The Australian Government will provide $15 million in grants to eligible local and regional newspaper publishers to help absorb newsprint price increases which threaten the sustainability of local newspapers.

This is part of a $29 million local news and community broadcasting transition package to help regional, local and community media providers.

Funding applications for Stream 1 and Stream 2 of the Regional Local Newspaper Publishers Program are now open.

The Australian Government has announced a total of $15 million (GST exclusive) in grants to support regional, independent suburban, First Nations and multicultural print publishers.

Funding will be delivered to eligible applicants under two streams with Stream 1 providing $10 million funding for regional print publishers producing core news content in regional Australia and Stream 2 providing $5 million funding for independent suburban, First Nations and multicultural print publishers producing core news content.

Grant funding is available through two funding streams:

• Stream 1: $10 million for Regional Print Publishers, which produce core news content in regional markets, to be apportioned using a grant funding allocation formula based on their proportion of certified print costs compared to the total combined certified print costs of eligible Stream 1 applicants.
• Stream 2: $5 million for independent suburban, First Nations and multicultural publishers, which produce core news content, to be apportioned using a grant funding allocation formula based on their proportion of certified printing costs compared to the total combined certified printing costs of eligible Stream 2 applicants.

Publications can use grant funding to cover:

• printing costs during the Grant period
• purchase or lease of assets and equipment, including paper, and equipment directly related to printing
• the costs of acquiring technology to assist with printing
• salaries for employees that are directly connected to the printing of core news content
• other costs that directly support the printing of core news content.

This is a demand-driven program, with all eligible applicants to receive a grant based on their proportion of print costs. 

There is no maximum grant amount per grantee but total grants cannot exceed the amount of available funds.

The Department is the final decision-maker for grants under this program. 

Applications for Stream 1 and Stream 2 are now open and will close 5pm (AEST) on 19 August 2022