Winning Government Grants: Real Opportunities for Significant Funding

With the right information and advice, government grants are very real opportunities for significant funding.

We work with a number of manufacturing businesses across Australia through a range of industries and whilst our manufacturing sector is certainly under pressure one interesting aspect I’ve learned recently is the extent of government funding available for Australia’s manufacturing sector. Indeed, well prepared Grant applications are helping a number of manufacturers access critical funding for innovation, resilience and expansion.

Australia’s manufacturing sector is at a critical juncture, and this has Government attention. There is a rising demand for sovereign capabilities and clearly initiatives towards decarbonisation, which is creating a number of strong opportunities for manufacturers to innovate and expand.

Grant funding can be extremely powerful to help businesses seize this momentum and access funding.

I think we often believe that Government support isn’t really out there or we won’t qualify for numerous reasons, but that is absolutely not the case. Government support is out there, and businesses can be taking advantage of it and look at expanding manufacturing lines, rather than necessarily default to contraction. International supply chains are far less stable now and Geopolitical tensions are on the rise, so we need to think about stronger onshore manufacturing.

Australia’s State and Federal Governments collectively offer billions of dollars across thousands of different Grant programs. Typically, the Grants are targeted at manufacturers in specific sub-sectors as opposed to traditional manufacturing more broadly. These subsectors include critical Minerals Processing, Medical Technologies, Ag-tech, Defence as well as Energy & Renewables, and the recent trend and focus on decarbonisation. For instance, funding is available to help higher emitting manufacturers reduce their environmental impact.

Yes, the funding is out there but, to be frank, it’s a bit of a minefield of complexity and I’ve got a few clients who have staff whose full-time job is stay across the Grant landscape, and knowing what eligibility criteria needs to be met. But then there’s the effort to put in the application as well. However, I have also learned that a number of professional firms – the typical Accounting firms- have also got specialised Grant Advisory services that support businesses through the grant process but also beyond.

Make no bones about it, the process is not a short one and preparation is critical, but for the right initiative, a game changer.

Grants are not typically awarded retroactively but rather businesses must demonstrate how the funding aligns with broader growth plans and then demonstrating that you have a clear plan and how the grant will be used to support that plan. There is support to help build business cases and develop financial forecasts and different “what if?” modelling to put into the Grant application.

There is literally heaps of funding out there, but you also do need to consider if the Grant process will work commercially for your business. For instance, if applying means you can’t start your project for another 3 to 6 months, is that going to harm your commercial interests?

The feel I’m getting is that whilst there’s work involved there is truly significant funding available and it’s potentially the right time to be brave and invest in growth. What I’ve seen recently is that Government Grants are not merely helpful add-ons, but, in fact, significant enablers for future growth and in some cases, Grants play a huge role in enabling businesses to take the next step.

So, if you haven’t already, just start to put a little bit of time into researching both State and Federal programs, such as the Industry Growth Program, CRC Projects and the National Reconstruction fund. There is the Australian Government’s central portal for Grants, GrantConnect and there’s also the Modernisation Fund aimed at SMEs to adapt new technologies and create jobs. There are different categories depending on what you’re looking to achieve, such as funding IP development or manufacturing expansion.

I’m not the expert on Grant funding, but through my clients, I have developed a network of people who can help. Feel free to reach out if you wish to have a discussion about Grants and accessing critical funding.

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