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Business and Infrastructure Funding Opportunities - August 2020


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Welcome to our Business and Infrastructure Funding Opportunities Newsletter where you will find details of grant and funding programs that are available for the Northern Inland Region for businesses and infrastructure projects.

Due to the number of grants that are available, we send two funding opportunities newsletters a month; one for Business and Infrastructure and another for Community Projects and Award Programs. These newsletters are a free service that we provide, and can you can add the Community Funding Opportunities and Awards Programs newsletter to your subscriptions by filling your details into on the left hand side of our website: www.rdani.org.au

We wish you all the best with the Funding Opportunities below and if you are looking for a grant between newsletters, have a look at the grants area of our website which is updated weekly: www.rdani.org.au/our-region/grants-and-funding-opportunities.php

If you need some facts and figures for your applications, a range of data for our region is also available on our website here: www.rdani.org.au/our-region/regional-data.php

Please note the below information is intended as a guide only. Closing dates and other details should be verified using the links provided as they are subject to change by the providers without notice.

Coronavirus (COVID-19), Drought and Bushfire Assistance

To help businesses and individuals affected by Coronavirus (COVID-19) access the available assistance we have created a dedicated Coronavirus Assistance page on our website. This page will be updated as details become available on the recently announced economic stimulus packages from the Australian and NSW Governments.

There is also wide range of assistance available for individuals, businesses and communities that have been affected by the ongoing drought and the recent bushfires. To help you access this support, we have created dedicated Drought Assistance and  Bushfire Assistance pages on our website which are being updated reguarly.

Featured Grants

Energy Efficient Communities Program – High Energy Using Business Grants
Closes: 24th of September 2020
Value: $10,000 to $25,000
Run By: Australian Government Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources

Provides businesses with an annual net energy consumption of more than 0.05 PJ per year with grants to improve their energy efficiency. Grants may be used for equipment and component improvements, energy audits, feasibility studies and/or energy use and emission monitoring.

You can use your grant for one or more of the following:

  • replacing existing equipment with higher efficiency equipment
  • installing or replacing a component to help an existing system run more efficiently
  • energy audits
  • investment feasibility studies for energy efficiency upgrades
  • monitoring of energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions

NSW Public Spaces Legacy Program
Closes: Runs from 1 September 2020 to 30 June 2021
Value: $2 Million
Run By: NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment

This program incentivises local councils to accelerate their assessments of development applications (DAs) and rezonings to create new development capacity and meet demand for housing and employment over the next decade.

Funding for the planning, design, construction or land acquisition costs for new and existing public and open space will be made available to 68 councils across NSW that are using (or mandated to use) the ePlanning system, that adopt a Local Acceleration Program, provided they can achieve improvements in assessment activity between 1 September 2020 and 30 June 2021.

Eligible public space projects include new or upgraded open and public space including regional and district public and open spaces and linear parklands, trails and strategic public and open space linkages, foreshore and riverfront precincts. This includes improvements for water-based recreation such as launching small watercraft, access to waterways for swimming, trails and picnic areas.

Funding is also available for urban amenity improvements including civic plazas, town squares and main street precincts that improve connections between public space, promoting walkability and greater accessibility.

Business Research and Innovation Initiative Pilot Priority Sectors
Closes: 10th of September 2020
Value: Up to $100,000
Run By: Australian Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources

This program provides small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs) with grant funding to develop innovative solutions for government policy and service delivery challenges. The program covers up to five challenges each round for which SMEs can develop solutions.

The objective of the program is to drive innovation within small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and government by encouraging the development of innovative solutions by SMEs to public policy and service delivery challenges.

The five challenges for this round are:

  • Revolutionising agricultural spray applications
  • Turning farm crops into a renewable hydrogen source
  • Turning office trash into energy treasure
  • Counting fish using advanced technologies
  • Automating the detection of whales at sea

Closing in August

Energy Efficient Communities Program – Dairy Farming Business Grants
Closes: 24th of August 2020
Value: $5,000 to $20,000
Run By: Australian Government Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources
The objective of this grant opportunity is to support Australian dairy farming businesses to save energy.

National Product Stewardship Investment Fund
Closes: 21st of August 2020
Value: $300,000 to $1,000,000
Run By: Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment
Supports organisations across Australia to accelerate work on new industry-led product stewardship schemes, and improve the rates of recycling across new and existing schemes.

