Business and Infrastructure Funding Opportunities - March 2019

Welcome to our Business and Infrastructure Funding Opportunities Newsletter

Welcome to our Business and Infrastructure Funding Opportunities Newsletter where you will find details of selected grant submissions from around the region for Business and Infrastructure projects.

Due to the number of grants that are available, we now send two funding opportunities newsletters a month; one for Business and Infrastructure and another for Community Projects and Award Programs, rather than the one combined newsletter. 

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

Featured Grants

Regional Community Energy Fund
Closes: 3rd of May 2019
Value: Up to $3.5 Million matched per project
Run By: NSW Government Department of Planning and Environment

The program is designed to improve the reliability and affordability of energy for regional NSW communities. It consists of three initiatives:

1. Regional Community Energy Fund providing grants towards community energy projects that create innovative and/or dispatchable renewable energy capacity that benefits the local community.
2. Regional Community Energy Hubs improving access to expert energy advice to reduce bills for households and small businesses.
3. Grants for regional and remote communities installing emergency backup systems for key evacuation locations, such as a town hall, to improve resilience and reduce energy costs during regular operations

Low Cost Loans Initiative for Councils
Closes: 16th of May2019 5pm
Value: 50% of the costs of Council’s interest payments on loans for eligible infrastructure
Run By: NSW Department of Planning and Environment

The Low-Cost Loans Initiative (LCLI) assists councils with the cost of borrowing to fund new infrastructure by providing a 50% refund of the interest paid on loans. This will help councils to bring forward the delivery of infrastructure they have been planning to support their growing communities in new housing areas.

The key aim of the LCLI is to enable new housing supply. The essential elements are:

• The NSW Government will refund 50% of the costs of council’s interest payments on loans for eligible infrastructure
• The council is responsible for repaying the loan which is funded by TCorp, or another financial institution of the council’s choice, on their standard terms and prudential requirements.

Regional Employment Trials Program
Closing date: 30th of June 2020
Value: $7,500 to $200,000
Run By: Australian Government Department of Jobs and Small Business

The Northern Inland is one of only ten regions across Australia to be selected for the Regional Employment Trials Program. The Regional Employment Trials program provides local stakeholders in selected regions, including businesses, not-for-profits and local government agencies, with grants to trial local approaches to delivering employment related projects.

The objectives of the program are to deliver:

• strong connections between regional stakeholders, including employment services providers
• employment initiatives that meet local needs
• improved awareness of local labour markets
• the potential for improved regional employment outcomes

Grants are for between $7,500 and $200,000, for up to 75% of eligible project costs. Projects must be completed by 30 June 2020.

Applicants should contact the Employment Facilitator for the Northern Inland, and they will help determine if the project is aligned to local employment priorities, and connect applicants with an employment services provider if needed.

Before applying, applicants must submit information about their project to RDANI using the RDA project proposal template. RDANI will committee will provide you with written feedback using the RDA project proposal template which must be attach to the full grant application.

Closing in March

Australia-Indonesia Institute Grant
Closes: 21 March 2019, 5pm (AEDT)
Value: $10,000 to $40,000 per year
Run By: Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Seeks to foster links between Australia and Indonesia by increasing cultural awareness, promoting cooperation and exchange, and enhancing understanding between the two nations.

Council on Australia Latin America Relations Grants
Closes: 28th of March 2019 2pm
Value: $10,000 to $50,000 per year up to $300,000
Run By: Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
The Australian Government established the Council on Australia Latin America Relations (COALAR) in 2001 to enhance Australia's economic, political and social relations with Latin America.

Australia-ASEAN Council Grants
Closes: 28 March 2019, 4pm (AEDT)
Value: $10,000 to $50,000 per year
Run By: Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Australia-ASEAN Council (AAC) grants generate opportunities for Australian business, education, science and innovation and the arts to work with partners in Southeast Asia.

Australia-Japan Foundation Grant
Closes: 28 March 2019, 2pm (AEDT)
Value: $10,000 to $50,000 per year
Run By: Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Seeks to advance Australia’s engagement with Japan by supporting people-to-people linkages; amplifying and shifting perceptions of Australia in Japan to reflect contemporary Australia; and facilitating the promotion of the inventive, innovative capabilities that Australia brings to Australia-Japan collaborations across broad and ever sophisticated sectors.

Australia-India Council Grants Program
Closes: 28 March 2019, 2pm (AEDT)
Value: $10,000 to $50,000 per year
Run By: Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
The Australia-India Council seeks to advance Australia’s foreign and trade policy interests by building awareness and understanding between the peoples and institutions of Australia and India.

