Grant program
A $15 million grant program will target truck operators who regularly travel through the inner west and provide them with a grant to remove their older, dirtier trucks off the road and encourage the transition to newer, more emission efficient trucks.
We are also offering $5 million in grants to local Councils to seal local roads under council management, reducing airborne dust pollution.
We’ll continue to work with Hobsons Bay, Brimbank and Maribyrnong Councils on a confirming a list of local roads that meet the program’s criteria.
Modernising the truck fleet program
Applicants are required to fill out an application form on the vic.gov. au website and submit supporting documents. Each applicant can submit only one application per year, although they can include multiple trucks within that single application. Applications will undergo evaluation by a panel including industry experts. To be eligible for the program the:
- business must be officially registered in Australia.
- heavy vehicle, a pre-Euro IV prime mover (i.e., vehicle exceeding 4.5 tonnes in gross weight), should be under the applicant’s operation.
- vehicle should have been used for port-related transport in the inner west on a weekly basis during the past six months.
- vehicle’s registration should be in Victoria, and
- trucks must be demolished at a selected scrap metal recycler.
Applicants must consent to their claim being verified. Upon selection, applicants be invited to enter into a funding agreement.
Our commitment
This commitment progresses recommendations from the report prepared by the Inner West Air Quality Community Reference Group – Air Pollution in Melbourne’s inner west – taking direct action to reduce our community’s exposure.
It also complements the goals set out in the Victorian Government’s Clean Air for All Victorians – Victoria’s Air Quality Strategy.
We understand improving air quality in the inner west requires a coordinated and multi-faceted approach and we’ve implemented initiatives such as:
- $5 million to plant 500,000 new trees in Melbourne’s west
- $2.84 million to establish Air Quality Improvement Precincts in the inner and outer west of Melbourne to reduce local air pollution in collaboration with the community and businesses
- Expanded monitoring to progress the enhanced enforcement and compliance strategy for routes subject to the truck bans when the West Gate Tunnel opens
- $58 million Port Rail Shuttle Network and $125 million Port Rail Transformation Project to help move more goods by rail
- Inner Melbourne Air Monitoring Project consisting of the urban roadside monitoring station, complementing, EPA’s existing air monitoring network and programs
- Six air quality monitoring stations established as part of the West Gate Tunnel Project and engagement with community members to build an understanding of air pollution impacts.
We will consider measures to speed up emissions reduction in the freight sector, promote Zero Emissions Vehicle uptake, and encourage mode shift in our transport network, all key for decarbonisation. We’re investing some $20 billion in transformational projects in Melbourne’s west, to create a better place.
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