Heritage Assistance Grants

The 2024/25 round of the Wingecarribee Heritage Assistance Grants will not be run due to priority being given to other projects including the implementation of the recommendations of the Wingecarribee Community Heritage Study 2021-23.

To register your interest and to be informed of the opening of the next round of funding, send an email to heritage@wsc.nsw.gov.au. Also, be prepared to lodge your application when the round opens by referring to the information under “Preparing an application” below.

The Wingecarribee Heritage Assistance Grants scheme is (normally) run annually and is proudly funded by Wingecarribee Shire Council with funding support from the NSW Government. This scheme offers small grants to owners of recognised heritage properties to undertake minor repairs, maintenance work and works to meet Building Code of Australia upgrades.

The grants, which are awarded on a dollar-for-dollar basis up to $5,000 (i.e. for a project costing $10,000 or more), are offered to non-government owners of:

Heritage listed properties
Properties within heritage conservation areas
Properties identified as potential heritage items or supported by a heritage professional as having heritage significance.

To find out whether your property is heritage listed or within a heritage conservation area, refer to information at https://www.wsc.nsw.gov.au/development/heritage#section-2.

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Preparing an Application

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The Wingecarribee Heritage Assistance Grants provide small grants for conservation or upgrade works to heritage items, buildings/sites within heritage conservation areas, and other potential historical buildings/sites. Works to heritage buildings normally require some kind of approval. It is the applicant’s responsibility to seek advice and obtain any necessary approvals before lodging an application for a Heritage Assistance Grant. Applications that cannot demonstrate that appropriate approvals have been sought and obtained may be excluded from consideration.

Works that are considered to be of a minor nature or for maintenance on a heritage item or sites located within a heritage conservation area may be able to obtain a minor works exemption. See https://www.wsc.nsw.gov.au/development/heritage#section-3 for further information about this process. Larger projects may require development consent by lodging a development application. In addition, work on items listed on the State Heritage Register (of State heritage significance) will require an exemption or approval from Heritage NSW. (Items listed on the State Heritage Register are identified by a “State” notation in the significance column in the list of heritage items contained in Schedule 5 of the Wingecarribee Local Environmental Plan 2010.) Should you require assistance with the approval aspects of your project, please consider booking a Council Duty Planner appointment (see https://www.wsc.nsw.gov.au/development/other-development-information/Duty-Planner).

You will need to check the eligibility of your project using the Guidelines. While the guidelines will be reviewed and updated for the 2024/25 grant round, the 2021/22 Guidelines and application form are available for download below to give you an idea of the eligibility criteria and how projects are funded.

All applications for Wingecarribee Heritage Assistance Grants are made and submitted using an online portal called SmartyGrants. You will require a login to use this system. If you have used the SmartyGrants portal for an application previously (even if it was with a different organisation), the same login can be used. If you are using this portal for the first time you will need to create a login. For help using the SmartyGrants portal, consult the SmartyGrants Help Guide for Applicants available at https://applicanthelp.smartygrants.com.au/help-guide-for-applicants/.

Once you’ve created an application, you use the same login to manage the grant process, submit progress reports and, once the works are finished, acquit the grant. A link to Council’s SmartyGrants portal is provided below.

Guidelines for the Wingecarribee Heritage Assistance Grants 2021-2022(PDF, 253KB)

SmartyGrants Application Form Preview - Wingecarribee Heritage Assistance Grants 2021-2022(PDF, 171KB)

Wingecarribee SmartyGrants Portal

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