Funds available for projects that will help make Ipswich greener

Published on 31 August 2026

Ipswich residents, businesses or organisations with a project to enhance their local community and environment are being encouraged to apply for support under the Ti Tree Bioenergy Community Fund.

Round 2 of the Ti Tree Community Fund offers grants of up to $15,000 to support environmentally sustainable projects on private land, along with community projects and events that benefit local communities and the environment.

The Ti Tree Bioenergy Community Fund and Ti Tree Bioenergy Fund are for projects that offset the perceived or real social and/or environmental impacts of the Ti Tree Bioenergy Facility at Willowbank.

Division 1 Councillor Pye Augustine said the fund complements the long-standing Ti Tree Bioenergy Fund, where projects have been carried out generally on public land.

“With the support of a Ti Tree Community Fund grant, Gum Tips Nature Refuge landowners Brett Woods and Craig Mendoza have been able to engage machinery to remove dense lantana thickets across the reserve,” Cr Augustine said.

“The results have been extremely encouraging, with koalas identified within areas of the reserve where lantana has been cleared, highlighting the value of habitat restoration projects such as this.”

Division 1 Councillor Jacob Madsen said the grants are funded through annual payments, plus a charge per tonne of waste, to council from operators of the Ti Tree Bioenergy Facility.

“Eligible applicants can apply for up to $15,000 (ex GST), per project, per funding round. Applicants must demonstrate an in-kind contribution of at least 10 per cent of the funded amount,” Cr Madsen said.

“The upcoming round of funding opens on 1 September and will close on 30 September 2026.”

The Ti Tree Bioenergy Facility was established 23 years ago at Willowbank. In 2002, as a condition of the development approval at that time, it was determined that Ipswich City Council would receive annual payments based on a charge per tonne of waste disposed of at the facility.

These funds were legally required to be used by council expressly on projects that delivered community and environmental benefit.

For more information and to apply for funding visit council’s Funding and Support webpage at Ipswich.qld.gov.au/funding