Part of the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund, the Regional Drought Resilience Planning (RDRP) Program aims to help communities across Australia be better prepared for and resilient to the impacts of future drought and climate variability events, through the development of regional drought resilience plans. Being better prepared will mean droughts and other climatic events will have less impact and will ensure we continue to thrive.

In Tasmania, three regional plans have been developed for the north, north-west and southern areas of the state. Plans are based on your stories, feedback and ideas, providing a roadmap of actions to prepare for and manage future drought and climate variability events.

Regional Drought Resilience Plans have been developed by communities, key stakeholders and government working together. Now finalised, plans aim to help Tasmanian communities strengthen resilience to drought and climate events and provide a roadmap of actions individuals, communities and organisations can take.

Our drought resilience plans are for everyone. Community groups, businesses, not-for-profit organisations and all levels of government can use the plans to understand how they can make a meaningful difference to drought resilience. In each region (southern, northern and north-west Tasmania), the plans can be used to guide future effort and investment across all areas and sectors.

Plans are living documents that will be reviewed and updated over time to reflect progress, insights and new priorities as they emerge. 

Consultation with Tasmanian communities to shape the regional drought resilience plans started in 2023. The plans have been finalised and are currently awaiting formal approvals. A grants program to support implementation is starting soon. 

There are lots of ways you, your organisation and community can be part of implementation. Watch out for the first round of our grants program (Quick Wins), to be launched in Autumn 2025. The Quick Wins program is for project ideas between $5000-$20,000, and aims to fund ideas and initiatives that work towards the goals in the regional plans.

Community groups, not-for-profits, private sector and government organisations can also use the plans at any time to help shape their policies and projects so that we are all working towards shared drought resilience goals.

Communities and organisations are also encouraged to source other avenues of funding to help implement projects that align with the plans.

Register your interest on this website to stay up-to-date on implementation and future grant opportunities.

Currently, there is $1.3 million available for the implementation across all plans. This includes $100,000 per region from the federal government, and a further $1 million from the state government, to be shared across all regions.

Key goals and action areas detailed in the plans will be used to directly guide how implementation funding is spent.

Communities and organisations are also encouraged to source other avenues of funding to help in the implementation of projects identified by the plans.

Everyone! The plans do not specify how each action will be resourced or who is responsible as the actions are far-reaching across different sectors and types of change. We all have a role to play.

The plans are intended as guides for community, government, not-for-profits and the private sector to coordinate and align efforts, so that we are all working in the same direction.

Drought is a recurring feature of the Australian landscape. It is forecast to become more frequent, severe and longer lasting in many regions as the climate changes.

While there is no one definition of drought, for the purpose of Tasmania’s regional drought resilience plans, drought is defined as ‘a prolonged, abnormally dry period when the amount of available water is insufficient to meet our normal use’ (Bureau of Meteorology 2024). Because of this, drought means and look different depending on the region.

As drought is a major risk across all of Tasmania, we need to plan so that we can reduce the negative impacts of drought. It causes significant financial, social and environmental impacts for people, primary producers, other businesses and the community. 

For drought resilience planning in Tasmania, community drought resilience means how well we can come together to address our vulnerabilities and use our strengths to prepare for, adapt to and recover from challenges while maintaining or even improving our overall collective wellbeing. 

The plans identify community connection and cooperation among people and organisations as important elements for achieving resilience. A strong economy, well cared-for landscape and well-planned infrastructure also contribute to drought resilience. The plans aim to set out practical steps to work towards achieving these.