Additional funding is now available to help repair social and community infrastructure damaged by the floods last year.

Under the $70 million Community Assets Program, councils can apply for between $100,000 and $7.5 million for projects that support the repair of parks, playgrounds, walkways, places of cultural heritage, and other community assets like libraries, pedestrian bridges and community-based pre-schools. 

The program, jointly funded by the Federal and NSW Governments under the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA), will be available to the Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Lismore, Richmond Valley, Clarence Valley, Kyogle, Ballina, Byron, Tenterfield, and Tweed.

Federal Member for Page Kevin Hogan said nearly a year on, there was still work to be done to fully restore our communities to the way they were before.

“Parks and playgrounds in particular are important community hubs that bring people together,” Mr Hogan said.

State Member for Clarence Chris Gulaptis said the funding would provide further help to councils to restore some of the social and community infrastructure that remained damaged by flooding in 2022.

“The Community Assets Program is not just about building back for now – we’re building back better for the future by improving the resilience of these essential assets,” Mr Gulaptis said.

“This package, part of more than $3.5 billion we have committed to support communities affected by floods in 2022, builds on the Government’s response to the Independent Flood Inquiry, which ensures emergency services are better equipped to respond to future disaster events and support impacted communities during recovery.”

Applications for the Community Asset Program will open Friday January 20. More information will be available at: www.nsw.gov.au/2022CLIRP.