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General Newsletter - 20 December 2024


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In this Issue

 

Welcome from the Chair

Russell Stewart - Chair

Dear Northern Inlanders,

As my eleventh year as proud Chair of RDA – Northern Inland draws to a close, I am pleased to hear that the Australian Government has announced another five years of grant funding for the network of 50 RDAs around the country. Local perspectives and knowledge and working together as a region is critical to the future prosperity of the communities in our region. With the certainty ongoing funding, we are able to continue our work to support the economic growth of our region through hands-on projects that create change and provide opportunities, as well as provide access to a wealth of knowledge and skills through our research and consultancy services.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the dedicated volunteers that serve on our Committee. Their knowledge and experiences provide insight into the wide range of challenges and opportunities for our region, as well as proactive ideas for our projects and initiatives. A special note of thanks goes to retiring Committee member Ian Lobsey OAM of Quirindi, who has served on the RDA-NI Committee since 2012, as well as the preceding Northern Inland Regional Development Board. Ian has been a source of wisdom throughout my time as Chair and he will certainly be missed.

As we look forward to celebrating Christmas with family and friends, it is a good time to reflect on the importance of the people in our lives. Enjoy the company of your loved ones rather than measuring the success of your Christmas by the amount of presents under the tree, or the amount of food on the table. All too quickly those things pass, and it is those you share your life with that will bring you the greatest happiness in the long run.

I wish you a very merry Christmas, and we look forward to working with you in 2025.

Regards,

Russell Stewart
Chair

Office Closure

Our office will be closed for the Christmas and New Year period from Midday on Friday, the 20th of December, through to Monday, the 6th of January 2025. Our staff will attend to any emails and phone messages upon their return.

Our Committee and Staff wish everyone a safe and happy break as 2024 comes to a close, and we look forward to working together in 2025 to help the Northern Inland region grow and prosper.

Federal Government to Continue Support of The RDA Network

The Australian Government has announced that it will continue to strengthen regional communities, with over $117 million of funding support to the 50 Regional Development Australia (RDA) committees across Australia over the next five years.

The new funding agreements will take effect from 1 July 2025 and provide support for RDA Committees to provide critical assistance to local communities and businesses. This includes identifying government and private funding opportunities and supporting organisations to develop their proposals.

RDAs play a key role in bringing all levels of government together to address issues affecting their region, by providing localised advice on challenges and opportunities. Their work supports boosting local economies, growing existing organisations and unlocking new businesses, and strengthening community ties.

The RDA network is critical to supporting the implementation of the Australian Government’s Regional Investment Framework – which underscores the importance of placed-based initiatives and local expertise informing funding decisions across Government.

“By investing in the future of RDAs, we’re ensuring this network can continue to support local organisations to apply for funding opportunities, advocate for local priorities, and champion local initiatives that make a difference in our communities.” Said Minister for Regional Development, Kristy McBain.

Further information about the network of RDA Committees around Australia, and their activities is available on the RDA website.

Staff Member Gary Fry Recognised at Blokes in Society Awards

For ten years, RDANI Staff Member, Gary Fry, has supported Skilled Migrants to apply to move to the Northern Inland, and to settle in our region. From 2013 to 2023, he has supported not only thousands of visa applicants, but also their families, and helped to connect them with businesses in need of skilled workers.

During this time, Gary has developed and managed the Northern Inland Skilled Migration Jobs Board which has connected applicants with employers who have not otherwise been able to fill critical positions. He also developed the Northern Inland Skilled Migration Settlement Support Group, which has allowed Skilled Migrants to support each other in moving to the region.

As a pathway to permanent residency, Skilled Migrants under the 491 and the preceding 489 visa have made a significant contribution to the growth of our region’s economy.

Gary’s dedication to providing support to Skilled Migrants in our region was recognised with a Blokes in Society Award at an International Men’s Day event held in collaboration with New England Family Support Service and Multicultural NSW. “I am honoured and humbled by this award” Gary said. “Moving to a regional area from overseas, as many of our Skilled Migrants have, is daunting. While we no longer provide this role for the 491 Visa due to changes in the visa program, I am proud to have supported so many people that are now calling our region home and are making a positive contribution to our communities.”

Applications Now Open for RDA Chairs Around Australia

The RDA Committee Chair has overall responsibility for setting strategic direction and ensuring that objectives and outcomes of their RDA Committee are achieved. They appoint the Deputy Chair (following Ministerial agreement) and the members. The Chair has a hands-on role and is active in facilitating economic development opportunities for the region.

The Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories appoints the Chair in all states except Victoria and South Australia.

Successful applicants will commence in their role from 1 April 2025.

