Export Market Development Grant

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From 1 July 2021, the Export Market Development Grant underwent some major changes

This grant is available to any Australian exporter operating in any type of business entity – Sole Traders, Partnerships, Trusts or Companies.

Over 4,000 Australian businesses participate in this grant program each year and may be particularly relevant for business exporters or those that supply tourism services to overseas’ residents.

https://www.austrade.gov.au/australian/export/export-grants

From now on, businesses must have a turnover of less than $20M to apply for this grant.

Grants are available in three tiers over a maximum of 8 years, with total funding amount over the 8 years (which do not have to be consecutive) of $770,000 available for eligible complying businesses.

  • Tier 1 Ready to Export: First-time exporters. Maximum 2 years and maximum $40,000 per financial year.
  • Tier 2 Expanding: Expanding your export promotion activities. Maximum 3 years a maximum $80,000 per financial year.
  • Tier 3 Expanding and Strategic Shift: Expanding your export promotion activities and making a strategic shift, for example, targeting a new market or a new type of customer. Maximum 3 years and maximum $150,000 per financial year.

When the grant applications have been assessed and individual grants approved by Austrade (after 30 November 2021) a Grant Agreement will then be prepared between Austrade and the applicant. Austrade has indicated that milestone payments will be made to successful applicants.

This new system will be a lot clearer for businesses that will not have to run the commercial risk of undertaking expenditure, that the business thought would qualify for the Export Market Development Grant, and then find that the Austrade administrators disagreed.

This caused a lot of upset because the old system required the business to incur the expenditure during the year and then, at the end of the year, make an application for part reimbursement of expenditure that the business thought complied with the Export Market Development Grant. That uncertainty has now been removed because applications need to be made in advance, thus bringing this grant into line with most other Federal government grants.

For more information including discussing your potential eligibility, contact the team at Omnis Group Accountants and Business Specialists in Perth on 08 9380 3555.