Start Strong Capital Works Grants Program
Closes: 23rd of August 2020
Value: Unspecified
Run By: NSW Department of Education
Aims to improve access to preschool by creating additional community preschool places in areas of need by providing funding for new and existing community preschools to build, renovate or extend their facilities.

Energy Efficient Communities Program – Small Business Grants
Closes: 26th of August 2020
Value: $5,000 to $20,000
Run By: Australian Government Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources
Support for small businesses with an annual turnover of less than $10 million to save energy.

Small Business Month Grants
Closes: 31st of August 2020
Value: $2,000
Run By: NSW Government
Funding for Local councils and chambers of commerce to host activities for business communities in their local area in line with Small Business Month.

Closing in September

Business Research and Innovation Initiative Pilot Priority Sectors
Closes: 10th of September 2020
Value: Up to $100,000
Run By: Australian Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources
This program provides funding to small to medium sized enterprises to develop innovative solutions for five identified challenges.

Energy Efficient Communities Program – High Energy Using Business Grants
Closes: 24th of September 2020
Value: $10,000 to $25,000
Run By: Australian Government Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources
Provides businesses with an annual net energy consumption of more than 0.05 PJ per year with grants to improve their energy efficiency.

Quality Learning Environments Program
Closes: 25th of September 2020
Value: Up to $15,000
Run By: NSW Department of Education
Funding for not-for-profit community preschools and not-for-profit long day cares to purchase resources and activities which improve physical or educational learning environments.

Advancing Pest Animal and Weed Control Solutions
Closes: 25th of September 2020
Value: Unspecified - $13M total pool
Run By: Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment
This grant round is aimed at research organisations, companies or consortia to research and develop innovative control solutions to improve the way established pest animals and weeds are managed.

Closing Later and Ongoing

Special Disaster Grant - Bushfires
Closes: 15th of December 2020
Value: Up to $75,000
Run By: Rural Assistance Authority
Helps to pay for costs of clean-up and other emergency measures including disposing of dead stock, and rebuilding or replacing damaged or destroyed on-farm infrastructure.

Landing Pads for Start Ups
Closes: Unspecified
Value: Support
Run By: Austrade
Assists market-ready scaleups take their business globalby providing an operational base and customised support for their overseas expansion goals.

Before and After School Care Equipment and Facilities Grant Program
Closes: 31st of January 2021
Value: Up to $30,000
Run By: NSW Government Department of Education
Supports schools and services to fund equipment and facilities that enable new services to establish and existing services to expand.

1,000 Jobs Package Grant Funding
Closes: 30th of April 2021 or until 1000 allocations
Value: Up to $56,102.78 over two years
Run By: Australian Government Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
Tranche Two provides a subsidy for new jobs for Community Development Program participants in remote Australia to support economic development.

Business Improvement Fund for Residential Aged Care
Closes: 30th of April 2021
Value: Unspecified
Run By: Australian Government Department of Health
Supports providers of residential aged care experiencing financial difficulty, prioritising providers in regional, rural, and remote areas, and small to medium sized providers, with limited access to financial support, that are facing significant financial pressure.

Elsa Dixon Aboriginal Employment Grant
Closes: 29th of June 2021
Value: Up to $40,000
Run By: NSW Government
Promoting diversity, innovation and service responsiveness in the NSW workforce, the Elsa Dixon Aboriginal Employment Grant subsidises the salary, development and support costs of Aboriginal employees in public service agencies and local government authorities.

NSW Public Spaces Legacy Program
Closes: Runs from 1 September 2020 to 30 June 2021
Value: $2 Million
Run By: NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment
The program incentivises local councils to accelerate their assessments of development applications (DAs) and rezonings to create new development capacity and meet demand for housing and employment over the next decade.

Water Efficiency Program
Closes: 31st of December 2023
Value: Unspevified - Over $1 million
Run By: Australian Government Department of Agriculture
Funding for owners of water rights for at least 3 years in the Murray–Darling Basin to transferring that water to the Commonwealth under a contract to do efficiency works to achieve water savings.

Export Market Development Grants
Closes: Ongoing
Value: Up to $150,000
Run By: Austrade
An Australian Government financial assistance program for aspiring and current exporters in a wide range of industries.

Get Connected Listing for Tourism Businesses
Closes: Ongoing
Value: Website Listing
Run By: Destination NSW
Provides tourism operators with the opportunity to showcase your tourism products on Destination NSW’s consumer websites for free.