Applicants will need to respond to selection criteria, based on the RDA Charter, which addresses the requirements of the role. These requirements are:

  1. Leadership and governance – experience in leading organisations including an understanding of the relevant governance and performance management principles as they relate to volunteer committees.
  2. Delivery focus – experience in leading high performing organisations that have had success in achieving outcomes within tight timeframes and in a difficult and complex environment.
  3. Stakeholder engagement – experience managing a broad range of stakeholders in a complex environment to achieve successful outcomes.
  4. Representational skills – experience representing regional, business and/or industry interests, highly developed networks and networking skills, can collaborate with integrity, transparency, respect and accountability, and an ability to translate these into economic development opportunities.
  5. Commitment to the region – have a clear and strong commitment to the region including an understanding of local/state issues and how the RDA(s) can broker solutions to these issues. Members of standalone Capital City RDAs should reside in the capital city, and/or have strong relationships with regional and capital city stakeholders.
  6. Commitment to diversity – have a clear and strong commitment to diversity, including building strong relationships with diverse communities, especially First Nations people, and supporting gender equality opportunities.

Please contact the RDA Program Management Team by email at rdaapplications@infrastructure.gov.au if you have any queries about the application process. Persons interested in applying should refer to the full requirements, information pack and application process on the RDA website at: www.rda.gov.au/join/committee-chair

Applications close on Monday the 23rd of December at 5pm.

Northern Inland Shines in Innovate with NBN Awards

Each year, nbn Co in partnership with the Regional Australia Institute, recognises and showcases extraordinary businesses across the country, through the Innovate with nbn Grants Program.

Since commencement of the program in 2020, more than 800 entries have been received from the length and breadth of Australia. From that, 35 winners have been awarded grants to help bring their ideas to life and continue to grow their ventures. Applications were received under seven categories including Indigenous Business, Education, Agriculture, Women in Regional Business, Health, Tourism and Arts. This year two Northern Inland businesses achieved the top prize in their categories; Tamworth based GRO Rural for Agriculture, and Armidale based SimpliMove for Health.

GRO Rural is a digital platform designed to connect and empower professionals, service providers and businesses across Australia's rural, regional and agricultural sectors. Offering tailored industry registries, networking opportunities and professional resources, GRO Rural helps rural professionals showcase their expertise, find job opportunities and build strong connections with organisations in need of services.

"GRO Rural was created to address a unique challenge - connecting dairy professionals and service providers with farm businesses. Existing platforms, like LinkedIn, or traditional recruitment agencies simply don't work for the rural space, where personal connections and specialised skills are essential.” said GRO Rural Managing Director, Dimity Smith. "We want to create a more digitally connected and prosperous future for dairy communities, and set the stage for expanding GRO Rural into other ag sectors like cotton, grains and livestock. It's all about making regional Australia stronger, smarter and more connected."

SimpliMove aims to be best in delivering digital health to improve accessibility of healthcare, health outcomes and health literacy for all Australians. Based in Armidale, NSW, it does this by providing accessible, trusted and cost-efficient online treatment with health advice and rehabilitation programs.

SimpliMove is a mobile and web application that offers:

  • Primary care, allied health, physiotherapy treatment and management using telehealth sessions.
  • Tailored medical exercise and rehabilitation programs adapted to a user's ability, pain, medical conditions, goals and interests.
  • Health education with more than 100 articles designed to improve health literacy about injury management, chronic disease, and general health and wellbeing.

Leveraging GP referrals and the SimpliMove digital health platform, SimpliMove proposes to establish a GP referral pathway and streamline processes for patient uptake of its digital platform delivered to populations in NSW's New England area. "We now wish to provide evidence that online health services using the SimpliMove app are a viable option, particularly in rural and regional Australia where accessing health services can be prohibitive.” said Deborah Hunter, Co-Founder and Owner at SimpliMove. "The grant money will help fund our research to provide this evidence and provide a future blueprint for rolling out other online services to create greater accessibility for healthcare to these populations."

Further information on the other Innovate with nbn winners is available on the nbn Co website.

New Course to Prepare to Work in Renewable Energy

Renewable energy will play a crucial role as Australia transitions from fossil fuels to sustainable energy sources to reach net zero by 2050. To support those looking to explore the
growing and dynamic renewable Energy Industry and the diverse career opportunities it offers, TAFE NSW is offering a new online microskill course: Prepare to Work in Renewable Energy Industry. It joins TAFE NSW’S suite of offerings and aims to provide foundational knowledge of the renewable energy industry and career pathways.

This introductory course is designed for individuals who want to learn more about the renewable energy industry's various technologies and diverse career opportunities. It explains what renewable technologies are, how they work, where they are located and why, and the various roles, training requirements and career opportunities for anyone seeking a new and exciting career pathway in the renewable energy industry.

