Towards 6,000 Remote Jobs by 2030: What Business, Infrastructure and Regional Development Opportunities Could Emerge from RJED Round 4?

Towards 6,000 Remote Jobs by 2030: What Business, Infrastructure and Regional Development Opportunities Could Emerge from RJED Round 4?

Australia’s remote-employment policy is increasingly moving beyond conventional employment services towards more direct job creation, business capability building and regional economic development.

The currently open Remote Jobs and Economic Development Program – Round 4 (RJED Round 4) reflects this policy direction.

The broader RJED programme aims to create 6,000 new jobs in Remote Australia by 2030, supporting eligible remote job seekers — including RAES participants, people eligible for RAES and certain young people aged 15–24 living in RAES regions — to move into paid employment with proper wages and conditions.

More than 3,000 jobs have already been approved through the programme. Around 800 jobs are expected to be created through Round 4. Round 4 opened on 28 October 2026 and closes at 3.00 pm AEST on 17 March 2027.

Remote Jobs and Economic Development Program – Round 4

RJED is not simply a wage-support programme. It consists of two interconnected funding streams:

CJBF support may include equipment, minor capital works, employee capacity building, mentoring and supervision, uniforms, insurance, operating expenses, on-the-job training and certain infrastructure directly connected with the new jobs.

CJBF cannot be accessed on a stand-alone basis and must be used in conjunction with the Job Creation stream.

This is why RJED is better understood as a combination of employment funding, business capability, local infrastructure and regional economic development rather than as a conventional wage subsidy.

Why Do the Costs Beyond Wages Matter?

Many employment programmes focus primarily on wage costs. In practice, however, a new job also requires a workable operating environment, equipment, training and management support.

A new employee may need tools, machinery, workstations, PPE, storage, small sheds, communications equipment, training, supervision, insurance or other operating equipment.

If an organisation can fund a wage but cannot meet these start-up and operating requirements, the job may be difficult to establish effectively.

The Community Jobs and Business Fund is designed to address this practical gap. The objective is not simply to help an organisation employ a person, but to help it establish a job that can actually function.

What Counts as a “New Job”?

RJED applies a clear definition of a new job. An eligible position must:

• be a position that did not previously exist within the organisation and must not displace an existing employee; or

• be a position converted from an eligible RAES Community Project.

Jobs may be full-time, part-time or casual. The programme also allows some flexibility around personal, family and cultural obligations in remote communities.

This means organisations cannot simply transfer the cost of an existing position to government funding. They need to demonstrate why the job is genuinely additional, why it is needed locally and how it can create ongoing employment and community value.

Which Sectors Could Generate New Employment Opportunities?

Previously approved RJED projects show that new jobs are not concentrated in a single sector. Supported roles have included positions across:

• tourism;

• agriculture;

• health care;

• retail;

• administration;

• community services;

• maintenance; and

• culture and the arts.

For Remote Australia, the economic significance of RJED therefore extends beyond employment numbers. It may also enable local organisations to expand activities that were previously constrained by labour shortages or start-up costs.

From a policy perspective, the strongest opportunities are likely to be those where new jobs are clearly connected to genuine business demand, community services or local economic activity.

Which Organisations Can Apply Directly?

Round 4 uses an Open Competitive process. Applicants must satisfy the programme requirements for an eligible organisation, an eligible job and an eligible employee.

Eligible applicants must operate, or intend to operate, in a RAES region and fall within one of the entity types permitted by the programme. These include eligible Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander corporations, Australian companies, incorporated trustees, incorporated associations or cooperatives, partnerships, registered charities and not-for-profit organisations, local government bodies, eligible consortium arrangements and certain other specified entities.

Individuals or sole traders may apply to employ another person, but cannot apply to fund a job for themselves.

RJED also applies only within eligible Remote Australia Employment Service regions. Where an organisation proposes jobs across different NIAA regions, separate applications may be required.

NIAA also notes that organisations that are not directly eligible may consider partnering with an eligible organisation.

