OPINION: There’s more to securing a government grant than merely meeting the eligibility criteria.
There remains a degree of uncertainty in the business community about the purpose of, and process involved in, securing federal and state government grants.
It’s a rapidly evolving landscape.
Governments offer billions of dollars of grant funding over thousands of programs. Unlike loans, grants do not have to be repaid, making them an attractive option for businesses seeking funding.
However, grant applications can be complex and competition is fierce. To complicate matters, the grants terrain is constantly changing, with programs expiring and emerging daily.
The common misconception by businesses is that government grants are a readily available source of finance and meeting the eligibility criteria almost guarantees success.
In fact, grants are a highly competitive process where meeting eligibility is just the minimum. Success lies in building a compelling narrative to ensure your project meets merit-based assessment criteria.
Governments use grants to stimulate growth and expansion in the economy as a whole or at a sub-sector level, rather than at the individual business level.
Approved projects will, ideally, create broader economic benefits, bring new technologies or capabilities to an industry or a region, or create new employment opportunities.
Therefore, applicants should demonstrate how their project meets these objectives and how it requires government assistance, consider their application from the funder’s perspective, and position their project as a solution to their (funder’s) problem.
How will your project deliver benefits such as boosting local employment, implementing new capabilities, building resilience in supply chains, improving sustainability outcomes and providing broader community benefits?
The starting point is to understand the basics of eligibility. It is vital to demonstrate the broader benefits of any grant funding to the local region, state and nation – perhaps through an economic activity analysis – and differentiate the project so the application stands out.
Some state-based government funds offer grants to rural and regional operators. These include Western Australia’s Regional Economic Development Grants program, which supports projects that stimulate economic growth and development in regional WA.
In 2023, the Cook government launched the Agrifood and Beverage Voucher Program, which offers $20,000 grants to help small and medium-sized businesses engage business consultants and technical experts.
But the big game in town in the grants space is the federal government’s $392 million Industry Growth Program. This program is aimed at helping small and medium-sized businesses to build manufacturing capabilities through commercialisation and growth projects relating to highly innovative and novel products, processes or services.
Under this program, early stage commercialisation projects can access grants of between $50,000 and $250,000 for initial work such as feasibility studies and proof-ofconcept research.
Where the concept is at a later stage of development, grants of between $100,000 and $5 million are on offer to support the process beyond prototyping up to full-scale commercialisation.
Government grants linked to food manufacturing and agtech ventures are often given top priority.
Earlier this year, our team helped Manjimup’s Bendotti Exporters’ expansion plans by securing a $1.78 million grant from the WA government, under its Native Forest Transition Plan and associated New Industry Development Grants funding program.
Not all grants come from government. For example, companies such as Telstra, Coles and Westpac have been active in funding the big data, WiFi and mobile telecommunications field.
Even if an applicant receives a grant, it’s the beginning of the process, not the end, because they often require matching funds: legally binding agreements where they must account for every dollar spent.
With careful planning and the right advice, grant application pitfalls can be avoided. A well thought-out submission can be compelling and, hopefully, successful.
• Edward Day is senior manager of government grants at RSM
