Murray–Darling Basin Economic Development Program

The Murray–Darling Basin Economic Development Program is supporting economic development projects in identified communities impacted by water recovery under the Basin Plan.

Funding will help eligible communities to develop their economies, increase job opportunities, and enhance their resilience to manage current and future economic challenges.

To select communities eligible for funding under this program, we have considered information including research by the Murray–Darling Basin Authority in its Northern Basin review - social and economic condition reports and the 2017 Basin Plan evaluation.

Round 2 – now closed

Round 2 of the Murray–Darling Basin Economic Development Program closed for applications on 20 February 2020.

It will provide up to $15 million of funding over four years (2019–20 to 2022–23) to support 31 communities impacted by water recovery.

Round 1 projects underway

Round 1 of the Murray–Darling Basin Economic Development Program closed for applications in March 2019.

Up to $24.4 million will be provided to 42 projects over 4 years.

Thirty seven of the 42 approved projects are now underway.

Projects funded under Round 1

Entity	Community	State	Project Short Name	Funding Offered (GST excl)
Walgett Shire Council	Collarenebri	NSW	Creating capacity, industry and connection in the Collarenebri Community	$476,000
Walgett Shire Council	Collarenebri	NSW	Collarenebri Showground Refurbishment	$488,000
Warren Shire Council	Warren	NSW	Improvement of Regional Structures	$3,521,588
Wakool Community Progress Association	Wakool	NSW	Wakool Silo Art Project	$39,310
Western Murray Land Improvement Group Incorporated	Wakool	NSW	Agrisystem Development	$500,000
Western Murray Land Improvement Group Incorporated	Wakool	NSW	Business Development and Innovation Project	$500,000
Balonne Shire Council	Dirranbandi	QLD	Dirranbandi Rural Transaction Centre Hub - E-Technology Upgrade and Pilot	$82,500
Dirranbandi Landcare Group Inc	Dirranbandi	QLD	Dirranbandi Seasons - Landscape Information Boards	$12,915
Balonne Shire Council	Dirranbandi	QLD	Dirranbandi Thermal Hot Springs	$875,000
Balonne Shire Council	Dirranbandi	QLD	Dirranbandi Showgrounds - Irrigation Upgrade	$70,000
Balonne Shire Council	Dirranbandi	QLD	Business Improvement Scheme	$492,000
Balonne Shire Council	Dirranbandi St George	QLD	Balonne Shire Digital Connectivity Project - Stages 3 & 4	$1,000,000
Balonne Shire Council	Dirranbandi St George	QLD	Business Mentoring Project	$499,100
Balonne Shire Council	Dirranbandi St George	QLD	Wild Dog Exclusion Fencing	$5,000,000
Care Balonne Assn Inc	Dirranbandi St George	QLD	Digital literacy and business marketing workshops	$95,000
Goondir Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islanders Corporation for Health Services	Dirranbandi St George	QLD	Goondir Health Services - St George Community Well Being Centre (CWBC)	$500,000
South West Indigenous Corporation	St George	QLD	Indigenous Languages and Cultural Immersion Project	$500,000
Weribone Jack Family Descendants Aboriginal Corporation	St George	QLD	WJC Cultural Learning Ground	$40,000
Cunnamulla Aboriginal Corp	Cunnamulla	QLD	Chronic Disease and Wellbeing Centre	$710,000
Coorong District Council	Lower Lakes	SA	Meningie Jetty Upgrade for Vessels	$500,000
Coorong District Council	Lower Lakes	SA	Revitalising Raukkan Walk, Ride, Stay and Play	$500,000
Goolwa To Wellington Local Action Planning Association Incorporated	Lower Lakes	SA	Lower Lakes Visitor Access Trails	$247,580
Milang and District Community Association Incorporated	Lower Lakes	SA	Milang Lakeside Butter Factory Restoration	$308,260
District Council of Loxton Waikerie	Loxton	SA	Loxton Tourist Park Upgrade	$500,024
District Council of Loxton Waikerie	Loxton	SA	Loxton Wharf Upgrade Project	$350,000
Mid Murray Council	Swan Reach	SA	The Swan Reach and Nildottie River Murray Maritime Trail	$130,000
Mid Murray Council	Swan Reach	SA	Swan Reach and Nildottie Tourism Project Murray Coorong Trail	$438,789
Barmera Golf Club Inc	Cobdogla-Barmera	SA	Barmera Golf Club Clubhouse Upgrade	$205,756
Berri Barmera Council	Cobdogla-Barmera	SA	Lake Bonney Nature and Cultural Tourism Project	$500,000
Moorook Kingston-On-Murray Community Association Incorporated	Cobdogla-Barmera	SA	Moorook Ecotourism Trail	$236,880
Berri Hotel Incorporated	Berri	SA	Berri Hotel Incorporated Accommodation Development (stage 1)	$500,000
District Council of Loxton Waikerie	Berri Cobdogla-Barmera Loxton	SA	Riverland Smart Agricultural Project	$500,000
Regional Development Australia Murraylands and Riverland Incorporated	Berri Cobdogla-Barmera Loxton Swan Reach	SA	The Murray River Agritourism and Food Regional Development Program	$250,000
Campaspe Shire Council	Rochester	VIC	Rochester Riverside Holiday Park Re-invigoration	$500,000
Campaspe Shire Council	Rochester	VIC	Rochester Revitalisation	$448,000
Rochester Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc	Rochester	VIC	Rochester Business Network - Tourism and Marketing Project	$500,000
Chaffey Aged Care Incorporated	Merbein	VIC	Chaffey Early Learning Centre	$500,000
Dried Fruits Australia Inc	Colignan Merbein Red Cliffs	VIC	Generating agtech capacity to deliver high yielding dried grape production	$396,520
Red Cliffs and Community Aged Care	Red Cliffs	VIC	Community Health Building for the Red Cliffs community	$203,680
Red Cliffs Golf Club Inc	Red Cliffs	VIC	Red Cliffs Golf Club supporting the local community by providing a RV camping site	$245,760
Sunraysia Rural Counselling Service Inc	Colignan Merbein Red Cliffs Rochester Wakool	VIC	SunRCS Small Biz Plus Community	$500,000
Murray Darling Association Incorporated	All 15 Communities	VIC NSW QLD SA	Basin Communities Leadership Program	$500,000

Contact us

For questions about the program, please contact us.