Qantas relaunches and doubles regional grants program to $10m

Melbourne, Australia - November 8, 2014: QantasLink Boeing 717-2BL aircraft VH-YQT on approach to Melbourne International Airport.
By James Harrison


Qantas is relaunching and doubling its grants program to support regional communities across Australia.

Following a three-year pause due to COVID, the Qantas Regional Grants program will return in early 2023, providing $10 million in grants over five years – $2 million each year to support Australian-based not-for-profit community groups and projects seeking funding to provide a direct benefit to regional Australia.

The grants include a combination of flights, cash and marketing support, and will be determined by a panel made up of internal and external appointments, based on eligibility criteria.

The program launched in 2019, with the first year of funding distributed amongst 20 community groups from every state and territory from more than 1,200 applications, before it was paused when the airline was effectively grounded by the pandemic.

QantasLink chief executive officer John Gissing said the boost in funding will give much-needed additional support to regional Australia after a challenging few years for the regions.

“Doubling the funding for these grants means we’ll be able to reinvest more to support regional organisations who do so much for their local communities,” Gissing said.

“We know it’s been a tough few years for many parts of regional Australia, most recently with the huge flood events across NSW, Victoria and Tasmania.

“Unfortunately, the pandemic meant we had to put almost all of our community partnerships on hold which we’ve gradually been restarting as flying has ramped back up and look forward to doing even more throughout 2023.”

Some of the 2019 recipients included Country to Canberra (ACT) which empowers young rural women and provides advocacy and education opportunities; Fair Game Australia (WA) which collects and distributes pre-loved sports equipment, along with providing health and fitness education to young people in remote communities, and Red Dust Role Models (NT) which works with remote Indigenous communities.

The program is open to Australian-based not-for-profit community groups, individuals, charities, projects and organisations that are seeking funding to provide a direct service or benefit to regional Australia.

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