Regional stream

The National Landcare Program phase one incorporated a regional funding stream that directed investment through Australia’s 56 natural resource management (NRM) organisations, recognising the crucial role of these organisations in delivering NRM at a local and regional level.

During phase one, regional NRM organisations were granted autonomy to deliver the program’s regional funding and were expected to:

• in collaboration with community, landcare and farming system groups, lead regional NRM planning and prioritisation of NRM activities to support environmental protection and sustainable agricultural practices
• deliver nationally important outcomes that assist Australia to meet its national and international obligations
• broker partnerships, collaborate with networks and support local stakeholders in delivery of regional NRM activities
• build local community and industry engagement, skills and capacity in NRM and sustainable agriculture
• support Indigenous participation in delivering NRM outcomes
• report NRM outcomes at a regional level and contribute to program reporting at the national level.

Performance framework for regional NRM organisations

In 2014, we introduced a performance framework as a key quality assurance and risk management tool for the delivery of the National Landcare Program. All regional NRM organisations monitored their performance against this framework to meet expectations or have strategies in place to meet them. This framework was reviewed in 2016 and 2017.

We conducted a review and public consultations during 2016 to inform the design and delivery of the second phase of the National Landcare Program. This review identified the continuing strong support for regional scale NRM investments.

Read more about the Review of the National Landcare Program.

During phase two, the Regional Land Partnerships investment adopts a procurement approach to deliver greater efficiencies with a shift towards more strategic regional investments targeting national priorities. A total of 50 service providers have been contracted to 2023, delivering core services and strategic regional NRM project activities.

Read more about Regional Land Partnerships.