Need Assistance?
Call 1300 658 508
What is the Caravan Park Grant Program?
The Caravan Park Grant Program is a grant opportunity that supports upgrades and new facilities set up at Caravan Parks that appeal to travellers, thereby promoting Australian regional tourism.
Background
The Caravan Park Grant Program is a comprehensive infrastructure support package that aims to improve the caravanning experience in Australia. This well-targeted funding guarantees to aid park owners to swiftly upgrade or create new infrastructure that enhances the visitor experience.
The Caravan Park Grant Program focuses on privately owned caravan parks. The grant includes support for developing new caravans, upgrading existing cabins or facilities, making amenities more accessible and environmentally friendly.
Austrade administers the grant by collaborating with you, tracking your progress, and making payments.Austrade will assess your responses based on the assessment criteria and in consultation with relevant tourism stakeholders. The applicants with the highest scores will be chosen for funding in order of merit.
Objectives
The primary reasons for funding are:
- Security: Private Park owners find it difficult to receive funds from the bank as caravan parks are viewed as specialised properties.
- Funding Cost: Borrowing from the bank at the highest loan to value ratio with a competitive interest rate is challenging.
- Additional Funding: Some parks that already have existing infrastructure but wish to renovate/upgrade find it hard to access additional funding.
The Caravan Park Grant Program has the objective to enhance the destination’s appeal through improved infrastructure and facilities of local caravan parks. Thereby encouraging Australian Travellers and International Visitors to choose caravan parks as their lodging option.
Need Assistance?
Call 1300 658 508
Core Focus Areas
The main focus areas will be
- Developing new caravan/camping sites that comprise high quality caravan park infrastructure encourages regional tourism.
- Increasing the number of powered sites enhances the attractiveness or capacity of a destination to meet visitor needs.
- Installing new or upgraded visitor amenities expands the number of tourists looking for caravan park lodging at a destination.
Funding
Grants ranging from $10,000 to $100,000 are available on a shared investment basis for capital expenditure projects at privately owned caravan parks.
Caravan parks with annual revenue of $10 million or more will be required to contribute $2 for every government grant dollar.
Applicants who own more than one caravan park may apply for multiple grants at different sites amounting $300,000 in total.
Allocation of Funding:
- The Caravan Park Grant Program will grant $10,000 in matching funds, dollar for dollar, for improvements to caravan parks’ visitor infrastructure.
- The matching funding amount will depend on the revenue generated by your caravan park in the financial year 2021-2022.
- Caravan parks will get dollar-for-dollar matching support with an annual revenue of under $10 million (1:1).
- For sites with $10 million or more in annual revenue, matched money will be provided at a 2:1 ratio (2:1).
- A $300,000 application cap will be used in cases where one business owns or manages many parks.
Eligible Projects
Eligible Projects include:
- Infrastructure and/or assets must be either newly created or upgraded as part of a project.
- Grants for multi-site applications may be given for the same project at each campground or for different projects with various grant amounts at each campground.
The Caravan Park Grant Program will fund:
- New caravan/camping sites
- Increasing the number of powered sites
- Significant cabin modifications
- Constructing improved facilities for guests
- Making amenities more accessible, eco-friendly, or carbon-impact-reducing
The program will not fund:
- administration costs
- costs incurred prior to a grant agreement being executed
- costs of purchasing, leasing or depreciation of land
- IT assets, IT software, office furniture or equipment
- loans, debt financing, financing cost, including interest and bank fees
- maintenance or general repair costs
- marketing or promotional advertising costs
- projects funded by or better suited to other Commonwealth or state/territory grant programs
- routine or business as usual operational expenses
- site preparation activities which are not directly related to, or for, the main purpose of the project
- staff accommodation
Need Assistance?
Call 1300 658 508
Timing
Applications close 22 December 2022.
How to get the Caravan Park Upgrade Grant
Caravan Park Upgrade Grant applications must satisfy the eligibility criteria outlined above and will then be competitively ranked against the following assessment criteria:
- Alignment of the project with the goals and outputs of the program (40 points)
Provide substantive evidence for the demand for your project at the destination/regional level using research or corroborating data. Forecast the expected rise in the number of short-term tourists looking for lodging in caravan parks based on the destination’s improved desirability.
- Capacity, capability and resources to deliver the project (30 points)
Attach a list of the companies you’ve worked with or hired to handle tasks like this. It is necessary to have a thorough plan in place to address any risks, such as problems or delays with labour supply, material availability, or the project’s supply chain. Include a precise and realistic timeline for finishing the project by May 15, 2024. Demonstrate your capacity to obtain the necessary approvals to complete the project by the estimated delivery date.
- Project alignment with THRIVE 2030 and your commitment to the visitor economy (30 points)
Provide a detailed description of your project meets the indicative success measures of THRIVE 2030 Priority 5 through improvement in asset quality and accessibility. The commitment of your company to the expansion of Australian tourism should be stated in clear terms. You should also emphasise your desire to connect directly with Tourism Australia and participate in accredited programs in line with regional tourism and economic development strategies.
