Government grants
Why Bellajack
Government Grants can be a great way to develop a great new idea, accelerate your growth or gain access to new markets. And, if you are entitled to government funding and you know how to tick all the boxes to get it, the government does want to have it.
The EMDG is available to small to medium sized Australian businesses to develop export markets. It reimburses 50% of eligible export promotion expenses above $5,000, provided total expenses are at least $15,000. Up until the 2020/21 financial year, the EMDG was claimable as a reimbursement of expenses with claims being submitted between July and the end of November the following year. A maximum (in theory) grant was available up to $150,000, although in practice the actual maximum payable was somewhere closer to $75,000-$80,000 due to there being a finite pool of funds which had to be shared among all applicants.
Some big changes for the EMDG for 2021/22 and beyond
From the 2021/2022 financial year the EMDG will need to be applied for IN ADVANCE. There are also a number of other big changes which you need to aware of. Please click the link below to see our summary of these changes and how they may affect you.
Sometimes it’s not what you know…
If you want to have a go at applying for a government grant yourself then, before you complete the application, make sure you ask the right questions. And make sure you’re asking the right person! When it comes to government grants the best person to ask is the government department staff member who is responsible for administering the grant.
Remember that just because the same words may be used in different grant applications, they don’t necessarily mean the same thing and they may require very different answers.
Some big changes for the EMDG for 2021/22 and beyond
If you can find the right person to ask, before you write your application and again before you submit, they can be a huge help. They won’t speed the process up for you but they will improve your chances success.
Current Grants
Government Grants, from federal, state and local governments change regularly, depending on the current governments’ priorities, the needs of the community and how much money may be available. For a list of what is currently available please click on the grants.gov.au link below. Hopefully there will be something that is right for your business right now and which you are eligible for. If you think there is, or there might be, please feel free to give us a call or drop us an email to contact@bellajack.com with any questions you might have and we’ll be happy to help wherever we can.
https://www.grants.gov.au/?event=public.GO.list
There are a couple of federal funds that have been in operation for some time, the Export Marketing Development Grant (EMDG) and the Research and Development Tax Incentive Program (R&DTI). Bellajack have been working with clients to maximise their entitlements to these two programs for a number of years and we have members of staff who are specialists in each of these programs, including one, Dr Jenny Robertson who is arguably the most knowledgeable person in Australia when it comes to the R&DTI.
EMDG
The Export Marketing Development Program is the federal government’s incentive program for businesses who are investing money on developing their export capability. In 2019-20 the total available funding was increased by $60 million over the next 3 years.
The EMDG is available to small to medium sized Australian businesses to develop export markets. It reimburses 50% of eligible export promotion expenses above $5,000, provided total expenses are at least $15,000, with a maximum (in theory) grant payable of $150,000. In practice the maximum is somewhere closer to $75,000-$80,000. We are happy to explain why if you’d like to email or call us about your potential eligibility for the EMDG.
For more information about the EMDG, please click on this link
Reseach & Development Tax Incentive
As the name implies, the R&DTI is the federal government’s key financial incentive to stimulate Australian industry investment into Research and Development.
The key focus for most R&DTI recipients is ‘Research”. What is often neglected is the “Development” aspect of the R&DTI.
The R&DTI is not a grant program, rather it is ‘paid’ as tax offsets for eligible R&D expenditure, with eligible companies with a turnover of less than $20 million per annum receiving refundable tax offset which can be paid as a cash refund, if they are in a tax loss position.
For more information about the R&DTI, please click on the following link, https://www.industry.gov.au/funding-and-incentives/research-and-development-tax-incentive
ENTREPENEUR’S PROGRAMME
One great program that is funded by the Australian Federal Government is the Entrepreneur’s Programme.
The programme’s aim is support business improvement and innovation as well as the commercialisation of novel products, processes and services. In other words it is about providing good businesses with access to practical support that will make them even better. And the best news, your initial evaluation and report are FREE plus most of the assistance you can then access – assistance you will need regardless – will be subsidised at up to half the cost!
To be eligible for this program you need to be;
- a Small to Medium sized Australian business
- have been operating for a minimum of 3 years
- be turning over at least $1.5 million per annum
- working in or servicing one of the “Targeted Growth Sectors”
For more information you can watch the following video;
Or get in touch with us at contact@bellajack.com and we’ll introduce you to one of the great team of Business Advisors (not Bellajack team members) who will be able to officially assess your eligibility and get you started on the program.