The Western Australian Government’s latest round of off-road vehicle area funding closed at 4:00pm on Monday 31 August. Two million dollars was on the table, with individual grants of up to $1 million.

Successful projects are due to be delivered between 1 January 2027 and 31 December 2028. That is the only date the program has published. There is no announced date for when councils find out whether they were successful — though with delivery starting on 1 January, notifications realistically have to land before the end of this year. That is our reading of the timeline, not something the department has stated.

What the money has built so far

The program has been running since September 2024, when the Cook Government put $4.8 million into what it called one of the biggest investments ever made to support off-road riding in WA.

Projects funded under it include:

  • Manjimup Trail Bike Hub Family Trails Precinct — $992,838
  • Pingelly ORV Motocross Track — $343,320
  • Lancelin ORV area upgrades — $199,966
  • Medina ORV area upgrades — $197,596
  • Oliver Battista Motocross Track, York — $154,000

Three of those five are places you can ride today and find in our Ride Spots Directory: Lancelin, Medina and Oliver Battista.

The spread matters as much as the total. One project received nearly a million dollars. Three received under $200,000 each. This is not a program that only builds showpieces — most of it is upgrades to places that already exist.

What it means for the round just closed

With a $2 million pool and a $1 million cap per application, this round could fund as few as two major projects or a dozen smaller upgrades. The last round’s largest grant came within $8,000 of the cap, so at least one big application is likely.

Local Government Minister Hannah Beazley framed the case for the areas themselves when the round opened.

“A well-designed, safe and family-friendly ORV area is a major asset for local communities, providing a training ground for young riders and drivers, while also being a drawcard for tourists,” she said.

Riding a gazetted ORV area

Two rules to be aware of. Your bike needs to be either ORV-registered or road-registered. Not both. And riders must be over eight years of age. But no driver’s or motorcycle licence is required to ride inside a permitted ORV area.

We now list 16 gazetted WA ORV areas in the Ride Spots Directory, from Spoilbank at Port Hedland down to Medina in the Perth metro, alongside the private tracks and club venues.

Sources: WA Government media statement, “New round of funding to upgrade off-road vehicle areas in WA”, 28 May 2026; WA Government media statement, “Major investment to develop new off-road vehicle areas across WA”, 1 September 2024; Off-road Vehicles Area Grants Program page, wa.gov.au; “Off-road Vehicles in Western Australia: Information for trail bike and quad bike riders”, wa.gov.au.