Environment Restoration Fund – a new federal government program – has announced its Safe Havens grants. These grants will support the creation of new or expanded safe havens for priority threatened mammals and other threatened species.

NRM organisations, Indigenous not-for-profit corporations and Local and State agency bodies are amongst those eligible to apply.

Grants of between $500,000 and $1.8 million will cover up to 100% of project costs.

The Environment Restoration Fund – Safe Havens Grants opportunity will run over three years from 2020-21 to 2022-23. This program is part of a $10 million election commitment announced in May 2019 under the Environment Restoration Fund, which supports the creation of safe havens for threatened species.

Safe havens are areas where invasive predators such as feral cats and foxes, have been permanently removed from fenced areas and islands to provide long term protection for native wildlife.

The objective of this program is to reduce extinction risk to nationally listed threatened species through strategic expansion of the safe haven network.

The intended outcomes of the Environment Restoration Fund – Safe Havens Grants are to:

• improve the representation of priority threatened mammal species susceptible to invasive predators within safe havens
• create new or expanded safe havens for priority threatened mammals and other threatened species, including:
• exclosures that provide invasive predator-free habitat 
• islands from which key invasive species are eradicated
• translocate priority threatened mammal species to new or existing safe havens.

While projects up to $1.8 million may be funded, only $6.788 million is available over three years for this grant.

The following species are listed as primary priorities in the funding guidelines:

Applications for the Environment Restoration Fund – Safe Havens Grants close 11 January 2021. Download guidelines here. Get more information here.