Our Environmental Works Grants Program provides financial incentives to rural landowners for projects that support sustainable land management practices, especially protecting and enhancing remnant vegetation.
You can apply for funds for a range of environmental projects including:
- fencing areas of remnant vegetation, including paddock trees to exclude livestock
- works to help control or manage minor erosion
- environmental weed control in good quality native vegetation, and in combination with fencing and revegetation works.
Funding is available for revegetation works that:
- complement remnant vegetation on private properties or in road reserves
- link or strengthen significant habitat areas or corridors
- are required in a Land Management Plan
- stabilise salinity recharge areas through native revegetation.
Waterway revegetation projects are given low priority for funding under this program because assistance is available through Melbourne Water’s Liveable Communities, Liveable Waterways Program. Visit the Melbourne Water website for further information.
Eligible property criteria
To be eligible, your property must be:
- located within the City of Whittlesea
- two hectares or greater in size
- zoned for rural purposes (Green Wedge Zone, Green Wedge A Zone, Rural Conservation Zone).
Properties zoned and/or designated for future residential, industrial or commercial developments are not eligible under this program.
We provide eligible rural landowners with a rate rebate to encourage responsible land management.
Our Sustainable Land Management Rebate Scheme is an incentive to carry out and/or maintain land management works that will:
- improve the quality of land and water resources
- maintain or enhance local biodiversity
- address land degradation issues such as weeds, pest animals and erosion.
Eligible property criteria
To be eligible, your property must meet the following criteria:
- at least 50% of your property's area must be in a Green Wedge, Rural Conservation or Green Wedge A Zone. Properties partly within any of these zones are only eligible when the area of the property within the zone is eight hectares or greater, and when the zone covers the majority of the property. Find out which zone you are in through the MapshareVic website or call us on 03 9217 2170
- eight hectares or greater in size, or be a collection of land parcels at least equal to the minimum size, which are in one ownership and next to each other
- operated for commercial primary production (for example, registered primary producers), or managed as hobby/lifestyle farms or for environmental purposes (for example, bush blocks).
For further information phone 03 9217 2170.
Rebate amount
For properties 50 hectares (approximately 124 acres) or greater in size, the rebate is 30% of the general rate/farm rate payable on the property.
For properties eight hectares (approximately 20 acres) or greater but less than 50 hectares in size, the rebate is 20% of the general rate/farm rate payable on the property.
Our officers can provide rural property owners with free on-site advice. We also hold free land management field days through the year. These are advertised in through local media and community newsletters.
For more information phone 03 9217 2170.