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Part
01
Australian Industrial Initiatives
Fresh Start, Innovation Connections, Emission Reductions Fund, Fuel Tax Credits, and Advanced Manufacturing Early Stage Research Fund (AMESRF) are some programs offered by the Australian government to provide incentives to industrial organizations in Australia. More information on the topic has been presented below.
1. ENTREPRENEURS' PROGRAMME — INCUBATOR SUPPORT: EXPERT IN RESIDENCE
- Website: Here is the link.
- Type of incentive: One Grant Non-Competitive
- Available money: $5,000 to $100,000 AUD
CRITERIA FOR ELIGIBILITY
- The applicant's project should be establishing a new incubator that can foster and facilitate the development of innovative start-ups focused on international trade.
- The applicant must "have an Australian Business Number (ABN)."
- The applicant must be one of the following:
2. INNOVATION CONNECTIONS
- Website: Here is the link
- Type of incentive: Matching Funding
- The incentive is neither restricted nor targeted to the new or existing business.
- Available money: $50,000 AUD
GENERAL INFORMATION:
- The incentive provides businesses with the services of a facilitator. The facilitator will work with the companies to identify the businesses’ research needs.
- If required, the facilitator can connect the business to expertise within their sector and help to define the project scope.
- "Up to $50,000 AUD in matched funding is available to the businesses. To receive this funding, a business should choose to fund its project with the recommendation of the facilitator."
CRITERIA FOR ELIGIBILITY:
- A business must be a solvent, for-profit, and a non-tax exempt company that is registered for GST. The company must be incorporated and operating in Australia.
- A business must be "a company with trading activities that are the majority of its overall activities."
- A business must "have filed Business Activity Statements showing ongoing trading in at least three successive years."
- A business must "have an annual turnover or operating expenditure in the current or one of the two previous financial years:
— between $750,000 AUD and $100 million AUD for applicants from remote Australia or Northern Australia"
- A business should "not have received an Innovation Connections Facilitation before."
- A business must "satisfy one of the following:
— show commitment to, and have the skills, capability, intellectual property or expertise to operate in, one of the growth sectors in the future."
3. EMISSION REDUCTIONS FUND
- Website: Here is the link.
- Type of incentive: Earn Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs)
- The incentive is neither restricted nor targeted to the new or existing business.
- Available money: ACCUs can be sold to generate income.
GENERAL INFORMATION:
- The Emission Reduction Fund provides "financial incentives to new businesses to use new practices and technologies in their business, so they can reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and improve their energy efficiency."
CRITERIA FOR ELIGIBILITY:
"For a project to be able to register with the Clean Energy Regulator under the Emissions Reduction Fund (unless specified otherwise), it must:
- not have started before it has been registered (the newness requirement),
- not be required to be carried out by or under Australian law (the regulatory additionality requirement), and
- not be carried out under another government programme (the government program requirement)."
4. FUEL TAX CREDITS
- Website: Here is the link.
- The incentive is neither restricted nor targeted to the new or existing business.
- Type of incentive: Tax Credits
- Available money: Percentage of dollars spent
GENERAL INFORMATION:
- This program "provides financial incentives to new businesses to use new practices and technologies in their business, so they can reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and improve their energy efficiency."
CRITERIA FOR ELIGIBILITY:
- A business is allowed to claim the fuel tax credits for the fuel that they "purchase, manufacture, or import for business use."
5. ADVANCED MANUFACTURING EARLY STAGE RESEARCH FUND (AMESRF)
- Website: Here is the link.
- Type of incentive: Grant
- Available money: Between $100,000 AUD and $400,000 AUD
GENERAL INFORMATION:
- The AMESRF "forms part of the $100 million Advanced Manufacturing Fund that will boost innovation, skills and employment in advanced manufacturing. The grant will run over four years with funding of $1 million per year from 2017–18 to 2020–21."
- The goal of AMESRF is to incentivize small-scale and pilot research projects in advanced manufacturing. The fund will provide grants for rapid feasibility testing, allowing the projects to quickly begin large-scale research or commercialization.
CRITERIA FOR ELIGIBILITY:
- The applicant must:
- "have an Australian Business Number (ABN)
- be an SME with less than 200 employees
- be non-tax-exempt
- be registered for the Goods and Services Tax (GST)
- be one of the following entities:
- Applicants must have access to, or ownership of, the intellectual property (IP) necessary to conduct the Project should it be required.
- Project participants must demonstrate the financial capacity to complete the project. This could be demonstrated through the provision of financial accounts during the EOI stage of the application process. The AMESRF grant will be up to 50 percent of eligible project costs (grant percentage).
- To be eligible, the applicant’s project must be industry led and involve collaboration with SMEs."