Key information
- Applications are now closed.
Successful Living Carbon projects
The NSW Government awarded $1.38 million to 11 landholders to deliver carbon planting projects across three regions in NSW.
They are:
- M M King and T J O’Neill
- Tamplin Family Holdings Pty Ltd
- Ms Virginia Leitch
- Ms Tanya Pritchard
- Gilgal Grazing Pty Ltd
- Eringoarrah Pty Ltd
- MHPF Glaisnock Land Pty Ltd
- MHPF Watson Park Land Pty Ltd
- Pollack Ag Pty Ltd
- Davis Family Partnership
- Mr Cameron Wallace
Read more about these projects, visit our Success stories.
Eligibility
We are investing $5 million in Living Carbon grants to support eligible applicants to deliver carbon abatement through planting projects in 3 NSW regions:
- Riverina Local Land Services region
- North Coast Local Land Services region
- MidCoast Local Government Area.
Successful applicants can receive up to $200,000 of grant funding. The landholder is expected to commit funding and/or in-kind contributions to complete the project.
A suitable project would:
- plant between 10 and 200 hectares of appropriate species on your land
- plant with the aim of revegetating habitat for threatened or iconic species endemic to your area
- deliver on and comply with all Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCU) Scheme and Accounting for Nature (AfN) method requirements, beyond the lifetime of your grant.
In return, successful applicants must commit to sharing information and helping build capacity within the sector. This will help other landholders understand the potential benefits, risks and costs of carbon projects.
Pre-application requirements
Contact your on-ground support partner today
On-ground support partners in your region are available to assist you in the pre-application work and planning of your project. Check your eligibility for a Living Carbon grant and get in touch with your on-ground support partner to start the process.
Project registration
Your project must be registered under the national Australian Carbon Credit Unit (ACCU) Scheme with the Clean Energy Regulator (CER). You must provide evidence of unconditional registration when applying for a Living Carbon grant.
Projects must be registered under either of the following two methods:
- The Environmental Plantings Pilot 2014 method that closed in September 2024. Your project must have been registered with the CER using this method before 30 September 2024.
- The Environmental Plantings 2024 method that became available in December 2024.
A low-risk planting option with a simpler audit process may be added to the 2024 method in the future. If this happens, it will become the required method for the Living Carbon grant, and you will need to opt in. See the Frequently asked questions for more information.
Please note that while the new Environmental Plantings 2024 method permits site preparation to commence prior to full approval, the Living Carbon grant requirements do not. Under the grant requirements, you cannot commence any project activity until a funding deed has been signed.
Endorsed planting plan
As part of your grant application, you must complete and submit a planting plan endorsed by an approved on-ground support partner. We have provided:
- a planting plan guide for each region
- a planting plan template
- and a blank workbook (optional tool) for you to complete this task.
The planting plan guide provides information, instructions, and additional resources to assist you with your planting plan.
Refer to the planting plan guide specific to your region when you develop your plan.
Planting plan template and workbook
Worked examples
Take a look at this sample plan and workbook to see how they have been completed.
On-ground support partners
On-ground support partners are available in each eligible region to assist landholders with their applications. The partners will be involved during project implementation to ensure planting work is undertaken in-line with endorsed planting plans.
The on-ground support partners also assist with preparing the planting plans and endorse them before applicants can submit them as part of their grant applications.
If you are an applicant from the Riverina or North Coast regions, the endorsing partner must be from your regional Local Land Service office. If you are an applicant from the MidCoast Local Government Area, the endorsing partner must be from the MidCoast Council.
If you have any questions or want to start creating a planting plan, please contact the on-ground support partner in your region.
Find and contact your on-ground support partners in your region.
Living Carbon draft funding deed
If you are successful in your application for a Living Carbon grant, we will enter into a funding deed with you.
It is important to review the draft funding deed provided before applying to ensure you accept it in its entirety. We will not accept any departures of funding deed clauses.
Note: This copy is only a draft and may be updated. You will need to review the wording of the funding deed you are issued before you sign it.
Application process
All applicants must submit their application through our grant website: SmartyGrants.
Before you consider applying, please read our:
The application process will consist of eligibility and merit criteria.
The application assessment is non-competitive, and applications will be assessed as soon as they have been submitted in SmartyGrants.
How to apply
Applications are now closed.
View our pre-recorded information session
You can learn more about this grant by viewing our pre-recorded information session.
Contact us
If you have any questions about this grant, or to discuss your project or application, please email us at [email protected].