The Victorian government has promised to establish a dedicated Royalties for the Regions fund, guaranteeing that every dollar collected from mineral royalties will be reinvested directly into regional healthcare, schools, and roads.
Unveiled by Premier Ben Carroll, the policy aims to capture economic benefits ahead of an anticipated boom in critical minerals, including major deposits of antimony, titanium, zircon, and rare earth elements across the state.
The government forecasts that the initiative will raise more than AU$500 million over the next four years from mining royalties, encompassing coal, gold, and critical minerals.
While Western Australia introduced a similar scheme in 2008 by directing 25 per cent of royalty revenues to regional areas, Victoria’s proposed model goes further by reserving 100 per cent of resources royalties exclusively for regional communities.
Recent momentum in the sector includes the approval of a mining licence for the Avonbank mineral sands project in the Wimmera and progress on Southern Cross Gold’s Sunday Creek exploration project.
The premier said returning locally generated resource wealth to regional Victoria is a simple principle, noting the state stands on the cusp of a significant minerals boom.
“Victoria was once the biggest producer of gold in the world, and now we are on the cusp of another boom,” Carroll said.
“If the wealth comes out of regional Victoria, the wealth should go back into regional Victoria – it’s that simple.”
Treasurer Colin Brooks described the plan as a responsible strategy to secure long-term infrastructure funding, while Minister for Rural and Regional Development Michaela Settle said the fund would add to the government’s existing AU$50 billion investment in regional areas.
The announcement was welcomed by the Minerals Council of Australia (MCA) Victoria, which noted that the policy aligns with its long-standing campaign for mining revenues to support local communities.
MCA Victoria Executive Director James Sorahan said reinvesting the approximately AU$150 million in annual royalties currently paid by mining companies will help address regional challenges.
“Strategic investment in regional infrastructure will help address the big challenges regional industries and communities face from roads to shortage of trades skills and lack of childcare and healthcare options.”
