Grants to help your small business grow in Australia in 2022

Recent statistics reveal there are over 2.4 million small businesses in Australia. For any budding Australian entrepreneur, access to cheaper funding is critical for expanding their venture. Fortunately, there are several government and non-government programs and grants to turn your business ideas into success. However, determining their availability and knowing the ideal ones to apply for can be a difficult task. Let’s look at some of the best grants on offer.

Government Programs 

The following are some of the government grants available for small businesses in Australia:

The Entrepreneurs’ Programme: The Entrepreneurs’ Programme provides maximum funding of $1 million depending on the type of venture the business is in. The program aims to enhance productivity and business growth to enable businesses to compete effectively in the marketplace. Apart from the financing, SMEs are also given access to expert advice and additional incentives. To be eligible, your company should be involved in the food and agriculture, pharmaceutical sectors, medical technology, mining and advanced manufacturing. The tourism industry in Northern territory is also included.

Accelerating Commercialisation: Accelerating Commercialisation grants aim to help eligible applicants explore commercialisation opportunities in different states and territories other than their current state of business. The grant provides SMEs with up to $1 million in project funding to help them introduce a new product or service to the market. To be eligible, you must be an Australian business with a novel product, service, or process you need to commercialise. You must also prove you can fund at least 50% of the project.

Australian Landing Pad: This program aims to help Australian start-ups gain a foothold in global business scenes in Singapore, Germany, and China. The program gives SMEs access to global innovation hubs and advice on how to grow in a new market.

Export Market Development Grant: The Export Market Development Grant is designed for exporters to encourage them to find an export market. It provides 50% reimbursement for activities promoting goods and services to the international marketplace. The grants start at $5000 and are capped at $150,000. To be eligible, you must have a total income of less than $50 million and should be the principal in the export of goods, not an agent.

Australian Apprenticeship Incentives Program: AAIP provides incentives to encourage businesses to hire apprentices and provide quality training. The program helps businesses hire apprentices at a lower price than hiring regular employees to help with workloads. The AAIP offers incentives ranging from $750 to $4,000 annually. To be eligible, you must have a training contract with your apprentice. You should also offer the training at Diploma, Certificate II, III, IV, or Advanced Diploma level.

Grants by State

The following are some of the grants by the state to check out:

Northern Territory: Business Growth Plan provides grants and funding support to SMEs, not-for-profit entities, and Aboriginal enterprises. The program also helps businesses access professional services to enhance their performance, competitiveness, and bottom line. 

Tasmania: Business Growth Loan Scheme is a grant provided by the Tasmanian government to help businesses develop and transition to sustainable operating models post COVID-19. The program offers a minimum loan amount of $20,000, and the maximum loan amount is $3 million. The scheme started receiving applications in September 2020 and will close in September 2022. 

Western Australia: The New Industries Fund is a $16.7 million range of initiatives that supports new businesses to create more local jobs. This currently includes the Innovation Booster Grant – competitive funding grant of up to $20,000 for eligible start-ups and small businesses. 

South Australia: The SA Venture Capital Fund is a co-fund investment fund that enables South Australian businesses to secure funding and promote growth in both global and national markets. To be eligible, you must have 50% of your assets and 50% of your staff located in South Australia in the last 12 months from the initial investment date. 

Australian Capital Territory: The Australian Capital Territory Innovation Connect grant supports SMEs’ efforts to take their entrepreneurial ideas to a market-ready position. The grant supports the development of product prototypes or functional software. It also offers businesses legal, IP, and patenting advice. Grants usually range between $10,000 and $30,000.

Queensland: the Startup Onramp is a Regional Queensland Program that provides access to quality training and accelerator programs for Queensland SMEs to help them enhance their productivity and competitiveness. Another Queensland grant is the Business Basics Grants Program, which supports businesses to increase capacity through upskilling and adoption of best practices. 

Victoria: Victoria’s Future Industries program is designed to help businesses in high-growth industries such as food, construction, energy, and medical to create more jobs. It provides grants and other programs to improve infrastructure, build workforce skills and enable businesses to adopt global best practices. 

New South Wales: the Minimum Viable Product Grant is designed for pre-revenue technology start-ups. It provides a maximum of $25,000 grant to enable start-ups to develop a minimum viable product and achieve market validation and first sale. 

Other Grants for Small Business Start-ups

CSIRO Kick Start Grant: CSIRO Kick-Start is an initiative providing funding support and research expertise to Australian start-ups and small businesses. The program aims at helping businesses grow and develop their business and offers matched funding of up to $50,000. 

Grants Hub: the Grants Hub is a directory with a list of over 1,000 grant programs in Australia, including those from corporate enterprises, private donors, and more.

Grant Guru: Grant Guru is a platform that enables businesses to search for new grants from an extensive database of over 5,000 grants valued at over $96 billion. These grants include those from the public sector, private sector, and industry-specific grants.

Undeniably, the grants offered by the government and private sector for SMEs in Australia add up to billions of dollars each year. If you are an eligible applicant, it is crucial to do diligent research and preparation to ensure a successful application. Being organised increases your chances of getting grants, so you can access funds and support for your small business to grow. 

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