Learning outcomes include being able to:

  • Outline the future of the energy industry in Australia and the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy.
  • Recognise the environment, working conditions and lifecycle of a Renewable Energy Zone
  • Identify the technologies that make Australia's renewable energy industry.
  • Evaluate the long-term career opportunities across the various industry sectors and project stages and how to pursue them.
  • Take action to join the renewable energy industry.

NSW high-school students, teachers and career advisers, including public, private and Catholic schools, may be eligible to access a fully discounted license to do the course by using their @edu email address to register.

Further information, including how to register is available on the TAFE NSW website.

Moree Plains Youth Funding a Knock-Out Success

Over $100,000 in funding has now been awarded to community organisations to deliver engaging after-hours activities for young people in the Moree Plains Shire. The boost in activities has seen young people from across the Shire participate in diverse programs to build support networks, develop positive life skills, deepen their connection to culture and help them stay off the streets at night.

From boxing classes and rap workshops to representing Moree at prestigious sporting competitions, young people are getting actively involved and showcasing the breadth of talent in the region.

On 25 October, Mad Proppa Deadly brought back the Moree Block Party for an incredible celebration of community, culture and music. In addition to community stalls, fantastic food and a stacked line-up of artists including Kobie Dee and Barkaa, a host of activities were run for young people including cultural dance, music workshops and weaving.  Founder Nate Weatherall said of the event “great things are built from the ground up, and the Moree Block Party showed that when a community comes together, we can create something really special, full of culture and creativity.”

Mungindi Local Aboriginal Land Council have been delivering after-school arts workshops to local kids, who have been busy practising their drawing and painting, and creating a story vision for a community mural through Aboriginal symbols and art. In the coming weeks, they will work with Aboriginal artist Elenore Binge to paint their stories on a wall at the Land Council. CEO Danielle Dent spoke about how excited the kids were to participate, even coming to the office when the program wasn’t running, and the interest and support from parents and community who can’t wait to see the finished product.

With the help of their trusty new van, Chalky’s Gym has seen a real increase in their after-school activities. They have already taken young people to other gyms outside Moree to improve their sparring techniques and will be taking some of their rising stars to interstate competitions to learn what it takes to compete in the big leagues and connect with other boxers and gyms. Pro-boxer, Brocke Brown, said Chalky’s van has given him ‘the freedom to explore opportunities’ outside his neighbourhood, and that it ‘had made a huge difference’ in his life.

The Grants program also supported SHAE Academy to take a Mixed Under 15’s team to the National Indigenous Touch Football Knockout in Dubbo, where they were crowned the undefeated champions of the tournament.

A number of other activities have also been recently funded including:

  • Yinarr Wellness Foundation for their ‘Yinarr Miyay Healing Series’
  • Toomelah GubuRa for their touch football initiative and bus to transport participants
  • SHAE Academy for a 4-week junior touch football competition

Funding is still available, and the Premier’s Department encourages anyone interested in delivering activities to reach out with their ideas or submit an application. "We are grateful for this significant investment in our young people and community. Too often we hear that there is nothing for older kids to do in Moree - these programs are addressing that, and also building skills and valuable relationships at the same time. I strongly encourage any community, sporting groups and businesses to think about what would be great to have in the school holidays - and apply to deliver it!" said Moree Plains Shire Council Mayor, Susannah Pearse.

For more information, including how to apply for a Moree After Hours Activities for Young People Quick Response Grant is available on the NSW Government website.

Featured Grants and Funding Opportunities

Below are some featured grants and funding opportunities from the multitude of open grants listed in the Grants and Funding Opportunities area of our website. Our website is updated weekly with new listings and updates and all are applicable to our region, so it is a great resource if you are looking for funding for a specific project.

You can also sign up to our Business and Infrastructure Funding Opportunities and the Community Grants and Award Programs newsletters through the simple form located on the left-hand side of our website: www.rdani.org.au, to receive monthly summaries of currently open grants.

 

Young Achiever Awards 2025
Closes: 15th of January 2025
Run By: Awards Australia

The purpose of the 7NEWS Young Achiever Awards is to acknowledge, encourage and most importantly promote the positive achievements of all young people in NSW & the ACT, 30 years of age and under, as of 31st December each year.

 

Youth Empowerment Program
Opens: 7th of January 2025 - 10:00 am
Closes: 28th of January 2025 - 5:00 pm
Value: $300,000 to $1 Million
Run By: Attorney-General's Department

The Youth Empowerment Program will provide funding of $28.377 million to organisations for programs for youth aged 10 to 17 who are engaged in, or at-risk of becoming engaged in, criminal and/or anti-social behaviour. It is expected that activities will be aimed at the participation of young people at-risk aged between 10 to17 to reduce the incidence of low-level engagement in criminal activity and decrease recidivism rates.

