Welcome to the RDAMNC E news,
 With the school holidays upon us and the latest round of COVID restrictions we remind you to continue your support of local businesses in a COVID-Safe way. Please remember to mask up indoors and keep your distance.
The RDAMNC team has settled in to a new office space in Macksville and is a hub of activity with a number of our staff and a new Support Officer, Sara Runciman located there. Welcome Sara!
The RDAMNC team has been consulting with regional communities on a number of matters over the past weeks including Mobile Office visits, Housing Ideas Forum, and three Workforce Development Days at various locations across the Mid North Coast.
Don forget to mark the diary for later in the year, of the 3rd November for the 2021 Ignite MNC Symposium in Wingham!
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What you can do in NSW
To keep up to date with restrictions please go to https://www.nsw.gov.au/
 Quick Links:
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Workforce Development Days
 Last week the RDA MNC team were kept busy with three Workforce Development forums throughout the region. The forums provided a sounding board to identify what employers want and work back from there to develop effective solutions to the workforce issues facing the Mid North Coast. Thank you to everyone who attended and contributed to this rich series of conversations. Read more in the NBN News article here.
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Regional Development Australia (RDA) Stakeholder Survey
 Regional Development Australia (RDA) is a national network of committees made up of local leaders who work with all levels of government, business, and community groups to support and broker economic development opportunities for their regions.
The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications is conducting a short survey to obtain feedback about the effectiveness of the Regional Development Australia Committees (RDA) program in supporting economic development. As an RDA stakeholder, your feedback would be greatly appreciated and will be used to drive improvements in the program.
Please click here to complete the survey. (Closes Wed 30 June 2021)
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Business Concierge Services at Service NSW
Business concierges can assist you with a range of support including recovery information on storms and floods, COVID-19 and bushfire support, how to start, run, grow or adapt your business, applying for grants and licenses, working with council, understand regulations and connecting to services and advice. Book a Business Concierge call for later, or call on 13 77 88 Monday to Friday, 7am to 7pm (AEST).
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Regional Connectivity Program
 NBN Customers across regional, rural and remote Australia are set to benefit from enhanced connectivity over the nbn™ network, thanks to projects co-funded under the first round of the Regional Connectivity Program (RCP).
Through the Regional Connectivity Program the Commonwealth is funding the delivery of 132 'place-based' telecommunications infrastructure projects across regional, rural and remote Australia. Read more here
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Smart Region Interviews
 Another business that featured in our 2018 Smart Region Proposal (SRP) is Zion, a successful clothing and fashion startup that began in Coffs Harbour. Started by a savvy young couple on the Mid North Coast, they have leveraged Instagram to help build a worldwide customer base and continue to go from strength to strength. To read the original interview click – HERE
It is great to see the majority of people and businesses that we featured in the SRP are still operating and most have enjoyed success and expanded their operations.
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MOBILE OFFICE - coming to a town near you
 Kerry Grace, RDA Mid North Coast CEO and Kellon Beard, MNC Regional Manager of Business NSW are hitting the road again in 2021 to hear your thoughts about the future of the Mid North Coast. Dates and venues are currently being booked so please keep any eye on the RDAMNC Facebook page for details!
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Local Jobs Program Mid North Coast
 The Local Jobs Program supports tailored approaches to accelerate reskilling, upskilling and employment pathways in 25 Employment Regions, supporting Australia’s economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. From 1 July 2021, the program will be expanded to cover all 51 Employment Regions. More information is available in the Local Jobs fact sheet.
Regional Development Australia Mid North Coast encourages any interested applicants that would like find out more about the program and the Local Recovery Fund, to get in touch with Janine to discuss potential projects via facilitatormnc@localjobs.net.au or by phoning 02 5525 1500.
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Vacancy Report Headline Figures - May 2021
In seasonally adjusted terms, job advertisements increased by 1.9% (or 4,500 job advertisements) in May 2021 to stand at 245,400. This represents the 13th consecutive month on month increase in job advertisements which now exceed pre-COVID-19 levels by 46.0% and stand at their highest level in over 12 years (since October 2008).
The full Vacancy Report can be found on the Labour Market Information Portal. Please refer to the Vacancy Report background and explanatory notes in relation to data published on the link above.
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My Future Workforce app now live!
The launch of the new MFW App means you can stay up to date on the latest matches when you are on the go! Download the My Future Workforce App here!
 Do you have a vacancy? Local employers are invited to post their vacancies on the My Future Workforce Platform and be found by the many registered local jobseekers actively seeking work. It is a FREE service and has been built to save employers time and effort to match the best applicants for the role.
