Grants of up to $2 million on offer for regional Queensland SMEs

Small and medium businesses in regional Queensland will have until mid-January to apply for the first round of cash grants to be allocated from the state government’s new $50 million ‘Backing Business in the Bush’ fund.

Announced during the Queensland Bush Summit, held by the Courier-Mail in Rockhampton in August, the fund forms part of a broader $80 funding package from the state government designed to bolster business in the regions.

The fund will offer matched funding grants of between $500,000 and $2 million to established SMEs to undertake projects in regional areas of the state, awarded on a competitive basis.

The fund is specifically targeting businesses with between five and 199 employees, operating in ‘traditional’ industries such as manufacturing, agriculture, food processing in primary industries, mining, fishing, forestry and transport.

The purpose of the fund is to help these businesses grow, become more productive, and maintain or increase their workforce, with a long-term goal of increasing the commercial sustainability and competitiveness of regional Queensland businesses, both locally and internationally.

To be eligible, businesses must be a SME based in Queensland, have been trading for at least three years, and turned over at least $1 million each of the past two financial years.

Individuals, sole traders, and not-for-profit organisations are not able to apply for the grants, which are also limited to businesses operating in the industries mentioned above.

Successful applicants will be required to match the funding amount with a co-contribution of at least half of the project’s total cost, and they must be able to commence work on the funded project within 18 months of being approved for a grant.

The grants themselves will be paid in instalments as reimbursements.

Queensland Treasurer and Minister for Trade and Investment Cameron Dick said in August that regional Queensland businesses make a significant contribution to the “wealth and prosperity” of the state, particularly in mining, agriculture and tourism.

“One in every four jobs in regional Queensland relies on exports, so our government will do everything we can to expand and diversify Queensland’s ability to sell to the world.”

Applications for the first round of grants from the fund opened today and will close on January 14. More information, including eligibility guidelines, is available here.