Cooperative Research Centres Projects (CRC-P) Grants
Closes: 28 March 2019 5pm (AEDT)
Value: $100,000 to $3 Million matched
Run By: Australian Government Department of Industry, Innovation and Science
CRC-P grants support short term industry-led collaborations to develop important new technologies, products and services that deliver tangible outcomes.

Closing in April

Community Child Care Fund
Closes: 5th of April 2019 - 11pm AEDT
Value: $2,000 to $200,000 depending on stream applied for
Run By: Australian Government Department of Education and Training
The objectives of the grant opportunity are to support eligible child care services in disadvantaged and vulnerable communities to transition to and operate viably under the new child care system; and support the longer-term sustainability of eligible child care services.

Dreamstarter - Crowdfunding
Closes: 5th of April 2019
Value: Unspecified
Run By: ING
ING are looking for social businesses that not only create positive social impact, but are also original, shareable and have an existing network to tap into and leverage.

Business Research and Innovation Initiative
Closes: 17 April 2019 5:00 pm AEST
Value: Up to $1 Million
Run By: Australian Government Department of Industry, Innovation and Science
Provides small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs) with grant funding to develop innovative solutions for government policy and service delivery challenges.

Closing in May

Regional Community Energy Fund
Closes: 3rd of May 2019
Value: Up to $3.5 Million matched per project
Run By: NSW Government Department of Planning and Environment
The program is designed to improve the reliability and affordability of energy for regional NSW communities. It consists of three initiatives Regional Community Energy Fund, Regional Community Energy Hubs, and Grants for regional and remote communities.

Landing Pads
Current Round Closes: 20th of May 2019
Value: In-kind support including 90 day residency at an international co-working space
Run By: Australia Unlimited and Austrade
The Landing Pads program provides market-ready startups and scaleups with potential for rapid growth a cost effective option to land and expand into major global innovations hubs around the world.

Low Cost Loans Initiative for Councils
Closes: 16th of May 2019 5pm
Value: 50% of the costs of Council’s interest payments on loans for eligible infrastructure
Run By: NSW Department of Planning and Environment
Assists councils with the cost of borrowing to fund new infrastructure by providing a 50% refund of the interest paid on loans to help bring forward the delivery of infrastructure to support their growing communities in new housing areas.

Closing Later and Ongoing

Incubator Event Fund
2019 Round 2 Opens: March 2019
Value: Up to $20,000
Run By: Destination NSW
The Incubator Event Fund offers seed funding to innovative events in Regional NSW to support their first and second years of activity.

Emergency Water Infrastructure Rebate Scheme
Closes: 30th of June 2021 or when the $12 Million funding allocation is exhausted
Value: Up to $25,000 per farm enterprise
Run By: NSW Government Department of Primary Indsutries, Rural Assistance Authority
Eligible Primary Producers can claim a rebate of 25% of the cost of purchase, delivery and if applicable, the labour cost to engage a person to install water infrastructure for animal welfare needs.

NSW Regional Business Event Development Fund
Closes: Onoing until 30th of June 2019 or until pool of $500,000 is expended
Value: Up to $60,000 depending on the number of delegates expected
Run By: Destination NSW
The fund is designed to help stakeholders create, attract and support exciting business events for Regional NSW and to support new business event initiatives aimed at enriching the events with opportunities offered by iconic towns and regions while helping secure successful conferences and business events for their future.

Wine Export Grants
Closing date: Ongoing until 1st of May 2020
Value: Up to $25,000
Run By: Wine Australia
Wine Export Grants are offered for specific wine export promotion activities aimed at supporting small and medium wine businesses to secure new distribution channels in China, Hong Kong, Macau and/or the USA.

Manufacturing Efficiency Funding
Closes: 30th of June 2019 5pm AEST
Value: Up to $120,000 of matched funding per site
Run By: NSW and Office of Environment and Heritage
Funding to help manufacturing businesses save energy and money by upgrading energy monitoring systems, replacing or retrofiting old inefficient equipment, installing new energy efficient equipment and improving manufacturing processes.

Payroll Tax Rebate Scheme
Closes: 30 June 2019
Value: $6,000
Run By: NSW Government Department of Industry
Businesses that pay payroll tax and create and fill new jobs on or after 31 July 2016 will receive payroll rebates.

Regional Tourism Product Development Program
Closes: 30 June 2019
Value: $15,000 to $150,000
Run By: Destination NSW
Regional Tourism Product Development funding is available for new accommodation projects, infrastructure projects, visitor signposting and new attractions and experiences.

