NSW Boating Access Dredging Program

The Minister for Transport and Roads announced the allocation of $875,000 for four successful dredging projects under the Boating Access Dredging Program.

NSW Government and relevant councils will jointly fund:

• $30,000 towards Merimbula Lake Entrance Sediment Study
• $200,000 towards Ski Way Park Boat Ramp in Lake Illawarra
• $495,000 towards the Entrance Dredging Project
• $150,000 towards the preparation of dredging strategies for Shoalhaven Heads

For more information please contact the Maritime Infrastructure Delivery Office at mido@transport.nsw.gov.au.

The NSW Government is committed to improving accessibility to the state's waterways, and in March 2021 announced the allocation of $2 million to the Boating Access Dredging Program. This grants program will replace the Rescuing our Waterways program which was previously administered by Crown Lands.

The funding has been made available from the $205 million Maritime Infrastructure Stimulus Program announced in October 2020.

The new program is administered by Transport for NSW (TfNSW), with the Maritime Infrastructure Delivery Office (MIDO) now being responsible for coordinating the planning and delivery of maritime infrastructure, including dredging, in collaboration with our partners and stakeholders.

The Boating Access Dredging Program allocates funding to councils for local dredging projects to ensure safe navigation of channels and entrances, particularly in regional waterways. This will ensure better access to local waterways for recreational and commercial boaters and other users. This also creates flow-on benefits for tourism, marine based businesses and local economies.

Councils can apply and are expected to make a financial contribution of at least 25% of the total project costs and be responsible for developing and managing their projects.

Dredging projects which are eligible for funding under the program include:

• dredging strategies and/or their supporting studies (e.g. sediment hydrodynamics)
• dredging projects that will deliver navigational benefits and improved access to waterways for recreational and commercial vessels
• dredging projects that will improve access to on-water public infrastructure such as boat ramps and wharves
• pre-dredge activities for projects which are eligible and likely to proceed to dredging.

Currently, $2 million of the Maritime Infrastructure Stimulus Program has been allocated to the Boating Access Dredging Program.  The Program will generally fund up to 75 per cent of the total project cost up to a maximum grant value of $500,000.

Applications for the Boating Access Dredging Program are closed.

The following documents were provided to assist with lodging an application:

• Boating Access Dredging Program Guidelines (PDF, 558.79 KB)
• Boating Access Dredging Program Questions and Answers (PDF, 276.24 KB)
• Boating Access Dredging Program Application Form (DOCX, 185.31 KB)
• Boating Access Dredging Program Preliminary Work Plan template - sample (XLS, 38 KB)