Water Infrastructure Loans
Closes: Ongoing
Value: $10 million and over
Run By: Australian Government Regional Investment Corporation
Loans to help fund the construction of major water infrastructure available to only state and territory governments.

AgBiz Drought Loans
Closes: Ongoing
Value: Up to $500,000
Run By: Australian Government Regional Investment Corporation
A concessional loan if your small business is currently or has been supplying goods or services relating to primary production to farm businesses in an affected area.

Farm Investment Loans
Closes: Ongoing
Value: Up to $2 Million
Run By: Australian Government Regional Investment Corporation
You can apply for this loan if you solely or mainly sell products into supply chains that are interstate or outside Australia, or plan to in the future.

Drought loans
Closes: Ongoing
Value: Up to $2 Million
Run By: Australian Government Regional Investment Corporation
Concessional loan to help farm businesses in the agriculture, horticulture, pastoral, apiculture, or aquaculture industryto prepare for, manage through, and recover from drought.

Wine Tourism and Cellar Door Grant
Closes: 30th of September 2020
Value: Up to $100,000
Run By: Wine Australia
Support for producers who add value by encouraging visitors to wine regionsby providing access an annual grant reflective of their eligible physical cellar door sales.

Australian Government's Youth Jobs PaTH
Closes: Ongoing
Value: Up to $11,0000
Run By: Australian Government Job Active
Helps employers find and recruit the right young person for their business by facilitating trials and providing a wage subsidy of up to $10,000 if you hire them.

Restart
Closes: Ongoing
Value: Up to $10,0000
Run By: Australian Government Job Active
Restart is a financial incentive of up to $10,000 (GST inclusive) to encourage businesses to hire and retain mature age employees who are 50 years of age and over.

Defence Global Competitiveness Grants
Closes: Ongoing
Value: $15,000 to $150,000
Run By: Australian Government Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources
The Defence Global Competitiveness Grants will help Australian SMEs to invest in projects that build export capability to build a stronger, more sustainable and globally competitive Australian defence industry.

CSIRO Kick-Start
Closes: Ongoing
Value: Up to $50,000 matched funding
Run By: CSIRO
CSIRO Kick-Start is a new initiative for innovative Australian start-ups and small SMEs, providing funding support and access to CSIRO’s research expertise and capabilities to help grow and develop their business.

Dreamstarter - Scholarships
Closes: Ongoing
Value: Unspecified
Run By: ING
ING are looking to provide education scholarships for change makers working on an early-stage business that will create positive social impact through trade of a product or service.

Dreamstarter - Grants for Growth
Closes: Ongoing
Value: Unspecified
Run By: ING
Dreamstarter Grants for Growth provides ING Dreamstarter Alumni with access to funding to accelerate the growth of their businesses and increase their positive social impact.

Impact Investment Ready Growth Grant
Closes: Ongoing rounds through the year
Value: Up to $140,000
Run By: Impact Investing Australia
Provides impact businesses and mission-driven organisations with grants for business, financial, legal and other capacity building support from providers to secure investment.

On-farm Natural Resource Management Grants
Closes: Ongoing
Value: Unspecified matched
Run By: Northern Tablelands Local Land Services
Funding is avaliable to develop projects on-farm and we would like landholders to submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) to help us identify and support their natural resource priorities.

Newsagents Assistance Fund
Closes: Unspecified
Value: Up to $10,000
Run By: NSW Government Department of Industry
The Newsagents Assistance Fund assists eligible agents to update their NSW Lotteries retail image and fit-out to align with the NSW Lotteries brand.

Safe and Secure Water Program
Closes: Ongoing until expended
Value: No minimum or maximum, $1 Billion total pool
Run By: NSW Department of Industry
The SSWP will co-fund eligible water and sewerage projects that deliver economic growth in regional NSW through improvements to public health, water security, environmental outcomes and/or social benefits.

Drought Relief Heavy Vehicle Access Program
Closing date: Not Specified - indicated until $15 Million total pool expended
Value: Up to $300,000 per Local Government Area
Run By: NSW Roads and Maritime Services
This program has been established to contribute to the cost of maintenance and minor improvements on council roads and roadsides, where those improvements will contribute to heavy vehicle access, in support of the drought relief freight task.

Regional Investment Attraction Fund
Closes: Undisclosed
Value: Undisclosed
Run By: NSW Government
Grants and interest-free loans targeted at offsetting government levies and duties, such as payroll tax, to eligible businesses that want to invest and grow in regional NSW, which will lead to new jobs.

Relocation Assistance for Skilled Workers
Closes: Undisclosed
Value: Up to $10,000 per worker
Run By: NSW Government
Grants are available to help attract skilled employees to regional NSW businesses operating in eligible industriesto meet the costs of relocating employees, such as for furniture removal and temporary accommodation for up to three months.

Regional Filming Fund
Closing date: Four weeks prior to the start of filming in Regional NSW
Value: up to 35% of the budgeted NSW Regional Spend to a maximum of $100,000
Run By: Screen NSW
Provides Australian film projects that are filming in regional NSW with funding of up to $100,000 to offset the costs associated with shooting a film in regional areas.

SMART Projects and Supply Chains
Closes: Ongoing
Value: Tailored advice
Run By: Australian Government Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources
Provides access to a skilled advisor who will work with you to develop an improvement plan for an identified supply chain opportunity and support you as you implement the plan.

Advancing Renewables Program
Closes: Ongoing
Value: Unspecified
Run By: Australian Government: Australian Renewable Energy Agency
ARENA’s Advancing Renewables Program supports a broad range of development, demonstration and pre-commercial deployment projects that can deliver affordable and reliable renewable energy for Australian families and businesses.

Black Spot Program
Closes: Ongoing
Run By: Department of Infrastuructre and Regional Development
By funding measures such as traffic signals and roundabouts at dangerous locations, the programme reduces the risk of road crashes.

Entrepreneurs’ Infrastructure Programme
Closes: Ongoing
Run By: Australian Government
The Programme aims to improve the capabilities of small to medium enterprises to become more competitive and grow. The Programme is now accepting applications for Business Evaluations, and Business Growth Grants under the Business Management stream.

Jobs for NSW
Closes: Ongoing
Run By: NSW Department of Industry
Jobs for NSW is a private sector-led and NSW Government-backed initiative which aims to make the NSW economy as competitive as possible and therefore help create new jobs across the State. 

New Enterprise Incentive Scheme
Closing date: Ongoing
Value: Income Assistance and Advice
Run By: Australian Government Department of Employment
NEIS is a program delivered by a network of 21 providers who provide individualised help for job seekers to become self-employed business owners.

New Air Combat Capability - Industry Support Program (NACC-ISP)
Closes: Ongoing
Value: Matched up to $1 million
Run By: The Australian Government Department of Defence and Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources
Provides Australian businesses and research organisations with matched funding of up to $1 million for Projects to help them enter export markets, secure domestic contracts and upskill their staff so they can win work with the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) Program.

Indigenous Business Australia
Closes: Ongoing
Value: Financial support and advice
Run By: Indigenous Business Australia
IBA assists Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to access the skills, knowledge and resources required to start and grow viable and sustainable businesses.

Innovation Connections
Closes: Ongoing
Value: Up to $50,000
Run By: AusIndustry
Provides small and medium sized businesses with access to expert technology advice to address technology and knowledge gaps, and collaborate with the research sector in developing new ideas with commercial potential.

Farm Household Allowance
Closes: Ongoing
Value: Based on individual assessment
Run By: Australian Government Department of Human Services
Provides assistance to farming families experiencing financial hardship. The program focuses on helping farmers make important decisions to improve their long-term financial situation.

TechVouchers
Closes: Applications are ongoing
Value: Partnership creation and up to $15,000
Run By: NSW Government Department of Industry
Innovate NSW TechVouchers (TV) assists technology SMEs to collaborate with a NSW research organisation to overcome a technical challenge or test a new technology.

Incubator Support - New & Existing Incubators
Closes: Applications are ongoing
Value: $26,000 to $500,000
Run By: Australian Government Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources
Provides new and existing business incubators with grants of up to $500,000 to assist Australian start-ups develop the capabilities required to succeed in international markets.

Incubator Support - Expert-In-Residence
Closes: Applications are ongoing
Value: $5,000 to $100,000
Run By: Australian Government Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources
Provides business incubators with grants to access top quality research, managerial and technical talent through incoming and outgoing secondments of national or international experts. 

Tradex Scheme
Closes:Ongoing
Value: Varies based on the the goods imported
Run By: Australian Government Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources
The Tradex Scheme provides an upfront exemption from Customs duty and GST for eligible goods imported to Australia that are then exported within one year or other approved period.

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