Victoria Regional Tourism Transformation Grants 2026

Overview

The Victorian Government is deploying $170 million to transform regional tourism infrastructure through the Regional Tourism Investment Fund (RTIF) and Enabling Tourism Fund (ETF). Grants range from $20,000 to $5 million. Before you spend a single hour on your application, use this guide to confirm whether you will win or be eliminated at the first review.

At a Glance

What Is the Regional Tourism Transformation in Victoria?

Victoria’s regional tourism landscape is undergoing the most significant structural transformation in a generation. The $170 million Regional Tourism and Events Fund (RTEF) is not a single grant cheque handed out at a ribbon-cutting. It is a suite of interlocking programs, each with its own eligibility gates, assessment criteria and funding ratios, all aligned to the state government’s ten-year strategic blueprint, Experience Victoria 2033 (EV33).

Two programs sit at the heart of this transformation:

The Regional Tourism Investment Fund (RTIF) backs shovel-ready and near-shovel-ready infrastructure projects. Grants run from $100,000 to $5 million across three streams: small-scale projects, large-scale projects, and accommodation uplift. Think new cabin complexes, cellar door expansions, trail networks, cultural centres, and resort redevelopments.

The Enabling Tourism Fund (ETF) backs the projects that are not yet ready for bricks and mortar. It funds the thinking work: feasibility studies, masterplans, business cases, detailed design, and concept testing. Grants run from $20,000 to $500,000 across two streams: testing the concept and preparing for investment.

Together, these programs are the machinery behind Victoria’s regional tourism transformation. Understanding which one you qualify for, and which stream within that program, is the first decision that will define your outcome.

For a broader overview of available tourism funding pathways across Australia, visit our guide on funding for tourism projects.

Unsure of your eligibility? Check Your Eligibility Probability Here.

The “Hard” Eligibility Filter: Will You Pass or Fail?

This is where most applicants are eliminated before an assessor reads a single word of their project narrative. Run through every item below before investing time in your application.

RTIF Hard Eligibility Gates

Must-Haves:

✅ Your project is located in regional or rural Victoria (not metropolitan Melbourne).

✅ Your organisation holds an Australian Business Number (ABN) and is financially solvent.

✅ Your organisation type is one of: private sector proponent, local or state government entity (including alpine resorts managed under the Alpine Resorts Act 1997), incorporated not-for-profit or community group, or a Traditional Owner Corporation or Aboriginal-owned business.

✅ Your project directly supports one or more of the five EV33 product priorities: First Peoples-led experiences, wellness, arts and culture, food and drink, or nature.

✅ You can demonstrate the project will increase visitation, improve visitor experience quality, or extend length of stay in the region.

✅ You are prepared to meet co-contribution requirements. Private, public and not-for-profit applicants must contribute a portion of project costs. The specific ratio depends on your applicant category and is detailed in program guidelines. Only Traditional Owner Corporations and Aboriginal-owned businesses are exempt from co-contributions under the RTIF.

✅ You are applying for one stream only – applicants can submit a maximum of one application and must select the most appropriate stream.

Dealbreakers:

❌ Your project is within the Melbourne metropolitan area.

❌ Your organisation does not hold a current ABN or is facing insolvency proceedings.

❌ Your project is already complete or substantially complete before receiving a funding approval letter. Retrospective funding is not available under any circumstances.

❌ Your co-contribution funding is sourced entirely from other Victorian Government programs. While other government sources (including Commonwealth and local government) can form part of your co-contribution, Victorian Government funding from other programs cannot substitute for the required co-contribution.

❌ Your project does not align with EV33’s five product priorities. A general motel refurbishment with no connection to wellness, nature, food, culture or First Peoples tourism is likely to struggle through merit assessment.

ETF Hard Eligibility Gates

Must-Haves:

✅ Your project is located in regional or rural Victoria, within the coverage area of an existing Regional Tourism Board or Visitor Economy Partnership (VEP), or a DJSIR-recognised interim entity.

