The Australian Water Fund will invest a total of $2 billion over 5 years to fund practical, on-the-ground water solutions through the following programs:

• Water Smart Australia ($1.6 billion);
• Raising National Water Standards ($200 million);
• AWF Communities Programme ($200 million).

State and Territory Governments which have signed and are implementing the National Water Initiative will be eligible to make bids under the Australian Water Fund, as will local communities and private proponents.

Through the Australian Water Fund, the Coalition Government will invest $1.6 billion over 5 years to accelerate the smartest technologies and practices in water use across Australia.

Funds will be made available directly to projects, taking into account the financial contribution offered by local government bodies, State and Territory governments and/or industry.

What sorts of projects will be funded?

• improving river flows;
• on-farm water use efficiency improvements
• desalination of water for use in cities and towns;
• recycling and reuse of stormwater and 'grey' water;
• more efficient storage facilities, such as underground aquifers;
• alternatives to ocean outfalls and better management of sewerage in our coastal cities and towns;
• improvements in irrigation infrastructure;
• developing water efficient housing design.

In all these areas there are some exciting and real initiatives that the Australian Water Fund could help turn into reality, such as:

• Waterproofing Adelaide, through capturing, storing, using and reusing stormwater, or through greater reuse of effluent - thereby placing less demand on the River Murray;
• Cost-efficient recycling of water to provide increased water supply and better environmental
  outcomes, such as the Mackay water recycling proposal, the South-East Queensland water use efficiency and recycling program or the use of high quality recycled water from the
  Melbourne Eastern Treatment plant aimed at closing the Gunnamatta outfall;
• Improving water-use efficiency in new urban developments, through for example the
  application of water sensitive urban design in major Sydney housing developments;
• Improving irrigation channel systems through the piping of open channel systems and the implementation of new channel control technologies, such as elements of the Wimmera-Mallee pipeline proposal, the Channel Distribution Efficiency program in Queensland, or the Harvey Water proposal in Western Australia involving a mix of infrastructure investment, inter-regional water trade and water quality improvements;
• Investment in new channel control technologies and other water savings measures to recover water for stressed rivers, such as Victoria's Macalister River, or in alternative water supply projects to relieve demand on over-stretched aquifers, such as the Bundaberg groundwater project which would involve extending distribution systems to enable groundwater allocations to be swapped for surface water allocations from the Burnett River Dam;
• Applying desalination technology to improve domestic water supply for rural communities in Australia while reducing the damage to infrastructure from rising groundwater tables;
• Improved accounting for water use and increased understanding of how our rivers, wetlands and estuaries work, for example through the installation of integrated metering and telemetry technology in the Condamine Balonne and Border Rivers, or improved data collection and knowledge generation in Queensland's Wild Rivers and other northern river systems;
• Recognising that levels of water extraction in excess of what is sustainable cannot continue and, in some instances, targeted assistance to individuals and communities may be in order (for example, in the case of groundwater in New South Wales).

How can I apply for a grant?

Queries regarding applications for funding under the Water Smart Australia Programme should be direct to Virginia Hart at the National Water Commission on 02 6271 5468.

For further information please contact Hellen Georgopoulos on 02 6277 7700 (Prime Minister’s Office) or James Baird (02) 6277 4939 (Office of the Hon Gary Nairn, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister).