Powering the Regions Fund — Safeguard Transformation Stream

Powering the Regions Fund — Safeguard Transformation Stream Round 2

Supports trade-exposed Australian facilities covered by emissions policy to reduce industrial greenhouse gas emissions with approved mitigation investments.

The Powering the Regions Fund – Safeguard Transformation Stream Round 2 is an Australian Government grant program with approximately $321 million available through 31 March 2033, designed to assist trade-exposed industrial facilities covered by Australia's Safeguard Mechanism to reduce their scope 1 greenhouse gas emissions. Although policy is set by the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW), the grant is operationally administered by the DISR Business Grants Hub via business.gov.au. Applications are assessed in three sequential batches: Batch 1 closed May 2026, Batch 2 runs to November 2026, and Batch 3 closes May 2027. Individual grants range from $500,000 to $50,000,000, covering up to 50% of eligible project expenditure, with a maximum project duration of 60 months and a completion deadline of 31 March 2033.

Eligibility is deliberately narrow: applicants must be owners or operators of a trade-exposed facility that is actively covered by the Safeguard Mechanism, and new or expanded coal or gas facilities are explicitly excluded. Projects must demonstrably reduce scope 1 emissions at the covered facility and must be sited on-site or at shared infrastructure in Regional Australia. Eligible expenditure includes plant and equipment, labour, contract work, staff training, equipment decommissioning, and front-end engineering and design (FEED) studies up to 10% of the grant amount (capped at $5 million for entities with turnover below $3 billion).

Applicants with the strongest fit are large industrial manufacturers, mining operators, or processing facilities with quantified baseline emissions, credible decarbonisation technology roadmaps, and co-funding secured for the mandatory 50% project contribution. The competitive positioning advantage lies in demonstrating both near-term emissions reduction quantum and longer-term workforce transition co-benefits, particularly in regional communities. Projects aligned with Australia's 2030, 2035, and 2050 emissions reduction trajectories will score highest.