✅ You hold an ABN and are financially solvent. Entities not yet incorporated may be considered under auspicing arrangements if all other criteria are met.

✅ Your application is for planning activities only – feasibility studies, masterplans, business cases, market testing, concept design, or site analysis. ETF does not fund construction.

✅ The planning activities are designed to prepare a future infrastructure investment in regional tourism. There must be a credible pathway from the planning work to an eventual infrastructure outcome.

✅ You are applying for one stream only.

Dealbreakers:

❌ You are applying to ETF to fund construction, equipment purchase, or operational costs. ETF is strictly a pre-investment planning fund.

❌ You have already completed the planning work you are applying for.

❌ Your organisation is based outside Victoria or the project does not deliver benefits within Victoria.

Unsure of your eligibility? Check Your Eligibility Probability Here.

The “Application Killer” Section: 3 Non-Obvious Reasons Applications Fail

These are not the obvious errors – wrong entity name, missing attachments, or submitting past the deadline. These are the subtle, structural problems that eliminate otherwise strong applications and that experienced assessors spot in minutes.

1. The EV33 Alignment Trap: Describing What You Do Instead of Why It Matters

The single most common reason regionally competitive applications score poorly in merit assessment is a failure to directly anchor the project to Experience Victoria 2033. Applicants describe their project with detail and passion, explaining what the new glamping pods look like, what the cellar door will serve, or how many metres of mountain bike trail will be built. What they fail to do is connect that project to the measurable strategic outcomes DJSIR is trying to achieve.

Assessors are scoring against EV33 priorities: does this project genuinely strengthen First Peoples-led tourism, or is it merely acknowledging the concept? Does the wellness facility represent a new, demand-generating product, or is it a spa add-on at an existing hotel? Does the food and drink offering connect visitors to the regional provenance story that drives international travel decisions?

Consider the Yorta Yorta Cultural Connections Centre, funded under the RTIF 2024 large-scale stream. That application was not strong because it described a building. It was strong because it connected a specific, under-served cultural tourism gap to a clear EV33 First Peoples-led priority, with measurable visitation and economic outcomes attached.

The fix: Before writing a word of your application, map every project element to a specific EV33 priority. Be explicit. Name the priority. Quantify the expected outcome. If you cannot do this in the first two paragraphs of your project description, your application will not score competitively.

2. The Co-Contribution Verification Failure

Co-contributions are not just a number on a budget spreadsheet. DJSIR assessors examine the source, the certainty, and the legal status of every dollar you claim as a co-contribution.

The trap is that many applicants include co-contributions that sound credible but cannot be verified at assessment time. Examples include: a council resolution that “supports” the project but has not formally committed funds; a bank loan pre-approval letter rather than a confirmed facility; Commonwealth grant applications that are still pending; or private investment commitments from a related party without a binding letter of intent.

Assessors treat uncertain co-contributions as zero when scoring financial viability. A project claiming $1.2 million in co-contributions, of which $600,000 comes from a pending external application, will be scored as a project with only $600,000 in confirmed co-contributions. That can shift your funding ratio calculation and tip your project out of the competitive range.

Consider a Grampians-region accommodation operator who applied for a $400,000 RTIF accommodation uplift grant with a planned $400,000 co-contribution. They included a letter of support from a private investor and a council in-principle resolution. Neither was a binding financial commitment. The project’s financial viability score fell, and it was not funded in the 2024 round.

The fix: Before submitting, obtain formal written commitments for every dollar of co-contribution. Council resolutions must include specific dollar amounts and reference the project by name. Investor letters must be signed, on letterhead, and state the amount and the conditions under which it will be provided.

3. The “Regional Impact Boundary” Error in the ETF

The Enabling Tourism Fund is meant to prepare projects for future investment in regional tourism. But the ETF’s geographic and outcome criteria are more specific than most applicants realise. Projects must sit within the coverage area of a recognised Regional Tourism Board or Visitor Economy Partnership. This is not simply “regional Victoria” – it is a specific network of organisations with defined boundaries.

Applicants in boundary areas, or in regions undergoing VEP transition, sometimes submit ETF applications assuming their project is eligible, only to be found ineligible on geographic grounds during the initial screening. For instance, projects in parts of Melbourne’s outer fringe that are covered by a Visitor Economy Partnership may be eligible, while projects in areas without VEP or Regional Tourism Board coverage may not.

There is a second, subtler version of this trap: projects that are framed as benefiting the broader region but are actually designed around a single private operator’s needs. ETF funding is not intended to fund private business planning that primarily benefits the applicant. It is meant to generate planning outcomes that enable future infrastructure investment with broader regional tourism benefits.

The fix: Before applying, confirm with DJSIR that your project location falls within a recognised VEP or Regional Tourism Board coverage area. If your region is in transition, contact DJSIR directly and document that contact. Frame your ETF application around the regional tourism benefits, not your business’ internal planning needs.

Unsure of your eligibility? Check Your Eligibility Probability Here.

Step-by-Step Submission Guide

Navigating the Business Victoria Grants Portal and preparing a competitive application for Victorian regional tourism funding requires more than filling in boxes. Here is the process that serious applicants follow.

Step 1 – Strategic positioning (weeks before opening)

Before the portal opens, download the program guidelines from the Business Victoria website. Read every page. The guidelines contain the assessment criteria, weighting, and the co-contribution ratios that apply to your applicant category. Map your project to EV33 in writing before you begin the application form. Speak to your Regional Tourism Board or Visitor Economy Partnership. Their in-principle support, while not always formally required, significantly strengthens your application and some assessors view it as a credibility marker.

Step 2 – Gather your documentation

Gather the following before opening the portal, as incomplete applications are one of the most common reasons for disqualification:

• Current financial statements (balance sheet, profit and loss, and cash flow for the past two years)
• Evidence of ABN registration
• Binding letters of commitment from all co-contribution sources
• At least two quotes for key project costs, dated within six months of submission
• Site tenure or ownership documentation (lease, title, management plan)
• Evidence of relevant permits, planning approvals, or confirmation of pathway to approval
• Letters of support from relevant stakeholders (council, VEP, Traditional Owner group if applicable)

Step 3 – Write to the assessment criteria, not to a general brief

RTIF and ETF applications are scored against published criteria. Write your project narrative as a direct response to each criterion. Use the exact language of EV33. Quantify your outcomes: projected visitor numbers, projected length-of-stay increase, projected jobs created. Assessors are looking for projects with demonstrated demand, not aspirational estimates. Where possible, use comparable regional tourism projects or market research to support your claims.

Step 4 – Portal submission

Submit via the Business Victoria Grants Portal. Check the portal’s character limits before writing your narrative – exceeding limits can truncate your response, which will harm your score. Upload all required attachments in the format specified. Save a copy of your submitted application immediately after submission.

Step 5 – Post-submission due diligence

Be prepared for DJSIR to conduct due diligence on your organisation. This may include requests for additional financial information, clarification of co-contributions, or site visits for large-scale projects. Respond promptly. Delays in due diligence have caused otherwise successful applicants to miss contracting windows.

For practical guidance on how to maximise the impact of any tourism grant for your business, read our guide on how to use a tourism grant to grow your business.

Unsure of your eligibility? Check Your Eligibility Probability Here.

FAQ and Glossary

Is RTIF or ETF grant funding taxable?

Grant income is generally assessable income for tax purposes in Australia. That means RTIF and ETF funding is likely to be included in your assessable income for the financial year in which you receive it. However, where grant funds are used to acquire or improve a depreciating asset, you may be entitled to deductions over the asset’s effective life. You should obtain advice from a registered tax agent before finalising your financial modelling. The Australian Taxation Office’s guidance on government grants is a useful starting reference.

Can my Melbourne-based business apply if the project is in a regional area?

Yes, provided the project itself is located in regional or rural Victoria and all other eligibility requirements are met. The geographic test applies to the project location, not the applicant’s registered business address.

Can I apply for both RTIF and ETF for related projects?

In practice, the programs serve different stages of a project’s development. An ETF application for a feasibility study on a proposed attraction, followed by an RTIF application for the construction of that attraction, is a logical and supported progression. However, you cannot apply for both programs simultaneously for the same project scope. Confirm the appropriate sequencing with DJSIR before applying.

What if my project involves Traditional Owner land or permissions?

Projects involving Traditional Owner land require evidence of engagement and, where applicable, consent from the relevant Traditional Owner Corporation. This is both an eligibility and merit consideration. Yorta Yorta, Eastern Maar, Taungurung and other Traditional Owner groups have distinct governance structures and their own timelines for engagement decisions. Allow substantially more lead time for projects that require Traditional Owner consent. DJSIR has funded several First Peoples-led tourism projects and views genuine co-design as a significant merit differentiator.

What happens if my project costs increase after the grant agreement is signed?

Once a grant agreement is in place, the funding amount is fixed. Cost overruns are your responsibility. You cannot return to DJSIR for additional funding to cover increases. This is why conservative, evidence-based costings at application stage are essential. Experienced applicants build a contingency into their co-contribution budget to manage cost movements without jeopardising project delivery.

Is there a future round of RTIF planned?

The 2024 RTIF round has been allocated. Watch the Business Victoria website and the DJSIR tourism page for announcements of future rounds. The broader RTEF runs through 2026-27, which means further investment rounds are expected. Subscribing to Business Victoria program alerts and engaging your local Visitor Economy Partnership will give you early notice.

What is Experience Victoria 2033?

Experience Victoria 2033 is the Victorian Government’s ten-year strategic plan for the state’s visitor economy. It sets five product priorities (First Peoples-led experiences, wellness, arts and culture, food and drink, and nature) and a set of guiding principles including being innovative, sustainable, inclusive, First Peoples-focused, and valuable to communities. Every competitive tourism infrastructure grant in Victoria is assessed against EV33 alignment. Understanding EV33 is not optional – it is the scoring framework.

What is a Visitor Economy Partnership (VEP)?

A Visitor Economy Partnership is an independent destination management organisation representing a specific Victorian region as the official voice to government. VEPs replaced the previous Regional Tourism Boards as part of a network reform process that began in 2023. VEPs include bodies such as Destination Gippsland, Murray Regional Tourism, and Great Ocean Road Regional Tourism, among others. Your project’s coverage under a recognised VEP is an eligibility criterion for the ETF and a merit consideration for the RTIF.

Glossary of Key Terms

ABN (Australian Business Number): An 11-digit identifier required for all entities operating a business in Australia.

Acquittal Report: A post-project report submitted to DJSIR confirming how grant funds were spent and what outcomes were achieved.

Co-contribution: The portion of total project cost that the applicant (and their partners) must provide from non-Victorian Government sources.

DJSIR: Department of Jobs, Skills, Industry and Regions – the Victorian Government department administering the RTIF and ETF.

ETF: Enabling Tourism Fund – the pre-investment planning grant program.

EV33: Experience Victoria 2033 – the Victorian Government’s ten-year visitor economy strategy.

RTEF: Regional Tourism and Events Fund – the overarching $170 million funding pool.

RTIF: Regional Tourism Investment Fund – the infrastructure grant program within the RTEF.

VEP: Visitor Economy Partnership – the regional destination management organisations recognised by DJSIR.

For a broader view of what Victorian Government grant programs are available to businesses in this state, visit our guide to Victoria business grants.

Unsure of your eligibility? Check Your Eligibility Probability Here.