ACCAN provided a response to the Federal Government’s consultation on the Grant Guidelines for the Regional Connectivity Program Round 2. The program aims to use a place-based approach to telecommunications infrastructure investment that will respond to local priorities and maximise economic opportunities and social benefits for regional communities and businesses.

ACCAN supports the initiative and made the following suggestions to strengthen the Guidelines to ensure the program supports the needs of consumers and small businesses in regional, rural and remote Australia:

• The support of local community members should be considered within the Guidelines as a key form of local community support.
  
  
• Funded infrastructure should require appropriate levels of battery back-up where applicable, and consideration of resiliency measures is needed.
  
  
• To foster a competitive and innovative communications sector, proposed solutions that have proven to be capable of delivering the desired outcomes should be considered, regardless of the solution’s maturity. Similarly, capable candidates with a limited track record should be considered if the project has merit.
  
  
• The Value for Money assessment needs to be made more transparent to provide procedural certainty to local communities seeking funding to address their telecommunications needs.
  
  

Download:  ACCAN submission RCP round 2 guidelines87.82 KB
Download:  ACCAN submission RCP round 2 guidelines185.18 KB