Direct applicant eligibility and project participation therefore need to be distinguished carefully. Not every business or service provider involved in a project will be able to receive the grant directly, but they may still participate through partnerships, procurement or downstream delivery.

What Does This Mean for Construction, Equipment and Regional Service Businesses?

Not every construction, equipment or professional services business will be eligible to receive RJED funding directly.

However, the requirements created through CJBF may generate practical downstream procurement opportunities. An approved organisation may need to purchase:

• tools and machinery;

• IT and communications equipment;

• operational equipment;

• uniforms and PPE;

• small workplace upgrades;

• sheds or minor infrastructure;

• training services;

• business systems; and

• professional support services.

For suppliers, contractors, trainers and regional service providers, the key question is therefore not only “Can we apply for this grant?” but also “Which funded organisations may create new procurement and project requirements as these jobs are established?”

This is one of the main ways in which RJED differs commercially from a conventional wage subsidy.

Why Is This a Regional Economic Development Programme?

The programme name combines Jobs and Economic Development, and that distinction matters. Its long-term policy objective is not simply to create a group of short-term subsidised positions.

The intended pathway is: local jobs → local capability → stronger local organisations → a stronger remote economy.

When a new position enables an organisation to expand tourism, agriculture, maintenance, retail, community services or other local activities, the programme’s impact extends beyond the wage itself.

Assessing an RJED project therefore requires more than counting jobs. It also requires considering whether those jobs genuinely strengthen the organisation’s ongoing operating capacity and local economic activity.

Why Should Sustainability Be Considered Early?

RJED jobs may receive support for up to three years.

From a longer-term project-planning perspective, organisations should therefore also consider what happens when RJED funding ends.

A more mature project should be able to explain how the new job connects with the organisation’s revenue, service demand, community need or longer-term operating model.

A position that has no credible pathway beyond the funded period may present a longer-term operating risk for the organisation.

The value of RJED is therefore not only in creating a job, but also in using early-stage funding to help an organisation build more durable capability.

Why Is It Worth Monitoring Now?

Round 4 opened on 28 October 2026 and closes at 3.00 pm AEST on 17 March 2027.

Organisations considering an application should clarify at an early stage:

• whether the proposed position genuinely qualifies as a new job;

• whether the employee meets programme requirements;

• whether the job is located in an eligible RAES region;

• whether there is genuine local community support for the position;

• whether CJBF funding is required;

• whether equipment or minor capital works are directly connected with job creation;

• whether the organisation has the capability to manage the position over time; and

• whether the project has a credible longer-term operating model beyond the funded period.

For programmes of this kind, application quality is rarely improved simply by making the proposal longer. What matters more is whether the job need, resource requirements, community value and long-term operating logic are clearly explained.

What Can RESI Do?

RESI continues to monitor Australian regional development, employment policy, community infrastructure and government funding programmes.

Our aim is to help organisations assess at an earlier stage:

• whether proposed jobs meet the RJED new-job definition;

• whether the organisation is an eligible applicant;

• whether the proposed employee meets programme requirements;

• whether the project location is within an eligible remote region;

• how the Job Creation and CJBF streams should work together;

• whether equipment, minor capital works and operating costs are clearly connected to the new jobs;

• whether community support is sufficiently established;

• whether an organisation should participate as a direct applicant, partner or downstream provider; and

• whether the project is sufficiently developed to justify formal application preparation.

For this type of programme, the key issue is not simply proving that remote communities need more employment. The more important questions are why the job needs to exist, who will employ the person, what resources are required and how the position can contribute to lasting regional economic value.

Contact RESI

If your organisation is planning new employment, business expansion, community services, tourism, agriculture, maintenance or other local economic-development activities in Remote Australia, Remote Jobs and Economic Development Program – Round 4 is worth assessing further.

Round 4 closes at 3.00 pm AEST on 17 March 2027.

To discuss organisation eligibility, job structure, CJBF funding logic or project readiness, please contact RESI.