How to determine co-benefit eligibility
How to determine eligibility for Environmental Co-benefits
All Land Restoration Fund projects must deliver at least one environmental co-benefit derived from implementing a Tier 1 carbon method to be considered for investment.
Step 1
Is the land able to support a Tier 1 carbon farming method?
Go to LOOC-C to assess your property. If the resulting carbon methods match the prescribed LRF Tier 1 methods, move to step 2. If you cannot satisfy this requirement, you are not able to apply for funding through the LRF.
Step 2
Can the Tier 1 carbon method produce an environmental co-benefit?
If LOOC-C showed a Tier 1 carbon method is possible on your property, it may also have indicated that it is possible to derive an LRF environmental co-benefit by implementing the method.
To check eligibility for an environmental co-benefit, follow the instructions in the Using online tools to assess eligibility for LRF environmental co-benefits guide.
How to determine eligibility for Socio-economic Co-benefits
All LRF projects must deliver at least one environmental co-benefit derived from implementing a Tier 1 carbon method to be considered for investment.
Only consider your eligibility for socio-economic co-benefits if you can satisfy this requirement.
To be eligible to claim the Employment and Skills co-benefit, LRF projects must:
- result in the employment of regional workers
- deliver skills training to regional workers
- deliver these co-benefits in regional Queensland.
Applicants can only claim Employment and Skills co-benefits if projects can deliver these benefits in ‘regional Queensland’. For the purposes of this co-benefit class, ‘regional’ is defined as areas of Queensland outside the following Local Government Areas:
- City of Brisbane
- City of Gold Coast
- City of Ipswich
- Logan City
- Moreton Bay Region
- Redland City
- Shire of Noosa
- Sunshine Coast Region.
To see the boundaries of all Local Government Areas in Queensland, go to Queensland Globe and turn on the ‘Local Government’ layer under ‘Boundaries’. Projects located outside the boundaries of the Local Government Areas listed above are eligible.
To be eligible to claim Local Community co-benefits, LRF projects must:
- be located in an area broadly defined as an area of relative socio-economic disadvantage, taking into account people's access to material and social resources, and their ability to participate in society
- generate economic and social co-benefits for the local community.
To determine whether your project site is in an area of relative socio-economic disadvantage, go to the Australian Bureau of Statistics Index of Relative Socio-Economic Disadvantage interactive map and turn on the 2016 Local Government Areas layer. Local government areas identified within quintiles 1 and 2 (in red) are eligible.
For the purposes of this co-benefit class, ‘local’ is defined as the area around the project within a 125-kilometre radius or within the boundaries of the Local Government Area, whichever is the larger.
How to determine eligibility for First Nation’s Co-benefits
To claim First Nations co-benefits based on location, LRF projects must:
a) take place on Indigenous land, which for the purposes of the LRF Co-benefits Standard may include:
- Aboriginal freehold
- land with a native title determination
- land that is subject to a registered native title claim
- land where there is an Indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA) in place, including where there is a benefit assigned for the use of the land for a carbon farming project (e.g. where there is a project being run by a pastoral leaseholder on land subject to a native title interest and under the ILUA the traditional owners receive a benefit from, or share of, the ACCUs generated).
b) provide benefits to the relevant First Nations peoples for the land.
To determine eligibility, first, speak to the traditional owners of the land that includes the project site.
If you don’t know how to contact the traditional owners of the area, it may be helpful to look at the Agreements, Treaties and Negotiated Settlements website and check the interactive maps to assist in finding the right people to speak with.
To claim First Nations co-benefits based on participation, a project must:
a) be owned by First Nations peoples
b) directly involve First Nations participation, such as through the provision of Indigenous fire management services or the involvement of Indigenous Rangers.
To determine eligibility:
There are no tools to assess eligibility for this co-benefit, however proof of project ownership and/or participation will be required by the LRF if an applicant wishes to claim this co-benefit.