Program closed

All applications for the Visitor Servicing Fund are now closed.

What is the Visitor Servicing Fund?

The Visitor Servicing Fund is supporting the Victorian tourism industry to deliver innovative visitor information tools that encourage people to stay longer and spend more across the state.

It is part of the $3 million Visitor Servicing Program, a commitment of the $633 million Visitor Economy Recovery Reform Plan, and is key to delivering on the new Experience Victoria 2033 strategic plan.

Further information on the Visitor Servicing Fund can be found in section 1 of the program guidelines.

How much funding is available?

Two streams of funding are available under the Visitor Servicing Fund:

  • Stream A: Grants of up to $50,000 are available for Regional Tourism Boards and local councils to support strategy development and a coordinated approach to the delivery of new tools for each region.
  • Stream B: Grants of up to $625,000 will be available to Regional Tourism Boards, local councils and other tourism organisations to develop innovative tools and ideas that allow visitors to easily book and plan visits, access information and connect with our state’s best experiences.

All applications for the Visitor Servicing Fund are now closed.

What are the objectives of the Visitor Servicing Fund?

By providing high-quality, personalised and timely information on what to see and do around Victoria, the Program aims to encourage visitors to spend more and stay longer.

What are the key dates for this Fund?

The key dates as follows:

  • Stream A applications close: Closed
  • Stream B applications close: Closed
  • Assessment and approvals process: August
  • Applicants notified of outcome: Early November
  • Grant agreements finalised: Mid-November
  • Project commencement: Late November
  • Final project completion – Stream A: June 2024
  • Final project completion – Stream B: December 2024

Refer to section 2 of the program guidelines for further information.

Is there a co-contribution requirement from applicants?

The Visitor Servicing Fund doesn’t require a co-contribution from applicants, however to better leverage government funding and provide value for money, projects with an applicant co- contribution will be highly regarded.

Can I apply for both streams?

Subject to meeting the eligibility criteria, applicants may apply for funding under both streams.

Will all eligible applicants receive funding?

This is a competitive grant process and as such not all eligible applicants will receive funding.

What type of organisations are eligible to receive funding?

Stream A – Visitor servicing strategies

Applicants must be one of the following entity types to be eligible under Stream A:

Stream A applications closed at 4pm on 19 June 2023.

Stream B – Major visitor servicing projects

Applicants must be one of the following entity types to be eligible under Stream B:

  • Company incorporated in Australia
  • Incorporated association
  • Victorian Regional Tourism Boards
  • Victorian Local Government entities and Victorian Government entities, including:
    • Public Land Managers, Land Management Authorities and Committees of Management
    • Local Government Authorities
  • Universities and educational institutions
  • Not-for-profit organisations, including community groups that are an incorporated body, cooperative or association
  • Traditional Owner Corporations, organisations and groups, and Aboriginal-owned businesses
  • Other incorporated entity approved by the Department.

Where the Fair Jobs Code applies, Stream B funding applicants must satisfy additional requirements. See Section 8.6 of the program guidelines for more information.

Stream B applications closed at 4pm on 24 July 2023.

What are the general application requirements?

The following eligibility requirements apply to applicants of both Stream A and Stream B.

  • Strategies or projects must encompass one or more official tourism region, as defined by Visit Victoria. In areas within these regions that are not currently aligned with an RTB (including greater Melbourne), strategies or projects must encompass a minimum of three local government areas.
  • In line with the Visitor Servicing Fund’s objectives, eligible applicants must demonstrate that the strategy or project will be delivered in collaboration with multiple partner organisations.
  • Partnerships between multiple RTBs, Councils and partner organisations (listed below) are permitted and encouraged.
  • Partner organisations may include (but are not limited to):
    • Relevant Victorian Government departments and agencies, such as Parks Victoria and the Department of Transport and Planning.
    • Melbourne Airport, Avalon Airport, other key regional airports, ferry operators etc.
    • First Peoples’ Traditional Owner Corporations, Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations, First Peoples’ tourism operators.
    • Tourism-related businesses, such as accommodation and hospitality providers, attractions and tour operators.
    • Local/regional and sector tourism associations.
    • Local/regional community organisations.
    • Alpine Resort Management Boards.
  • The following entities are ineligible partner organisations:
  • Visit Victoria
  • Victoria Tourism Industry Council (VTIC)

All applicants must also:

  • Have an operating business address in Victoria
  • Demonstrate that the application project and activities proposed will be conducted in Victoria
  • Hold an active Australian Business Number (ABN) registered in Victoria and have held that ABN on and from 1 July 2022. Businesses that backdate their ABN registration or re-activate an ABN after 1 July 2022 will not be eligible.
  • Where required, be registered for Goods and Services Tax (GST) prior to application to the Program

What parties are ineligible to apply for funding?

The following parties are ineligible to apply for funding under this Program:

  • Visit Victoria
  • Victoria Tourism Industry Council (VTIC)
  • Sole trader/individual
  • Partnership
  • Unincorporated association
  • Commonwealth government agency or body.

Can a local council apply for funding for a strategy or project encompassing a single local government area?

No. Strategies or projects must encompass one or more official tourism region, as defined by Visit Victoria. In areas within these regions that are not currently aligned with an RTB (including greater Melbourne), strategies or projects must encompass a minimum of three local government areas.

What is the project eligibility criteria?

Stream A – Visitor servicing strategies

Stream A funding will support collaborative approaches (with RTBs or local councils as the lead applicant) to strategic planning and coordination of visitor servicing through:

  • the creation of a visitor servicing strategy, or
  • updating an existing visitor servicing strategy.

