The Morrison Government is providing up to $20 million in funding for early intervention projects and up to $10 million for security infrastructure through round six of the Safer Communities Fund.

The early intervention grant opportunity opens today - 28 May 2021 (closing 22 July 2021) and the security infrastructure grant opportunity opens on 15 June 2021 (closing 5 August 2021).

Our region has benefitted from earlier rounds of funding under the program which helped ensure people could feel safe in their local communities.

We’ve seen more than $1.3 million invested into CCTV in Airlie Beach’s main street and lagoon area, the Cannonvale Foreshore as well as mobile drone CCTV in previous rounds.

The Burdekin region has also benefited from an investment of $30,000 for CCTV in Ayr’s main business district to help curb street crime and violence.

Mackay was also one of the earlier recipients of $400,000 in funding under this program for CCTV in city car parks, and in mobile units.

We’ll continue to work closely with local councils and local community organisations to identify infrastructure projects that can be supported through this funding.

The early intervention funding stream will provide support for at risk young people to help them turn away from crime and build positive relationships and skills.

Assistant Minister for Customs, Community Safety and Multicultural Affairs, Jason Wood said this announcement is delivering on the Morrison Government’s commitment to deliver safer communities through crime prevention initiatives.

“Local communities can feel safer from violence, harassment and anti-social behaviour following these initiatives,” Assistant Minister Wood said.

“The early intervention funding stream will help assist young people at high risk from engaging in criminal or anti-social behaviour build resilience, cultural connections and job readiness skills.

“The infrastructure funding will not only improve security and protect communities through projects such as CCTV, fencing and bollards, it will also keep local people employed, boosting local economies.”

The Safer Communities Fund is a long-standing program that has invested more than $215 million since 2016 and provided over 600 grants directly to local communities.

Grant opportunity guidelines for the early intervention and infrastructure funding streams will be available on the opening dates at www.business.gov.au. Guidelines will include information about how to apply, eligibility and assessment criteria.

The Morrison Government announced $35 million (including program administration costs) from 2020-21 to 2023-24 to fund round six of the Safer Communities Fund in Budget 2020-21.