold equivalent or better self-insurance to the satisfaction of LLS, prior to executing a Funding Deed or Agreement with LLS.

Landholders interested in applying need to submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) to Hunter LLS, which is assessed by Hunter LLS before eligible applicants are provided with detailed program guidelines and invited to apply.

The EOI form and further information is available at Land Management Incentives Program

Who can’t apply

Landowners, occupiers or organizations not listed above.

Types of projects funded under this grant

• Projects delivering on ground works and practices that improve riparian vegetation.

What can’t you apply for

• solely production-oriented activities
• major farm water supplies including irrigation
• solely weed control to meet a landholder’s general biosecurity duty
• purchase of machinery and computer hardware and software, where there is no demonstrated land use change
• activities more appropriately funded by other bodies
• activities that the land managers can reasonably be expected to undertake to ensure sustainable management of areas under their control
• work that is undertaken before the project agreement for the proposal is signed or after the project agreement ends
• construction or modification of instream works
• projects intended to beautify or improve amenity
• replacement or maintenance of property boundary fencing that is the landholder’s normal responsibility
• capital works, for example construction of buildings or viewing platforms to improve amenity
• expert advice that could alternatively be provided by the LLS or other government agency
• research
• any works for mostly private benefit
• activities that may be required due to legal responsibilities, compliance with development consents and/or reasonable duty of care
• activities that do not directly deliver on the specified program outcomes
• maintenance of previously LLS/CMA funded works
• works that are existing obligations to the landholders, such as on title conservation agreements or Land Management code agreements
• works that are already funded by other sources

Example projects

• fencing of riverbanks for stock exclusion
• off-stream stock watering points
• revegetation of riverbanks, estuaries, wetlands
• develop and implement property riparian plans
• control of weed threats to riparian areas