Image: Karijini Experience
What is the Regional Events Scheme?
Tourism WA's Regional Events Scheme (RES), supported by Royalties for Regions, is an annual funding round for smaller and emerging events in regional Western Australia. The scheme is designed to assist with the development of events as tourist attractions within regional Western Australia.
How much funding is available?
Events Holders funding request must be a minimum of $5,000 and maximum of $40,000 per year. The total funding amount available is up to $1,000,000, inclusive of a quarantined pool of $150,000 for the Regional Aboriginal Events Scheme (RAES). To be eligible to apply for RAES funding, your event must deliver Aboriginal activities and experiences through the leadership and participation of Aboriginal people.
When do submissions open for the next round?
Applications for the 2020-2021 round closed on 11 December, 2019.
The next round of applications will open in October 2020 for events held between July 1, 2021 and June 30, 2022.
The Regional Events Scheme aims to assist events that:
• bring additional tourism income to regional communities by increasing visitor numbers and expenditure in the host community (economic impact);
• attract media coverage that will help raise the profile of the region as a tourist destination (media impact);
• involve and inspire the local community (social benefits);
• extend the length of the traditional tourist seasons and better utilise tourism facilities and services during off-peak or shoulder periods;
• improve the vibrancy and vitality of the State;
• support job creation in regional WA and benefit social amenity and wellbeing of regional WA; and
• boast a strong point of difference and/or profiles the unique features of the town and/or region.
How are applications assessed?
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Applications are evaluated against the RES criteria detailed in the
RES Guidelines.
• Regional dispersal and the diversity of funded events will also be considered.
• Funding is competitive and on some occasions, events that sufficiently meet the criteria may not be awarded funding as other events deliver more strongly against the criteria.
How to apply for funding?
The next round of applications will open online in October 2020 for events held between July 1, 2021 and June 30, 2022.
Boundaries for Regional Events Scheme
To be eligible for funding, your event must be held within regional Western Australia. The boundaries are determined by Schedule 1 of the Regional Development Commission Act 1993 and comprise nine regions - Peel, South West, Great Southern, Wheatbelt, Mid-West, Gascoyne, Goldfields-Esperance, Pilbara and Kimberley.
See Map
Helpful documents
• 2020-21 RES Guidelines (PDF)
If you wish to view a sample sponsorship agreement for event holders successful for Regional Events Scheme funding, please follow the link below.
2019-20 Regional Events Scheme
In the 2019-20 RES round Tourism WA received 120 applications, requesting a total funding amount of $2.7 million from an available funding pool of up to $1 million. The 2019-20 RES round provided sponsorship to 68 events in total, including nine new events to the scheme and seven Regional Aboriginal Event Scheme (RAES) events.
Risk management for event holders
Recipients of RES funding are required to obtain a risk management plan that complies with the latest Australian standard for risk management as well as current insurance certificates of currency for their event. Tourism WA hold free risk management workshops for successful applicants in June.
Managing your event risks is a video presentation that provides an overview of event risk management and information on the importance of risk management to ensure a successful event.
Resource for events in Western Australia
More information
For more information about the Regional Events Scheme please
email the Events Division.