NSW Net Zero Planning Grant Opens for Round 2

The NSW Government has opened round 2 of the Net Zero Planning Grant, providing up to $25,000 to cover up to 50% of the cost of net zero planning activities. Applications are open until 30 November 2026, or earlier if funding is exhausted.

The grant sits within the Business Decarbonisation Program and aims to support long-term net zero planning, helping businesses integrate climate-related risks and opportunities into their operations, and improving competitiveness in the global transition.

What the grant funds

Funded work is structured around the Net Zero Business Guide, which sets out nine elements of net zero planning:

• Strategy, including climate-related risk and opportunity assessment
• Governance
• People and capability
• Data
• Targets
• Net zero action planning
• Finance
• Stakeholder engagement
• Reporting

The Guide is not prescriptive about where a business starts. It can be used to open the first internal discussion on net zero, to identify gaps in an established plan, or to determine the next step for a business already underway. Funded work is scoped against whichever elements the business prioritises.

Eligibility

To be eligible, a business must:

• hold an ABN and be registered for GST
• have a NSW site address and business operations in NSW
• spend at least $200,000 annually on energy at a single NSW site, or $500,000 annually across multiple NSW sites and operations, including all purchased fuels

Evidence of annual energy expenditure is required, with bills no more than two years old at the date of application.

How it works

The grant is delivered in two stages. Milestone 1 is a six-week planning phase, where the business and its consultant determine which of the nine elements to prioritise and define the scope of work. Milestone 2 is an 18-week implementation phase where that work is delivered.

Why this matters beyond the grant

Australia’s mandatory climate-related financial disclosure regime requires reporting entities to prepare a sustainability report as part of their financial reporting, containing climate statements prepared in accordance with AASB S2.

AASB S2 organises disclosure around governance, strategy, risk management, and metrics and targets. The nine elements the grant funds map directly onto those four pillars. An emissions inventory, a climate risk and opportunity assessment, or a set of emissions reduction targets developed under the grant will support a business in preparing its climate statements.

How Cress can help

Cress has worked with clients that accessed round 1 funding to deliver this scope of work and can support organisations across the transition planning process, from developing a robust emissions inventory and assessing climate-related risks, through to identifying emissions reduction opportunities and undertaking marginal abatement cost curve (MACC) analysis.

Get in touch to discuss how we can support.

Cress is the Hydroflux Group’s in-house sustainability consulting team, operating as a specialised division and driven by a simple but powerful goal: to help organisations across Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific region create a more sustainable future. As a young and agile team, we combine technical expertise with fresh, forward-thinking approaches to help clients navigate complex challenges across climate risk, emissions reduction, modern slavery, water stewardship, and ESG reporting, building on the Hydroflux legacy of engineering excellence while bringing a sustainability lens to the industries and communities shaping the future of our region.