The Australian and Queensland Governments are launching the $24 million Great Barrier Reef Urban Technology and Innovation Fund, a transformative initiative set to drive cutting-edge solutions for improving water quality in the Great Barrier Reef.
“The Great Barrier Reef Urban Technology and Innovation Fund is part of our $192 million Clearer Water for a Healthy Reef package, and it builds on our $30 million investment for the Reefwise Urban Program, supporting activities to reduce water pollution from urban sources within priority Great Barrier Reef catchments,” Federal Minister for the Environment and Water Murray Watt said.
The Reef Urban Technology and Innovation Fund will tackle urban water pollution from stormwater, wastewater, and industrial runoff. Urban areas cover less than one per cent of the Great Barrier Reef catchment, but their impact is still locally significant.
“Runoff from stormwater, industrial land use, and wastewater treatment plants contributes to dissolved inorganic nitrogen loads and fine sediment that reaches the Reef. While these urban loads are small on a Reef-wide scale, they can have significant local effects,” Queensland Minister for the Environment and Tourism and Minister for Science and Innovation, Andrew Powell, said.
“The Urban Technology and Innovation Fund builds on previous investments, including the Queensland Government’s $1.15 million contribution to the Local Government Association of Queensland’s Cleaner Wastewater Initiative, which is linked to the Reef Councils’ Rescue Plan.”
The Fund will build on previous investments and existing initiatives, as well as support the development of new management approaches and technologies that have been applied at scale elsewhere but not tested within the Reef catchment.
The joint Queensland-Commonwealth Fund will comprise $12 million in Commonwealth funding and $12 million in Queensland Government funding, with co-investment from project proponents, and will be overseen by the Queensland Government’s Department of Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation.
Funding is available for the development of large-scale Model for Urban Stormwater Improvement Conceptualisation (MUSIC) models for priority Reef catchment urban areas.
MUSIC is a software tool used by local councils, catchment managers, and urban developers to manage stormwater. It helps simulate rainfall and pollution to predict how stormwater affects water quality.
With these new models, local councils will be able to:
- Track pollutants in stormwater
- Understand the effects of runoff on water quality
- Compare different treatment options to reduce pollution
- Help manage water in a more connected way
The project will provide most of the major urban centres in Reef catchments with access to a large-scale MUSIC model.
The project is part of phase 1 of the Reefwise Urban Program, which aims to better manage urban pollution within priority Reef catchments.
The data will feed into the Paddock to Reef Integrated Monitoring, Modelling and Reporting Program. It will ensure investments are targeted for future phases.
The initiative is funded through the Reef Trust. The Reef Trust is Australia’s investment program to protect and manage the Reef. It also supports the delivery of the Reef 2050 Plan.
Applications close Monday, 21 July 2025.
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