Government calls for expressions of interest for Digital Regions funding

The federal government is calling for proposals to deliver innovative digital services for regional, rural and remote Australia as part of the Digital Regions Initiative.

The initiative, part of the government's initial response to the Regional Telecommunications Review in conjunction with the Rural and Regional National Broadband Network Initiative, is a four year, $60 million program to fund innovative digital enablement projects with state, territory and local governments.

It will provide support for community-focused digital initiatives outside of metropolitan areas, with particular focus on digital health services, online education and emergency and disaster response.

State, territory and local governments seeking funding under the program will have to match the federal funding.

Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy, announced final guidelines for the Digital Regions Initiative, calling for expression of interest for funding as the National Broadband Network (NBN) rollout gets underway.

"Australia has a wealth of innovators who understand the transformative potential of digital technologies and I look forward to seeing the proposals put forward," he said

Expressions of interest are now open and will close on 14 September 2009.

For more information visit the www.dbcde.gov.au/digitalregions.

The project proposal application period will close on 14 October. Projects are expected to commence in early 2010.