Visitor servicing strategies should focus on the delivery of visitor information through a customer experience lens during the plan, book and experience stages of the visitor journey. This will ensure strategies remain regionally focused, customer-centric, on brand and identify visitor servicing stakeholder roles and responsibilities.

Stream A applications closed at 4pm on 19 June 2023.

Stream B – Major visitor servicing projects

Funding Stream B is for the delivery of major projects that will drive innovation, transform how visitors receive travel information in Victoria and generate long term and sustainable impacts.

Projects should focus on the delivery of visitor information servicing during the plan, book and experience stages of the visitor journey.

Please read section 4 of the program guidelines for full details on project eligibility.

Stream B applications closed at 4pm on 24 July 2023.

What expenses are eligible under the Fund?

The following project costs are eligible under Stream A:

  • External consultant fees (including stakeholder consultation costs)
  • Short term staffing costs associated with developing/delivering the project
  • Customised research (up to a maximum of 20 per cent of the funding granted to a successful applicant)
    • If visitor servicing research is included, it will need to be specific to the region/s and visitor segments.
    • Existing visitor servicing research can be provided to applicants upon request.

The following project costs are eligible under Stream B:

  • Consultant fees
  • Stakeholder consultation costs
  • Short term staffing costs associated with developing/delivering the project
  • Project implementation costs.

What expenses are ineligible under the Fund?

The following project costs are not eligible under Stream A:

  • Requests for retrospective funding, where projects have been completed or have started prior to receiving funding approval
  • Usual operational expenditure, communications, travel, entertainment, accommodation and office/back of house computing equipment
  • Ongoing business-as-usual administrative or staffing costs
  • Ongoing operating costs or salary subsidies
  • Costs related to preparing the grant application, preparing any project reports and preparing any project variation requests
  • Building tourism related websites, sales and promotional activities, marketing or communications campaigns
  • Digital or printed marketing collateral
  • Any costs relating to visitor information centres or the implementation of visitor servicing projects
  • Any other expenditure as determined by the Department in its sole and absolute discretion

The following project costs are not eligible under Stream B:

  • Requests for retrospective funding, where projects have been completed or have started prior to receiving funding approval
  • Usual operational expenditure, communications, travel, entertainment, accommodation and office/back of house computing equipment
  • Ongoing business-as-usual administrative or staffing costs
  • Ongoing operating costs or salary subsidies
  • Costs related to preparing the grant application, preparing any project reports and preparing any project variation requests
  • Building tourism related websites, sales and promotional activities, marketing or communications campaigns
  • Digital or printed marketing collateral
  • Any other expenditure as determined by the Department in its sole and absolute discretion.

How do I apply for a grant under the Visitor Servicing Fund?

All applications for the Visitor Servicing Fund are now closed.

What details will I be asked to include in my application?

Applicants will be asked to include the following details in their application:

  • Applicant details
  • Responses to assessment criteria
  • Project description
  • Project budget
  • Supporting documentation

Do I need to provide any supporting documentation as part of my application?

Yes. The following supporting documentation is mandatory to provide and will be requested as part of the application form:

  • A partnership letter which must agree to a nominated lead applicant and be signed by all identified partners outlining their commitment to the strategy or project, including their level of involvement, support and resources committed.
  • Project management plan (which must include scope of works, objectives, outcomes and deliverables and risk management plan) using the template provided on the Visitor Servicing Fund webpage.
  • Detailed itemised project budget (which must include income sources, financial and in-kind co-contributions and expenditure) using the template provided on the Visitor Servicing Fund webpage.

Additional supporting documentation is required. Please read section 6.3 of the program guidelines for more information.

How will applications be assessed?

This is a competitive grant process and as such not all eligible applicants will receive funding.

Applications will be assessed using the following process:

  1. Applications are received and assessed for applicant and project eligibility in accordance with the eligibility criteria at Section 4 by the Department.
  2. Eligible applications will be competitively assessed against the Program assessment criteria (Section 5.1) by representatives from the Department.
  3. Following assessment by the Department, Stream B applications will be additionally reviewed by an Oversight Committee, chaired by a representative from the Department’s Tourism and Events group and including additional representatives from the Department, Visit Victoria and Victoria Tourism Industry Council (VTIC). The Oversight Committee will provide advice to the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events regarding recommended Stream B applications.
  4. Funding recommendations for both Stream A and Stream B will be made to the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events for final decision.

Applications for both streams will be assessed against the assessment criteria outlined in section 5.1 of the program guidelines.

What is the Visitor Servicing Framework?

Victoria’s Visitor Servicing Framework has been developed to help government at all levels, businesses, the broader tourism industry and community work together to better plan and deliver visitor information for Victoria’s cities, regions, and visitors.

It is the result of extensive state, national and international consultation and research to understand the challenges and opportunities in providing visitors with high high-quality, personalised and timely information on what to see and do in

The Visitor Servicing Framework aims to set a benchmark for providing innovative visitor information tools in Victoria and provides a useful guide for Visitor Servicing Fund applicants.

The Visitor Servicing Framework is included in the Visitor Servicing Fund program guidelines at Appendix 1.

What is Experience Victoria 2033?

Experience Victoria 2033 was released in May 2023 and is Victoria’s 10-year strategic plan for a prosperous and resilient visitor economy. It describes how the tourism industry can work together to make Victoria a leader in the delivery of exceptional, diverse and connected experiences for visitors.

Who do I contact if I have further questions regarding the Visitor Servicing Fund?

If you have further questions regarding the Visitor Servicing Fund, please contact VSfund@ecodev.vic.gov.au.