Government Grants

Please scroll down to view information on the Entrepreneurs Program and Industry Skills Fund.

Entrepreneurs Program

For Australian SME’s looking to better understand what they need to do to grow and become more competitive, this Federal Government program is worth considering.

Having survived several name changes under several governments, the essence of The Entrepreneurs Program remains – providing detailed analysis of a business and providing funding to assist them to address identified issues.

This program is the Australian government’s flagship initiative for business competitiveness and productivity improvement at the company level. It forms part of the National Innovation and Science Agenda which is a business-focused element of the government’s broader Economic Action Strategy, and builds upon other economic reforms to make the most of Australia’s strengths and business opportunities.

Under the program, eligible businesses receive a free, in-depth business assessment which includes a detailed report with recommendations for improvements. The government will then assist businesses with a dollar-for-dollar grant up to $20,000 to engage consultants to address these recommendations.

Inform Consulting Group has worked with scores of Entrepreneur Program grant recipients to provide pragmatic solutions to the issues identified in the business assessment.

Eligibility

Small and medium businesses are eligible if they have:

a) a turnover (revenue from sales of goods and/or services) between $1.5 million and $100 million
b) traded in Australia for at least three years
c) possess an Australian Company Number, and
d) are financially solvent and operate in any of the following industry sectors:

  • Advanced Manufacturing
  • Food and Agribusiness
  • Medical Technology and Pharmaceuticals
  • Mining Equipment, Technology and Services
  • Oil, Gas and Energy or
  • Enabling technologies and services of the sectors listed above

If you want to know how we can help you apply for this fabulous initiative, please contact us at info@informgroup.com.au or 1300 348 811

Industry Skills Fund

The Industry Skills Fund provides support for businesses looking to invest in training and support services in order to better position themselves for growth opportunities.

The fund offers one or both of the following:

  • Skills advice – a free service to help businesses identify skills needs and maximise training outcomes. Skills advice is free of charge. An expert, independent Skills Adviser will help to identify the skills/training needed to achieve growth. Subject to eligibility, the business can then apply for a training grant to supplement training costs.
  • Training grant – helps eligible businesses with the direct costs of training. The amount of funding available depends on the size of the business:
    Micro businesses (0-4 FTE employees) – funding available for up to 75% of costs
    Small businesses (5-19 FTE employees) – funding available for up to 66% of costs
    Medium businesses (20-199 FTE employees) – funding available for up to 50% of costs
    Large businesses (200+ FTE employees) – funding available for up to 25% of costs
    Businesses located in Northern Australia can in some cases access even more generous funding

A key requirement for funding is that the training relate to achievement of a business growth opportunity. Training covering day-to-day activities or regulatory requirements is not eligible for funding.

Examples of growth opportunities are:

  • diversifying into new or emerging markets
  • adopting new or emerging technologies
  • entering export markets
  • responding to significant domestic market opportunities
  • repositioning because of market driven structural adjustment.

The fund will prioritise businesses in the industries listed below. Even if your business isn’t in a priority industry, you may still be eligible to apply. Priority industries are:

  • advanced manufacturing
  • food and agribusiness
  • medical technologies and pharmaceuticals
  • mining equipment, technology and services
  • oil, gas and energy resources
  • enabling technologies and services that support one or more of the priority industries above.

If you are keen to further explore this opportunity, please contact us at info@informgroup.com.au or 1300 348 811.