Regional Cooperative Tourism Marketing Program
Closes: 30 June 2019
Value:  $100,000 to $500,000
Run By: Destination NSW
Regional Cooperative Tourism Marketing Program is available to undertake a Cooperative Tourism Marketing Program which will be led by Destination NSW.

Safe Work Australia Sponsorship Program
Closes: 30th of June 2019 12pm ACT Time
Value: Unspecified
Run By: Safe Work Australia
This program aims to improve work health and safety and workers' compensation arrangements across Australia by providing support through the Program to the initiatives of individuals, businesses, government and non-government organisations that align with this commitment.

Cyber Security Small Business Program
Closes: Ongoing until 30 June 2020 5pm AEST
Value: Up to $2,100 - $10 Million total pool
Run By: Australian Government Department of Industy, Innovation and Science
Supports small businesses across Australia to have their cyber security tested by a provider that has been approved by the Council of Registered Ethical Security Testers Australia New Zealand (CREST).

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.

Export Market Development Grants
Closes: Yearly rounds / Varying dates
Value: Up to $150,000
Run By: Austrade
The Export Market Development Grants scheme is a key Australian Government financial assistance program for aspiring and current exporters.and supports a wide range of industries.

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.

Youth Employment Program
Closes: Unspecified
Value: Support
Run By: NSW Government Department of Industry
Local businesses that provide opportunities for young people benefit from access to job-ready employees with the skills and training they need for their businesses.

Australian Apprentice Wage Subsidy Trial
Closes: Ongoing until 1630 sign ups
Value: Up to 75% of award wage
Run By: Australian Apprenticeships
The trial aims to support apprenticeships in skills need occupations in rural and regional areas and encourage participation in apprenticeships by employers who have not previously engaged apprentices, as well as re-engaging employers who may have disengaged from the system.

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.

Coles Nurture Fund
Next Round: Expected early 2019
Value: Up to $500,000
Run By: Coles Supermarkets Australia
Coles Supermarkets Australia Pty Ltd (Coles) has launched an initiative to assist existing small to medium Australian producers, farmers and manufacturers to innovate and grow their business.

Managing Farm Risk Program
Closing date: Ongoing
Value: Up to $2,500
Run By: Australian Department of Agriculture and Water Resources
The Managing Farm Risk Program provides rebates for advice and assessments to help farmers prepare and apply for a new insurance policy that assists with the management of drought and other production and market risks.

Regional Growth Loans
Closing date: Unspecified
Value: $200,000 to $500,000
Run By: NSW Government
Regional Growth Loans are direct, interest-free loans for emerging and fast-growth SMEs in regional NSW that are scaling quickly and creating jobs, but face barriers in accessing finance from traditional lenders.

Supplier Improvement Plan
Closes: Ongoing
Value: Tailored advice to create a Supplier Improvement Plan
Run By: Australian Department of Industry, Innovation and Science
A Supplier Improvement Plan will give you: access to, and active engagement with, a highly qualified and experienced Business Adviser or Business Facilitator over 12 months; independent guidance and insight about your customer’s needs and requirements; a customised action plan with recommendations for improvement; and assistance to implement the recommendations in your action plan.

Renewable Energy Venture Capital Fund Program
Closes: Ongoing
Value: Unspecified
Run By: Australian Government: Australian Renewable Energy Agency
ARENA’s Renewable Energy Venture Capital Fund Program fosters skills and management capability. It encourages investment in innovative Australian renewable energy companies to strengthen their chance of success.

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.

Clean Energy Innovation Fund
Closes: Ongoing
Value: Unspecified
Run By: Clean Energy Finance Corp
The Innovation Fund targets technologies and businesses that have passed beyond the research and development stage, and which can benefit from early stage seed or growth capital to help them progress to the next stage of their development.

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 Departments of Defence and Industry, Innovaiton and Science
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.

Farm Business Skills Professional Development Program
Closes: Funding will be available from 2 November 2015 until 30 June 2020
Value: Up to $5,000
Run By: NSW Department of Primary Industries, Rural Assistance Authority
As part of the NSW Government's Drought Strategy, a Farm Business Skills Professional Development Program has been developed to support farm business in all conditions, but particularly in relation to preparing for and responding to drought.

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: 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. Support includes up to $50,000 in matched funding to work on collaborative projects.

Arts and Cultural Development Program
Closes: Applications close on various dates
Valuation: Dependant on program chosen
Run By: NSW Goverment Create NSW
Create NSW offers direct funding to organisations, artists, practitioners and arts and cultural workers through the Arts and Cultural Development Program (ACDP).

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: Department of Industry, Innovation and Science’
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: Department of Industry, Innovation and Science’
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: The Department of Industry, Innovation and Science
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.