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Defence Global Competitiveness Grant

Defence Global Competitiveness Grant

  • Applications open: The Defence Global Competitiveness Grant program closed on 31 March 2024 and will relaunch as a new stream within the Defence Industry Development Grant program in mid-2024.
  • Grants: $15,000 to $150,000 for up to 50% of eligible project expenditures. The funding is capped at $300,000 in a three-year period per recipient as identified by ABN.

The Australian Government's Defence Global Competitiveness Grants Program aims to build a sustainable and globally competitive Australian defence industry by supporting eligible Australian Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to build export capability.

The Program objective will be achieved through enabling the eligible Australian SEMs to overcome the barriers of:
- achieving international certifications/accreditations; and
- procuring and commissioning capital items;
- and to access increased export opportunities

Key Requirements

According to the Defence Export Strategy, Australian defence exports are ‘any defence-specific or dual-use goods or services exported by the Australian defence industry, including as part of a supply chain, that are intended for a defence or national security end-user.’

Defence Global Competitiveness Grants Program provides a funding from $15,000 to $150,000 for up to 50% of the cost of the eligible project investment.

The maximum duration of the project is 12 months.

What is eligible for funding?

An applicant need to contribute 50% of the eligible project value.

To be eligible, an applicant’s project must:

  • include eligible activities and eligible expenditure
  • have at least $30,000 in eligible expenditure
  • relate to new or expanded defence export opportunities
  • be undertaken within Australia.

Eligible activities must include one or more of the following:

  • purchasing, leasing, building, installing or commissioning capital equipment
  • improve cyber security through purchasing specialised software

The following activities may be included in relation to the above eligible activities:

  • design, engineering, and commissioning
  • workforce training and accreditations.

Eligible expenditure must:

  • be incurred by you within the project period
  • be a direct cost of the project
  • the applicant to undertake required project audit activities (where applicable)
  • meet the eligible expenditure guidelines.

Eligible expenditure include:

  • Plant and equipment expenditure
  • Labour expenditure
  • Labour on-costs and administrative overhead
  • Travel and overseas expenditure
  • Other eligible expenditures for the project may include:
    • building modifications
    • staff training
    • financial auditing
    • costs you incur in order to obtain planning, environmental or other regulatory approvals during the project period
    • contingency costs up to a maximum of 10 per cent of the eligible project costs

What companies are eligible for funding?

  • Small to medium-sized businesses have fewer than 200 employees, and
  • have an Australian business number (ABN).

The business must be either:

  • a company registered in Australia
  • a corporate trustee acting on behalf of a trust

The applicant must also provide:

  • a project budget using the template available at business.gov.au
  • a letter of support (where applicable) from each project partner
  • evidence from your Board (or Chief Executive Officer or equivalent if no board exists) that the project is supported and that you can complete the project while meeting the costs not covered by grant funds.
  • a trust agreement (if relevant)

Is this grant competitive or entitlement based?

Competitive. Your application will be assessed among other applications by a judging panel.

How can I increase my chances of winning this grant?

By engaging an accredited government grants consultant, such as Avant Group.

Competitive grants often require significant business case development and project analysis to support the application, this may include detailed presentations supporting the project’s merit, projected sales, cost-benefit analysis and more.

As part of your engagement with Avant Group, your account manager will assess the required documents and will provide the following as needed to support your grant submission.

Grant application writeup including a detailed presentation illustrating how the grant funding will contribute to your project, how the funding will contribute to the project’s budget, a project milestone plan, delivery timeline, impact on employment if applicable and a breakdown of the management and leadership team for the project

  • Industry analysis presentation
  • Competitor Analysis Presentation
  • Marketing and Sales Analysis Presentation
  • 3-5 year Cashflow Forecast
  • 3-5 year Balance Sheet Forecast
  • Cost-Benefit Analysis of Grant Funding
  • End-to-end grant application including information collating, analysis and application writing
  • CAPEX (Capital Expenditure) cost-benefit analysis
  • Stakeholder relations and Risk Mitigation Plans
  • Any other relevant forecasting that will support your application

How can I get help with my application? Or know if I’m likely to win funding?

Avant Group offers a no-obligation assessment of your eligibility for funding and will assess your likelihood of a successful grant application.