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Business Grants

3-minute read

What Are Government Grants?

Government grants are funds allocated to businesses, often with a conceptual purpose created by the Australian government. These purposes range from helping small businesses and entrepreneurs to contributing to development within specific industries or communities. Government grants will often reflect the economic and creative state of society, with grants often being centred around catalysing innovation, financial prosperity and increasing a business’s development. Government grants have a critical role in supporting business sectors, promoting growth in small businesses, infrastructure and health care.

Features of Government Grants

Eligibility
Government grants typically require businesses to meet specific criteria to qualify for funding. These criteria may include the business type, geographic location or the industry the business operates in. Eligibility criteria promotes the use of grants to be awarded to specific businesses and meet specific funding objectives.
 

Competition
Government grants are often competitive with there being a minimal amount of funding being granted to businesses. Government grants often have a large pool of applicants seeking financial assistance. In response, businesses must ensure their proposals and portfolios are strong and competitive against other businesses.
 

Reporting and Accounting
Businesses who are issued government grants are usually obligated to follow specific reporting and accounting procedures which may include submitting specific types of financial reports or documents, displaying how the business has distributed the funds that are being allocated. In response, government agencies are able to ensure that the business is compliant with the eligibility requirements.
 

Non-Repayable
Grants are not loans or debt issued by governments. They are non-repayable and do not require businesses to pay the government back. Grants are a means of financial assistance which aim to assist businesses in its operations. Whilst grants are non-repayable, businesses do not have full discretion of using the finances and do have an expectation to allocate the funds to specific areas.

What Grants Am I Eligible For?

Small business owners in Australia are usually unaware of the financial assistance available by governmental agencies. The Australian government has a large amount of funding available to small businesses and entrepreneurs seeking business assistance. The financial assistance governments offer range from grants focused on innovation to specific projects being conducted. There are over 500 federal & state grants available to new businesses, with new ones being introduced weekly.

Grants

Minimum Viable Product Grants (MVP)

The minimum viable product grant (MVP) is a government grant which is centred around providing startups and entrepreneurs with the funds to develop their product. An MVP grant provides financial assistance by covering the costs associated with developing and launching the product that has yet to be developed.

 

Eligibility
Businesses who are seeking the MVP grant must:

  • Have an Australian Business Number (ABN).
  • Be non-tax exempt.
  • Have its headquarters in NSW.
  • Have an account with an Australian financial institution.
  • Be either a company incorporated in Australia or an incorporated trustee on behalf of a trust in Australia.
  • Hold intellectual property or rights to commercialise.

 

Application Process
The MVP grant has a two stage application process. The first step being an expression of interest and the second being a detailed application.
 

Funding Amount
The NSW Government has said they aim to provide up to $3 million per annum until 2027, issuing businesses from around $25,000 to $50,000.
 

If you are applying for the MVP grant and need an ABN, Lawpath offers an affordable ABN registration service which goes beyond just registration. Lawpath’s ABN service lowers the risk of running into legal problems and attains business's ABNs through an expedited application.

Research and Development Tax Incentive

The Research and Development Tax Incentive aims for businesses to boost their competitiveness through commencing research and development that businesses may not have been able to do without the financial assistance. In response, incentivising smaller businesses to undertake research and development.
 

Eligibility
Businesses seeking the Research and Development Tax Incentive must fulfil specific requirements. These include the business being a registered entity and conducting research and development activities.
 

Businesses conducting research and development must be spending at least $20,000 a year to offset their expenditure. Those who are spending less must use a registered Research Service Provider (RSP) to conduct research.

CSIRO Kick Start

The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) Kick Start grant aims to financially assist businesses in their research activities to promote business growth. Through partnering with CSIRO and utilising their expertise and resources, this grant hopes to assist businesses in research and refining a new product or service seeking to be commercialised. 
 

The CSIRO Kick Start grant is centred around businesses transcending barriers that prevent activities requiring research and development, launching a product or complex technologies.
 

Eligibility
Businesses who are eligible for this grant must:

  • Have an Australian company number (ACN).
  • Be registered for goods and services tax (GST).
  • Have an annual turnover of less than $10 million.
  • Be a company that has been registered for no more than three years.


Application Process
The application process for the CSIRO Kick Start grant begins with submitting an expression of interest, followed by informing the agency on the project. This is then matched with the finance and expertise typically within two to six weeks. Once this has started, the project commences.
 

Funding Amount
The CSIRO grant will match funding between $10,000 to $50,0000.

Registering a business can be lengthy and inconvenient. Lawpath has plenty of fast business and company registration services available at a low price, so that you can quickly apply for grants that require registration.

Financial Incentive: Wage Subsidies

Wage subsidies give financial incentives to businesses who are wanting to hire and retain employees into ongoing jobs. The wage subsidies issued by the government essentially incentivises businesses to hire diverse employees that are eligible for ongoing jobs. This is done by financially assisting businesses to cover the cost of hiring individuals.
 

Eligibility
The requirements for the wage subsidy to be granted are that individuals must be:

  • 15 to 29 years old or
  • Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander or
  • 50 years old or over or
  • A parent or
  • An individual who has been registered with employment services for a year or longer.

The wage subsidy is available for full-time, part-time and casual vacancies, with the expectation of the job offering employees 8 to 30 hours per week of work.


Funding amount
The wage subsidy offers employers up to $10,000 per hire.


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Things you should know

The information provided is general in nature and has been prepared without taking your objectives, needs and overall financial situation into account. For this reason, you should consider the appropriateness of the information to your own circumstances and, if necessary, seek appropriate professional advice.
 

This article has been prepared by Lawpath and not Westpac Banking Corporation (Westpac). Westpac is not responsible for the accuracy or completeness of claims made in this article or in relation to the services or goods provided by Lawpath. Westpac does not endorse or make recommendations about the services or goods provided.
 

Lawpath services are not a Westpac product or service, or a feature of a Westpac product of service. Details of available grants are correct as of 22/11/2024. Check the relevant websites offering the grants for the latest information and timing of applications.