The House of Representatives Standing Committee on Regional Development, Infrastructure and Transport’s inquiry into local government funding will hear from the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water tomorrow.
The Committee wants to better understand how the department manage their important roles in the financial sustainability of local governments in Australia contending with climate change, and matters relating to the environment, heritage, sustainable energy use and water.
Committee Chair, Mrs Fiona Phillips, said “the Committee will be particularly interested in hearing about support provided by the department for local governments through its programs, including the Urban Rivers and Catchments Program and the Reef Guardian Councils Grant Program”.
The Urban Rivers and Catchments Program is a tied, project-based grant program, which provides funding to projects that improve waterways across urban, outer-urban and regional centres, with local councils being a key recipient. In their submission to the inquiry, the department outlined that $85 million of this $200 million program across 2022-28 will fund local governments directly (across 41 projects), with individual project funding ranging from $189,000 to $10 million.
Through the Reef Guardian Councils Grant Program, the department also funds 19 councils to complete local, place-based activities for the protection and resilience of the Great Barrier Reef.
An additional program – the Local Environmental Projects Program – has allocated nearly $20 million for local governments, with current projects including those with the Greater Bendigo City Council to revitalise Bendigo Creek, the City of Vincent to support biodiversity in Hyde Park, and the City of Kwinana to support tree planting.
The Committee will explore what barriers and inefficiencies local governments encounter when applying for and accessing this funding, and how the Commonwealth might be able to enhance the productivity, coordination, and overall effectiveness of funding delivered to local governments.
Further information on the inquiry, including the terms of reference and how to contribute, is available on the Committee’s website.
Public hearing
Date: Thursday, 14 May 2026
Time: 11.00 am – 12.00 pm
Location: Committee Room 1R3, Parliament House, Canberra
A program for the public hearing is available on the inquiry website. A live broadcast of the hearing will also be available on the APH website.
Media inquiries
Mrs Fiona Phillips, MP
Media Adviser: Katrina Condie 0437 662 967
For background information
Committee Secretariat
02 6277 2232
[email protected]
For more information about this Committee, you can visit its website. On the site, you can make a submission to an inquiry, read other submissions, and find details for upcoming public hearings. You can also track the Committee and receive email updates by clicking on the blue ‘Track this Committee’ button in the bottom right-hand corner of the page.
