February 26, 2024
As we have shared directly with our Fishing Club Supporter members VRFish delegates, there’s funding available through Sport and Recreation Victoria and the Victorian Fisheries Authority that your fishing club or association may be interested in applying for.
Sport and Recreation’s grants are there to support your club as it addresses barriers to participation, develops safe and sustainable practices, and builds social and active local communities. This can include uniforms or equipment, strengthening volunteering and participation, or improving access and engagement. There are also emergency equipment grants for clubs to repair or replace essential equipment that has been lost or destroyed because of unpreventable and exceptional incidents, including fire, flood, significant storms, theft or criminal damage.
The Victorian Fisheries Authority’s grants fund projects that make fishing better in your local area. Maybe you’d like to see lighting installed at your local jetty, or fish cleaning tables installed at your local boat ramp, or in-stream habitat installed in your favourite waterway. If that’s the case, consider applying for one of the grants below.
If your club or association requires any assistance or support with your applications from VRFish, contact VRFish on [email protected]
SPORT AND RECREATION GRANTS
As a member of VRFish, your club or association may be eligible for funding and assistance through Sport and Recreation Victoria as VRFish is a recognised state sport and active recreation body.
Current funding that is available to sporting clubs includes:
SPORTING CLUB GRANTS PROGRAM
Sport and Recreation have announced the latest round of grants available in the Sporting Club Grants Program.
The program provides funding for grassroots sport and recreation organisations across Victoria. It helps clubs to address barriers in participation, develop safe and sustainable practices, and build social and active local communities.
Eligible applicants can only submit one application in one of the following 3 categories:
- Category 1: On-field Uniforms or Equipment: Up to $1,000 to purchase on-field playing uniforms, participation equipment for competitors and active participants, safety, injury prevention and first-aid equipment.
- Category 2: Volunteers and Officials: Up to $2,000 for projects that provide practical improvements to strengthen volunteering and officiating.
- Category 3: Access and Engagement: Up to $1,000 to assist with funding for tools and resources that improve accessibility, governance and strengthen engagement with members and participants.
OR Up to $4,000 to plan and deliver a new sport or active recreation program.
Eligible applicants can submit one or more applications in the following category.
- Category 4: Competitors: Up to $750 towards the costs of travel, accommodation and event registration fees for individual athletes selected to attend representative competition, selection trials or training camps.
Applications close 4pm, 20 March 2024.
VIEW THE SPORTING CLUB GRANTS PROGRAM WEBSITE HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION
CHANGE OUR GAME COMMUNITY ACTIVATION GRANTS PROGRAM
The Change Our Game Community Activation Grants Program funds community level initiatives that enable participation, build capability and celebrate the role of women and girls in community sport and active recreation. Two funding levels are available for streams 1 and 2.
- Stream 1: Participation (up to $5,000 or up to $10,000): deliver activities that increase participation for women and girls.
- Stream 2: Capability (up to $5,000 or up to $10,000): build capability and leadership in gender equality policy and practice. This includes training and knowledge in the access and use of community sports infrastructure. Capability enhancements should be in line with the Fair Access Policy Roadmap.
- Stream 3: Community Leaders (up to $5,000): access professional development opportunities for women and girls.
Applications close 5pm, 4 March 2024.
VIEW THE CHANGE OUR GAME COMMUNITY ACTIVATION GRANTS PROGRAM WEBSITE HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION
EMERGENCY SPORTING EQUIPMENT GRANTS
The Emergency Sporting Equipment Grants program helps grassroots clubs and organisations to repair or replace essential sport or active recreation equipment that has been lost or destroyed because of unpreventable and exceptional incidents, including fire, flood, significant storms, theft or criminal damage.
One-off grants of up to $1,000 are available towards the repair or replacement costs of lost or damaged equipment. Incidents that occur from 1 June 2023 to 31 May 2024 will be eligible for funding.
