The federal government’s latest Export Market Development Grants (EDMG) round will open to small businesses in November, and Trade Minister Don Farrell is urging SMEs to understand the new-look eligibility criteria ahead of time.
The popular and long-running EDMG scheme provides matched funding to small Australian businesses looking to export products or services for the first time, expand an existing export opportunity, or add new markets to their existing export business.
More than 9,600 businesses have received EDMG grants over its last three rounds, with approximately 60% of those counting between two and nine employees.
But after a government review identified uncertainty among applicants and declining grant valuations over recent funding rounds, Minister Farrell committed to overhauling the scheme for Round 4.
Grants of between $20,000 and $80,000 will become available to businesses through Round 4.
Along with the updated dollar values come a new set of eligibility criteria, revealed on Tuesday.
In a statement, Minister Farrell said small businesses can now access an eligibility test, prepared by the Export Council of Australia, to assess their readiness.
It will “help businesses hit the ground running” when the round opens in November, he said.
The test is available via the EDMG portal.
The push to educate small businesses about their potential eligibility is doubly important due to changes in EDMG funding.
In previous EDMG rounds, all eligible recipients received some amount of grant funding.
Round 4 will operate on a first-come, first-served basis, meaning small businesses may need a bulletproof application as soon as applications open.
“Applications will be assessed and grants will be offered in the order we receive applications until funding is fully allocated,” AusTrade says.
“A grant round will close once the available funding is allocated to eligible applicants.
“This change, which is consistent with other commonwealth grant programs, means that not all applicants will receive funding.”
Separate from the AusTrade test, written eligibility criteria show how small businesses should prepare for the new-look grant offering.
Different criteria apply for all three tiers of the grant: Tier One, which is for SMEs exporting for the first time; Tier Two, for those expanding an existing export operation in one market; and Tier Three, for experienced exporters hoping to provide their products even further afield.
Tier One applicants must have an annual turnover of at least $100,000; Tier Two applicants must show a turnover of $500,000; and Tier Three applicants must have a turnover of $1 million or above.
Tier One applicants must be ready to export to access Round 4 funding.
They must prove their readiness through the AusTrade test or through another recognised training scheme, and must not have previously exported services or products.
Businesses applying for Tier Two and Three grants must prove their existing export sales.
Beyond those tier-specific turnover checks, businesses must:
Applicants may be excluded if they:
Potential applicants can find more information on the Austrade website.
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Senior Business Journalist
Focused on the small business sector, David’s work covers the political, regulatory, and economic issues facing Australian entrepreneurs. Prior to joining SmartCompany, he was a reporter for Business Insider Australia. You can follow him on LinkedIn.