Register - HERE Or use this QR CODE to be taken directly to the platform:
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Regional Tourism Activation Fund
 The $30 million Regional Tourism Activation Fund will accelerate the development of new and enhanced tourism infrastructure across regional NSW. The Regional Tourism Activation Fund is also aiming to boost regional tourism and improve the visitor experience for people with disability in regional NSW by making funding available for:
- the development of unique and high impact visitor experiences
- visitor accessibility and inclusion enhancements.
Find out more here
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GRANTS & Funding Opportunities
Dine & Discover NSW Voucher scheme: The NSW Government has launched a voucher scheme to encourage the community to support hospitality, arts and tourism businesses. Eligible businesses can now register for the scheme. For more information, visit Dine & Discover NSW.
Export assistance grant: An export assistance grant of up to $10,000 is available to eligible NSW businesses impacted by COVID-19, bushfires or drought, to help you access new global markets or re-enter old ones. For eligibility criteria and to apply, visit Apply for an export assistance grant.
Travel support program: Travel agents and tour arrangement service providers that have lost income due to COVID-19 may be eligible for a one-off grant of $1500 to $100,000 under the Australian Government’s COVID-19 Consumer Travel Support Program. Funding will help eligible businesses continue trading and meet legal obligations to pay refunds and credits to Australian consumers. Round Two funding from Sunday 2 May to Saturday 12 June 2021.
Bushfire Legal Aid Scheme: This program aims to provide support for small businesses and primary producers affected by the 2019-20 bushfires.
The program provides: - An Early Resolution Assistance (ERA) approval of $2,000 in professional fees is available for legal services. - Up to an additional $5,000 is available for disbursements. Find more information here
NAB Foundation Community Grants: This program aims to help safeguard the community with funding for projects that prepare for natural disasters, support long-term recovery and build resilience against future disasters. Closes 30th July 2021. Funding is available under two categories. More information here
Bushfire Industry Recovery Package – Supply Chain Support Grants (Forestry): This program aims to provide financial assistance to forestry businesses impacted by the bushfires from 31 August 2019 to assist with the cost of burnt timber storage, haulage of burnt timber from out of area forests, nursery expansion and measures to improve soil stabilisation, road construction and groundcover recovery in fire impacted Private Native Forests (PNF). The submission of claims for haulage activities has been extended from 19 June 2021 until 17 June 2022.
Flood Disaster Recovery Small Business Grant: This program seeks to to support small businesses and not-for-profit organisations directly impacted by the NSW Storms and Floods from 10 March 2021 onwards (AGRN 960) in defined disaster areas agreed between the Commonwealth and states. Applications close at 11:59pm on 15 October 2021.
Strengthening Business provides access to experts who'll will work with you to make your business stronger, more resilient and better prepared for the future. They'll work with you to develop a roadmap, and strengthen your business systems, operations and strategies. Additionally they'll connect you to services you need to achieve your business goals. Close date: 31 Mar 2022 05:00 PM AEDT.
NSW Rural Assistance Authority – Special Disaster Grants (Primary Producers): This program aims to provide a grant to primary producers to help pay for the costs of clean-up and reinstatement of primary production enterprises that have suffered direct damage as a result of the eligible disaster. Closes 31 Oct 2021.
Regional Events Acceleration Fund Program: This program aims to support the social and economic recovery of the NSW regions and help organisations to attract new major international and domestic events to regional areas and supports existing regional events to grow even bigger and better. Submissions close 5:00PM 17 December 2021
COVID-19 National: Business, Non-Profits – Recovery for Regional Tourism Program: This program aims to support nine tourism regions which are heavily reliant on international tourism, as part of the $1 billion COVID-19 Relief and Recovery Fund to support regions, communities and industry sectors disproportionately affected by the economic impacts of COVID-19. Applications from eligible entities opened on 30 November 2020 and will close on 30 September 2021.
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SAVE THE DATE:
3rd November 2021, Ignite MNC Symposium 2021!
 The Ignite MNC Symposium, which began in 2017, hosts a mixture of speakers and panel discussions to bring together representatives from the Mid North Coast community and business sector. In 2021, the event will follow tradition and head to another wonderful rural location on the Mid North Coast - the town of Wingham!
Stay tuned via our website www.rdamnc.org.au and our Facebook page for updates.
We will be igniting opportunities across the Mid North Coast, so get ready to REIMAGINE...
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That's it for now, stay tuned for another update soon.
Thanks and regards
Kerry
Kerry Grace
Director of Regional Development and CEO
Regional Development Australia Mid North Coast
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