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Overview

  • Business, Government, Not-for-profit groups, Traditional Owner Corporations
  • Open

Green Links is a $10 million investment to improve habitat, water quality, and provide cool green spaces for communities around our urban creeks, rivers and waterways.

The program aims to fund up to 200 hectares of revegetation projects over 3 years. Green Links builds on work underway to protect our iconic urban waterways from inappropriate development and complements the aspirations of Traditional Owners and the community for our waterways.

Why are we investing?

The health and amenity of our urban waterways is important and provides environmental, cultural, and social benefits.

Our waterways:

  • support biodiversity and provide a home for more than 1,800 species of native plants and 600 species of native animals
  • are sites of significant importance and cultural value to Traditional Owners, who maintain unique cultural and spiritual connections to Country, and its waterways, plants, and animals
  • enhance community wellbeing by providing safe natural places for people to spend time and engage with nature. This has a measurable impact on reducing depression, anxiety, and stress.

Now is the time to act to avoid a decline in waterway health and habitat. With action, the environmental values of catchments can be maintained or improved. Increasing the extent and quality of streamside vegetation can improve habitat for birds, frogs, fish, and platypus. Revegetation can also protect catchment wetlands and floodplains, which provides places where people can connect with nature.

Green Links will be delivered in partnership with Traditional Owners and local communities and will strengthen communities’ connection with their local waterways.

Round 2 grant criteria (open)

These organisations and groups are eligible to apply:

  • Community or environmental volunteer groups/networks.
  • Registered Aboriginal Parties
  • Schools
  • Land and/or water management authorities
  • Local government authorities

The following cannot apply for funding:

  • Individuals
  • Private sector business and agencies other than those listed above
  • Commonwealth Government and Victorian State agencies (other than those listed above).

Auspice agreements are allowed for eligible organisations.

In 2024, the program area has been expanded to encompass all urban waterways within the State of Victoria.

Projects can be located along or adjacent to any waterway (excluding marine areas) that passes through an urban area or receives stormwater run-off from an urbanised catchment. This includes waterways outside the Melbourne Growth Boundary which are impacted by urbanisation from regional cities/centres, such as for example Bendigo and Ballarat.

Projects must be located on public land or land owned by Registered Aboriginal Parties. They should be adjacent to an urban waterway, connecting to the riparian, and/or waterway corridor.

Areas that connect waterway habitat to other significant habitat patches are also eligible where habitat value for waterway species can be evidenced.

In Round 2 the total funding pool is $2 million. Applications are accepted for funding requests between $20,000 and $350,000 per eligible project.

Organisations can submit multiple applications; however each application must be for a separate and unique project.

Applications from organisation who received funding, or applied as part of Round 1, are also welcomed.

Grant funding is available for projects that are undertaking targeted on-ground works for revegetation and associated activities.

Projects must start no later than June 2025 and be completed by 30 June 2027. Final reporting and financial acquittal will be required by September 2027.

Applications that involve partnerships with Registered Aboriginal Parties and/or community groups are highly encouraged.

Community tree planting events and/or other opportunities for local community involvement, for example friends, community groups and schools were also encouraged.

Apply now

Using the grant platform

  • To save a draft, use the ‘Save as a draft’ button.
  • To return to a saved draft application, login below:

Access your saved application

Assistance

For technical help with Grants Online, contact the grants online team.

Grant guidelines

The Green Links Grant Guidelines outline full eligibility, assessment criteria and required documentation for your application including the supplied Project Plan and Budget templates.

Round 1 (closed)

In 2023-24 the Green Links grants program awarded $6.037 million in grants to support 23 projects.

Round 1 funding targeted projects on waterways included in the Waterways of the West and Barre Warre Yulluk / the Rivers of the Barwon Action Plans, Burndap Birrarung burndap umarkoo – the Yarra Strategic Plan, and 14 waterways identified for stronger planning controls.

Examples of successful Round 1 Projects include:

  • $198,000 to restore and create new habitat connections along the upper section of the Maribyrnong River and Jacksons Creek in Keilor North
  • Over $700,000 for 13 revegetation sites along the Yarrowee River and tributaries around Ballarat
  • $47,000 for a community led project in Whittlesea covering 6,000 square metres of Curly Sedge Creek
  • Two projects alongside the lower Werribee River, receiving over $260,000 to revegetate key parklands and riparian areas
  • $464,000 to improve habitat conditions and connectivity along a 4 kilometre stretch of the much-loved Merri Creek in Melbourne’s inner north.

Page last updated: 13/11/24