Applications close 4pm 31 May 2024.
VIEW THE EMERGENCY SPORTING CLUB EQUIPMENT GRANTS WEBSITE HERE
For preliminary information on this grant program, contact Sport and Recreation Victoria: [email protected]
VICTORIAN FISHERIES AUTHORITY GRANTS
There’s also funding available through the Victorian Fisheries Authority if you have an idea to make fishing better in your local area. Maybe you’d like to see lighting installed at your local jetty, or fish cleaning tables installed at your local boat ramp, or in-stream habitat installed in your favourite waterway. If that’s the case, consider applying for one of the grants below.
RFL GRANTS PROGRAM
Every year, the Victorian Fisheries Authority calls for applications for projects to be funded via the recreational fishing grants program that will improve recreational fishing in Victoria. The recreational fishing grants program disburses recreational fishing licence (RFL) revenue that is held in the RFL Trust Account.
We encourage our fishing club and association members to consider applying for the grants program if they have any ideas for potential projects to make fishing better in their local area.
The Recreational Fishing Grants Program (RFGP) consists of four different types of grants, including:
- Small Grants Program open year-round to fund small projects (for projects up to $5,000 – GST Exclusive).
- Intermediate Grants Program open year-round to applications from angling clubs and associations and not-for-profit community groups (for projects from $5,000 – $50,000 GST Exclusive).
- Large Grants Program open for applications until 29 February 2024 (for projects from $50,001 to $100,000 – GST Exclusive).
- Commissioning Program for large priority projects (generally in excess of $100,000).
Some projects that could be funded through the various streams of the grants program include:
- Installing solar lighting at your local jetty
- Installing fish cleaning tables at your local boat ramp
- Upgrades to make your local jetty all-abilities accessible
- Improving access to a publicly accessible fishing spot
- Installing in-stream habitat in your local waterway
- Riparian works including fencing, planting or stiles
- Recreational fishing related education, information and training
- Recreational fisheries research
- Community events such as fishing club promotion days, come-and-try fishing days, or Gone Fishing Day events
- Promotion of participation in fishing, such as increasing female or children’s participation in fishing
For further information or to discuss potential applications please contact:
Victorian Fisheries Authority
The Secretariat, Recreational Fishing Grants Program
(03) 8392 6872
[email protected]
FISH HABITAT IMPROVEMENT FUND
In 2022, the Victorian Government committed $2.5 million to improve fish habitat across Victoria’s marine, estuarine and freshwater fisheries as part of its Go Fishing Victoria plan.
There are two streams as part of the Fish Habitat Improvement Fund:
Stream 1: Empowering recreational fishers to improve local fish habitat (community led projects up to $50,000 and up to 18 months in duration).
These projects will deliver small-scale works to improve local fish habitat works alongside waterways such as native vegetation planting, weed control, erosion control, fencing (to keep livestock out) on public or private land. This stream will help recreational fishers get involved, build capacity and establish partnerships with other fish habitat partners and land managers.
Stream 1 grants opened on 25 October 2023 and remain open until the funding is allocated.
Stream 2: Partnerships to address critical fish habitat priorities: working together to restore, recover and rebuild fish populations (up to $200,000 over 2 years).
This stream will deliver larger-scale projects involving multiple partners and strong co-investment to restore, recover fish habitat and contribute to rebuilding fish populations. Applicants for this stream will require advanced project management capacity, leadership and connections with recreational fishers and other relevant stakeholders.
Stream 2 grants opened on 25 October 2023 and close at 6pm on 1 March 2024. Subsequent rounds will be announced.
For further information, contact the Victorian Fisheries Authority on: [email protected] or call Andrew Briggs from the Victorian Fisheries Authority on 0427 018 406.
For local advice on your project idea, you can contact your local Catchment Management Authority or Melbourne Water.
If your club or association requires any assistance or support with your applications from VRFish, contact VRFish on [email protected]
