The recent Federal Budget included big wins for manufacturers, with $1.3 billion in grants announced for the upcoming Modern Manufacturing Initiative that will target six National Manufacturing Priority areas:
1. Resources Technology and Critical Minerals Processing
2. Food and Beverage
3. Medical Products
4. Recycling and Clean Energy
5. Defence and
6. Space
Of the $1.3 billion funding pool, $52.8 million will be reserved to expand the Manufacturing Modernisation Fund, which offers grants between $100,000-$1 million for SME manufacturing businesses, which employ less than 200 employees. Funding will be provided on a 3:1 basis.
Additionally, $107.2 million will be set aside for the Supply Chain Resilience Initiative to support projects that address an identified supply chain vulnerability.
The Modern Manufacturing Initiative will co-fund large manufacturing projects within the National Manufacturing Priorities and will be divided into various streams:
Manufacturing Collaboration Stream
The Manufacturing Collaboration Stream will support funding for very large projects that support B2B and business-to-research collaborations to build economies of scale. Funding is provided on a co-funding basis, with up to one third of eligible project costs funded by the government.
This stream will have a two-stage application process, with Stage 1 inviting businesses to express their interest (EOI) in the stream. Suitable applicants will then be asked to submit more detailed proposals after having their proposals competitively judged through Stage 1.
Stage 1 for this stream will open in the first half of 2021. To register your interest for when further guidelines and the EOI period does become available, email our team at [email protected] or sign up for our newsletter.
Manufacturing Translation and Manufacturing Integration Streams
The Manufacturing Translation Stream will seek to fund manufacturing projects to translate good ideas into commercial outcomes and encourage non-R&D innovation investment.
Whereas the Manufacturing Integration Stream will help manufacturers to integrate into local and international supply chains and markets.
Funding for these two streams will be capped at up to 50% of eligible project costs and applications for these streams will be a one-stage process. Funding will be announced annually, with the first round to be announced in the first half of 2021.
The upcoming grants will not restrict any applicants based on business size and will aim to help Australian manufacturers scale-up, collaborate and commercialise.
If you believe you may be eligible for these grants, or wish to know more, Avant Group offers a complimentary grant eligibility check. Click here to be directed to the enquiry form or email [email protected] or phone our head office on (03) 8567 7500.