Local council smart tech grants of up to $5million

Federal Member for Mitchell, the Hon Alex Hawke MP, encourages councils in North West Sydney to apply for up to $5million in funding to support smart tech projects for local communities.

The Federal Government’s $50million Smart Cities and Suburbs Program has been opened by Assistant Minister for Cities and Digital Transformation Angus Taylor.

“I’m delighted to launch this exciting new program to support the rollout of technology and data solutions for local communities,” Assistant Minister Taylor said.

“This is not just for metropolitan areas, good ideas come from everywhere and we welcome applications from across Australia.”

Alex Hawke MP said the Federal Government was co-investing in projects that applied smart technology, data-driven decision making and people-focused design.

“I encourage any interested applicants to put forward technology proposals that solve some of our community problems here locally, and have the potential to be scaled up and delivered nationwide,” said Alex Hawke.

A wide range of projects are expected to be developed such as app-based detection of infrastructure wear and tear, traffic sensors, smart street lighting, or computer generated programs that support local services.

Eligible organisations— local governments, private companies, not for profits and research organisations — can apply for grants of between $100,000 and $5 million to fund up to 50 per cent of eligible project costs. Applications are open from 17 March until 30 June 2017.

The Smart Cities and Suburbs Program is supported by the Future Ready incubation series for councils that are looking to build smart cities know-how.

For more information and to download a copy of the Smart Cities and Suburbs Program guidelines, visit business.gov.au