Integrated Water Management Grant Program 2025-28 - Funding Stream 3 - Strategic Directed Investments (SDI)

Overview The Integrated Water Management (IWM) Grant Program 2025–28 is designed to accelerate the adoption of integrated and sustainable water management practices across Victoria. Through targeted investment and support, the program aims to foster collaboration, innovation, and equity in water-related projects that deliver environmental, cultural, and community benefits. The program is structured around 3 distinct funding streams. It enables IWM Forum Partners, including local governments, Traditional Owners, Catchment Management Authorities (CMAs) and water corporations, to apply for funding to deliver projects as part of the goal of embedding IWM as standard practice throughout Victoria. The IWM Grant Program 2025-28 is tailored to support a range of project types through 3 targeted funding streams: IWM Partnership Projects (metropolitan and regional) Traditional Owner-led IWM Projects Strategic Directed Investments. We strongly encourage applicants to start their application early to allow ample time for thoughtful and thorough completion. Please note: with the exception of the Traditional Owner-led IWM Projects stream, these grants are only open to organisations that are members of an IWM Forum. Funding Stream 3 - Strategic Directed Investments (SDI) The SDI stream is a new component of the IWM grant program, designed to support high-impact IWM initiatives that align with Victorian Government priorities. It targets large-scale, time-critical projects in Greater Melbourne and the Barwon IWM Forum region, as well as IWM planning in regional areas that are forecast to experience rapid growth. The geographic scope of Greater Melbourne and the Barwon IWM Forum region is a focus of this stream because it accounts for the most rapid and largest portion of planned urban development and consequently covers the areas where the greatest time critical high impact IWM opportunities are located. These grants aim to: Support investment in IWM planning and infrastructure in rapidly growing areas of Victoria (particularly the Greater Melbourne and Barwon IWM Forum regions) to ensure sustainable urban development and water resilience. Enable timely and proactive government investment in initiatives that would otherwise miss critical windows for influence, integration, or co-investment. Support high-impact, system-scale projects where early intervention can address major water system risks or unlock significant social, cultural, environmental or economic benefits. Deliver infrastructure and planning responses that prevent greater future costs or irreversible failures, such as environmental degradation, fragmented infrastructure delivery, or inefficient retrofitting. Strengthen alignment between water investments and broader government priorities, including housing delivery, climate adaptation, and Traditional Owner self-determination. Demonstrate the value of IWM through the practical delivery of IWM outcomes. A total of $7 million is available from 2025-26 to 2027-28 and, due to the targeted and strategic focus of the SDI stream, applications are accepted by invitation only. Key Dates Applications open 3 November 2025 Applications close 30 June 2027 or until funding allocation is exhausted (whichever occurs first) Applications assessment and approval Up to 3 months from receipt of application Notification of funding outcomes Within 7 days of assessment outcome approval Funding agreements for successful applicants Within one month from the date of notification of successful funding outcome Eligibility Who is eligible to apply? The lead applicant must: be a member organisation of a metropolitan or regional IWM Forum be an incorporated body, cooperative or association (including business associations) be financially solvent have the capacity to manage the grant funding directly, including any procurement (e.g. consultancies or works). How are projects identified for funding? Participation is by invitation only, with projects identified throughout the application open period. The project identification process is as follows: 1. Project identification: Projects can be identified at any point during the application period through two main pathways: Forum-member initiated: An eligible IWM Forum member may approach DEECA to propose a project aligned with the SDI stream objectives DEECA initiated: DEECA may contact an eligible IWM Forum member to explore a potential project opportunity. 2. Scoping and suitability discussion: once a potential project is identified, DEECA and the IWM Forum member will meet to discuss the project’s scope and alignment with funding objectives 3. If a project is determined to be suitable, DEECA will invite the Forum member to submit a formal application. What is eligible for funding? To be eligible for funding, projects must meet all of the following criteria: 1. clearly support the objectives of the SDI funding stream. 2. be delivered collaboratively with one or more IWM Forum member organisation. 3. meet the co-contribution threshold 4. satisfy one or more purposes of Victoria’s Environmental Contribution levy, namely to: promote the sustainable management of water, or address adverse water-related environmental impacts 5. be either a capital or feasibility project, defined as: Capital project: Involves on-ground works and may include design and construction (D&C) or construction only. For D&C projects, a suitably detailed design and feasibility assessment (appropriate to the scale of the project) must be completed prior to applying for grant funding Feasibility project: Involves investigation or planning to support future IWM delivery. Feasibility projects may include a feasibility study or needs analysis, development of an IWM plan, preparation of a business case, creation of a functional design or research and development. Refer to the Application Guidelines for further information. How To Apply To discuss potential project funding through this stream, please reach out to your DEECA IWM Forum representative or email iwm.branch@deeca.vic.gov.au Application Guidelines and Templates Application Guidelines - Strategic Directed Investments (SDI) (PDF, 936.5 KB) Application Guidelines - Strategic Directed Investments (SDI) - accessible (DOCX, 509.3 KB) Frequently Asked Questions - IWM Grant Program 2025-2028 (PDF, 227.4 KB) Frequently Asked Questions - IWM Grant Program 2025-2028 - accessible (DOCX, 127.9 KB)