Murray PHN – Bushfire Community Recovery Grants

This program seeks to support wellbeing, and for local community groups and community organisations to deliver grassroots activities to 2019-20 bushfire affected areas that will strengthen social connectedness and support mental health and healing.

Priority will be given to applications benefiting communities within the North East region that were most impacted by the 2019-20 fires:
- Towong Shire
- Alpine regions
- Indigo, Wangaratta, Albury/Wodonga, Mansfield, Benalla

Grants of up to $10,000 are available.

Applicants must meet their own costs associated with preparing and presenting their proposal.

Eligible applicants include local community groups and organisations that must be located within a bushfire affected area in the Murray PHN region or be of direct benefit to communities living within these areas.

Preference will be given to communities who were most impacted by the bushfires of 2019-20 and community groups/organisations residing in those areas.

Community groups can represent particular areas, for example: multi-cultural, age or gender-specific, or target particular networks, for example: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, migrant or refugee, playgroups, churches, sports, local community associations, and school affiliated groups.

Eligible activities include grassroots community-focused activities and wellbeing initiatives, some examples of which include:
- Bringing the community together to support social skills, connectedness and build networks and friendships.
- Projects that are recovery-focused and build on resilience, healing and capacity building.
- Engaging with affected people in remote or isolated areas.

The main assessment criteria include:
- The applicant is based in a 2019-20 bushfire affected area, or the activities proposed will directly benefit the community within a bushfire affected area.
- The proposal activities aim to:
a) Reduce mental health issues and support suicide prevention.
b) Identify post-traumatic stress disorder.
c) Build resilience within the community.
d) Provide social connectedness for communities.
- The proposal demonstrates a clear outline of the proposed activities
- The proposal describes the need within the community.

The funding cannot be used for activities or services, that:
- Extend or expand services that are currently funded by Murray PHN.
- Duplicate existing activities and services.
- Are more appropriately funded under other grant programs or funding sources.
- Are for communities that were not impacted by the 2019-2020 bushfires.
- Are for communities outside of the Murray PHN region.
- Are difficult to link to bushfire recovery.
- Would require ongoing funding.
- Subsidise commercial activities.
- Involve purchasing of assets.