The objectives of the grant opportunity are to:

  • provide alternative pathways for young people who are at risk of being engaged in criminal and/or anti-social behaviour
  • enable young people at-risk to break patterns of recidivism and cyclical engagement in criminal activity
  • help young people at-risk to develop life skills to prevent them from becoming entrenched in the criminal justice system, to promote inclusion, build community resilience and strengthen family support structures.

 

EV Destination Charging Grants - Round 3
Closes: 31st of January 2025 - 5:00 pm
Value: Variable amount dependent on application
Run By: NSW Government Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water

This grant is providing co-funding to eligible private EV Charge Point Operators (CPOs) to own and operate lower powered direct current (DC) public EV fast chargers at council and business-owned tourism sites across regional NSW.

The NSW Government's objectives of the grants are to:

  • overcome range anxiety and help to create a world-class EV charging network
  • support destinations across regional NSW to be EV-ready
  • support the growth of the NSW visitor economy and the ability to cater for an increasing number of EV drivers
  • support the development of EV-friendly road trips across regional NSW

 

Community Cricket Grants S3
Closes: 31st of January 2025 - 5:00 pm
Value: Up to $5,000
Run By: NRMA Insurance

Tell NRMA Insurance about your local cricket club, for the chance to win an NRMA Insurance community cricket grant raised in partnership with Cricket Australia. They are interested to know:

  • About your cricket club and the role it plays in your local community
  • Help them understand why your club is deserving of a $5,000 Community Cricket Grant, and how you would use the funds
  • What would be the impact of that help to your club and the wider community?

Entry is only open to Australian-based cricket clubs and associations that are correctly affiliated within Australian Cricket.

 

Saluting Their Service Commemorative Grants Program - 2024-25 - Batch 3
Closes: 5th of February 2025 - 9:00 pm
Value: Up to $150,000
Run By: Department of Veterans Affairs

The objective of the program is to commemorate the service and sacrifice of Australia’s service personnel in wars, conflicts and peace operations, and their families.

The intended outcome of the grant opportunity is to provide funding for projects and activities that:

  • promote appreciation and understanding of the experiences of service and the roles that those who served have played
  • preserve, add to the sum of knowledge on, or provide access to information about Australia’s wartime heritage.

Projects and activities relating to all wars, conflicts and peacekeeping operations are eligible.

What's On in the Northern Inland

The Glen Spinners and Yarners
Monday 23rd of December
Glen Innes

Carols On Markham
Tuesday 24th of December
Armidale

Christmas Carols in Nundle
Tuesday 24th of December
Nundle

Knitting, Crafting, Spinning Day
Tuesday 24th of December
Tamworth

Christmas Day Lunch
Wednesday 25th of December
Warialda

Community Christmas Lunch
Wednesday 25th of December
Armidale

Calala Markets
Saturday 28th of December
Calala

Drake Village Markets
Saturday 28th of December
Drake

Tamworth Community Markets
Saturday 28th of December
Tamworth

Woolomin Monthly Markets
Saturday 28th of December
Woolomin

2024 Guyra New Years Eve
Tuesday 31st of December
Guyra

New Years Eve Fireworks
Tuesday 31st of December
Armidale

Craft Shed Market Day
Saturday 4th of January
Tamworth

Narrabri Rotary Markets
Saturday 4th of January
Narrabri

Border Railway Markets
Sunday 5th of January
Wallangarra

Play in the Art Studio
Sunday 5th of January
Tamworth

Torrington Market Day
Sunday 5th of January
Torrington

VETs Cricket Carnival
Tuesday 7th to Wednesday 8th of January
Walcha

Community Yoga Class
Friday 10th of January
Tamworth

Barraba Museum Markets
Saturday 11th of January
Barraba

Armidale Farmers’ Market
Sunday 12th of January
Armidale

Walk n Talk for Life
Sunday 12th of January
Tamworth

Lamb and Potato Festival
Friday 17th to Tuesday 28th of January
Guyra

Toyota Tamworth Country Music Festival
Friday 17th to Sunday 26th of January
Tamworth

Tenterfield Farmers and Producers Market
Saturday 18th of January
Tenterfield

Peel Street Markets
Sunday 19th of January
Tamworth

Sapphire City Markets
Sunday 19th of January
Inverell

Steam Engines in Action
Thursday 23rd of January
Tamworth

Car Boot Sale and Markets
Saturday 24th of January
Glen Innes

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