Welcome to the Hume City Council's online application for Rural Land Management Assistance Program

The Victorian Government has provided $500 million through the Working for Victoria initiative to offer employment to people out of work as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Through this initiative Council has received a grant to employ teams of people to work on rural land over a six-month period.

The program, titled Land Management Assistance Program (LMAP), will enable eligible landowners to apply for on ground assistance from a team of four staff to implement basic land management activities such as weed control and revegetation. The program will be offered on a competitive basis as a limited pool of staff and time is available. There will be a maximum of 128 hours or four days allocated to each property.

WHO CAN APPLY?

• Landowners who have received the Conserving our Rural Environment Project grant from 2014 to 2019.
• Current recipients of the Agricultural Land Use Rebate.
• Landowners who have received the Conserving our Rural Environment small grant in the 2019-2020 financial year

ELIGIBLE PROJECT ACTIVITIES

The aim of the LMAP is to assist landowners in protecting conservation areas and to control weeds that present a threat to environmental or agricultural assets in the rural areas of Hume. The following activities will be eligible for assistance through the LMAP:

BASIC WEED CONTROL

This can include backpack spraying, hand weeding or chipping the following priority weeds:

• Serrated Tussock
• Artichoke Thistle
• Bathurst Burr
• Cape Weed
• Blackberry
• Apple of Sodom
• Patersons Curse

WOODY WEED REMOVAL

Woody weed removal will include cutting stems and painting the stumps with herbicide.

The removed woody weeds can be piled on site for the landowner to burn or the woody weeds can be removed to landfill if the landowner agrees to share the costs of the landfill disposal.

Woody weeds that will be considered are:

• Boxthorn
• Gorse
• Briar Rose
• Prickly Pear
• Boneseed
• Cape Broom

REVEGETATION

Maintenance of existing revegetation:

• Removing stakes and tree guards
• Brush cutting grass and weeds around each plant or patch of revegetation to enhance the survival rate

Assisting with new revegetation:

• Planting indigenous seedlings that the landowner has purchased.

SOIL EROSION CONTROL

Erosion control could range from installing artificial logs to slow down the rate of water flow and soil erosion or installing matting to stabilise an eroding area. The landowner must purchase the product to be installed.

ACTIVITIES THAT ARE INELIGIBLE

The following activities will not be eligible for the Land Management Assistance Program:

• Fencing and fence repairs
• The control of any other weeds that are not listed under sections 2.1 and 2.2
• General garden maintenance around the home or outbuildings
• Pest animal control
• Any activities related to agricultural pursuits such as ploughing, seeding and harvesting
• Fuel reduction burning

To qualify for the program, you must be actively managing your property in a satisfactory manner, including making a reasonable effort to control noxious weeds and pest animals, practice sustainable grazing and protect native vegetation and creeks.

PROGRAM PRIORITIES AND ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

Through the LMAP priority will be given to landowners and projects that meet some or all of the following criteria. Council will assess each individual application on the responses provided by the landowner.

a) Asset protection - projects that aim to protect conservation/environmentally significant areas of the property such as patches of native vegetation and creeks.

b) Project outcomes - projects must have a focus on achieving long term results. Properties that have a Land Management or Property plan will be ranked higher.

c) Need for assistance - landowners who are most in need of land management assistance due to the impact of COVID-19 will be ranked higher. This could be due to a range of reasons, including loss of income or inability to manage the property due to impaired health.

TIME FRAMES 

• 1 July 2020 - Applications open
• 7 August 2020 - Applications close
• 14 August 2020 - Applications assessed and notifications of outcomes
• 24 August 2020 - On ground works are anticipated to commence
• 26 February 2021 - Program finishes

Landowners will be notified of the outcome of their application by Friday 31 July 2020. Council reserves the right to not approve applications due to insufficient land management works on the property or an incomplete application.

ASSISTANCE

You may begin anywhere in this application form. Please ensure you save as you go.

For queries about the guidelines, deadlines, or questions in the form, please contact the Land and Biodiversity Team us on 9205 2200 during business hours or email resource@hume.vic.gov.au and quote your submission number.

you can also contact the Land and Biodiversity team on the following numbers

• Damien Harrison - 9205 2376
• Cassandra Borg - 9205 2465
• Ian Smith - 9205 2849

Click here (xxxx Insert Link xxxx) to view the guidelines.

If you need more help using this form, download the Help Guide for Applicants or check out Applicant Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)

NAVIGATING (MOVING THROUGH) THE APPLICATION FORM

On every screen (page of the form) you will find a Form Navigation contents box, this links directly to every page of the application. Click the link to jump directly to the page you want.

You can also click 'next page' or 'previous page' on the top or bottom of each page to move forward or backward through the application.

SAVING YOUR DRAFT APPLICATION

If you wish to leave a partially completed application, press 'save and close' and log out. When you log back in and click on the 'My Submissions' link at the top of the screen, you will find a list of any applications you have started or submitted. You can reopen your draft application and start where you left off.

You can also download any application, whether draft or completed, as a PDF. Click on the 'Download PDF' button located at the bottom of the last page of the application form.

SUBMITTING YOUR APPLICATION

You will find a Review and Submit button at the bottom of the Navigation Panel. You need to review your application before you can submit it.

Once you have reviewed your application you can submit it by clicking on 'Submit' at the top or bottom of the screen or on the navigation panel. You will not be able to submit your application until all the compulsory questions are completed and there are no validation errors.

Once you have submitted your application, no further editing or uploading of support materials is possible.

When you submit your application, you will receive a confirmation email with a copy of your submitted application attached. This will be sent to the email you used to register.

If you do not receive a confirmation of submission email then you should presume that your submission has NOT been submitted.

Hint: also check the email hasn’t landed in your spam or junk email folder.