About the Land Restoration Fund
The Queensland Government’s $500 million Land Restoration Fund (the Fund) aims to expand carbon farming in the state by supporting land-sector projects that deliver additional environmental, social and economic co-benefits.
The Fund will empower farmers, land managers and landholders with the support needed to generate additional, regular and diverse income streams and protect their business in tough times, through carbon farming projects.
A robust carbon farming industry in Queensland will create regional jobs and contribute to reducing Queensland’s carbon emissions, as well as providing valuable co-benefits like healthier waterways, more habitat for threatened species, and more resilient landscapes.
Applications for the first round of funding will open on 28 January 2020.
Opportunities for Queensland landholders, land managers and farmers
Queensland is well placed to be Australia’s major source of premium land sector carbon credits over the next two decades. Our large and complex environment gives us an advantage in the use of new carbon farming methods that also deliver environmental, social and economic benefits.
Regenerative farming, including carbon farming, offers landholders, land managers and farmers, a tangible way to create a better future for themselves and their families.
Through the Land Restoration Fund, participants can benefit from:
- diversified income
- increased land value
- greater productivity (increased income)
- increased employment (jobs)
- stronger, more resilient communities
- opportunities for collective effort.
Online tools can help potential applicants learn about the benefits from native forest regrowth and make informed decisions about participating in the Fund.
The LOOC-C (pronounced look-see) web tool, produced by CSIRO, is a landscape options and opportunities for carbon abatement calculator. It can assist land managers to decide which methods will be most suitable for their property. It allows land managers to quickly assess options on the land for certain projects offered under the Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF). Implementing the ERF methods identified by LOOC-C estimates increases in the amount of carbon contained in trees or soil in response to identified management activities.
Frequently asked questions
- Who can apply to the Land Restoration Fund?
- How do I apply to the Land Restoration Fund?
- How much is the government investing and how is it being rolled out?
- How will the Land Restoration Fund benefit Queensland communities?
- How will the Land Restoration Fund help Queensland land holders, land managers and farmers?
- What jobs will carbon farming create?
- How will the Land Restoration Fund help First Nations peoples?
- How does the Land Restoration Fund operate?
Who can apply to the Land Restoration Fund?
Any Queensland land manager, who has the legal right to do so, can lodge an application either themselves or via an authorised agent.
A land manager is a person or corporate entity that has the capacity to obtain the legal right to run a carbon project on land in Queensland.
Further information about legal rights is available from the Clean Energy Regulator website.
The eligibility criteria for LRF funding is detailed in the Investment Application Guidelines.
How do I apply to the Land Restoration Fund?
You will need to submit a project application through smarty grants. Applications will open Tuesday 28 January 2020.
You can register your interest for future updates.
How much is the government investing and how is it being rolled out?
The Land Restoration Fund is a $500 million investment by the Queensland Government.
In 2020, the Queensland Government is investing $100 million. The 2020 Investment Round will open on 28 January 2020 with two application intakes:
- Intake 1 closing 28 February 2020
- Intake 2 closing 15 April 2020
How will the Land Restoration Fund benefit Queensland communities?
Active, on-ground management is crucial to maintain healthy landscapes and ensure the prosperity of regional communities. It also requires people to do it – which means jobs for regional communities. The new work and job opportunities through carbon farming are similar to existing industries in Queensland’s regional communities – managing the land, managing cattle, cropping, and forestry. In other words, carbon farming will help communities survive and thrive and maintain their connections to the land.
How will the Land Restoration Fund help Queensland land holders, land managers and farmers?
Queensland farmers are some of the best in the world, and they are doing it tough on many fronts. They’re also on the frontline when it comes to climate change.
Our farmers are fighting fires, floods and prolonged drought conditions and adjusting to generational change. Regenerative farming, including carbon farming, offers farmers a tangible way to create a better future for themselves and their families.
The Fund will empower farmers with the support needed to generate additional, regular and diverse income streams and protect their business in tough times, through carbon farming projects.
What jobs will carbon farming create?
Carbon farming will allow people to keep jobs and/or stay working on properties that might not have been viable, without the additional income stream generated from carbon farming.
The jobs associated with carbon farming include:
- labour such as tree planting and fencing to keep cattle out of creeks and rivers
- suppliers of goods and services like fencing, irrigation and watering infrastructure, pest and weed management and fire management
- new innovation enterprises like drone services and IT infrastructure to monitor and report on project outcomes
- carbon, land management and financial advisory services
- grazing land and cattle management
- support services such as soil carbon measuring and water quality monitoring
- nurseries and seed collection
- carbon project developers and advisory services
- research and science such as on-the-ground research and monitoring services.
How will the Land Restoration Fund help First Nations peoples?
The Queensland Government’s Carbon Plus Fund was established in 2016 and supported Aboriginal Carbon Fund (AbCF) to support and grow Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ participation in carbon markets.
The Land Restoration Fund builds on this work.
Using knowledge passed down from generation to generation, Queensland’s First Nations peoples are combining Indigenous land management knowledge and science with modern technology, to create carbon offsets and new economic opportunities.
Carbon farming provides opportunities for First Nations peoples to work on Country and fulfil their desire to look after it for future generations. Income from carbon farming can enable Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander land owners to invest in other ventures that benefit their communities.
How does the Land Restoration Fund operate?
Details about how the Fund operates are outlined in the Priority Investment Plan and Investment Application Guidelines.