WA Innovation Booster Grant (IBG) 2026

Grants up to $50K
Cash co-contribution required, 15%-20% depending on applicant
Applications close March 30th, 2026

The Innovation Booster Grant (IBG) 2026 is a competitive Western Australian Government grant that supports early-stage founders, innovation-driven SMEs and startups in Western Australia to strengthen capability and progress innovative projects aligned to Diversify WA priority sectors.

The grant is intended to help eligible businesses access external expertise and services to move an innovation toward market readiness. It can support activities such as developing or enhancing a product or service to become commercially ready, testing/validating/certifying a minimum viable product (MVP), obtaining specialist support for intellectual property or commercialisation, and solving technical problems that cannot be addressed in-house.

Key Requirements

Purpose: progress innovation toward validation or commercialisation by enabling access to support services/expertise that improve the business’s capability to validate or commercialise a product.
Project scope must be eligible and “future”: grant funding is for a project that has not yet commenced, is pre‑revenue, and is not business-as-usual operational spend.
External service procurement requirement: grant and matched funds must be used to procure support services external to and not affiliated with the business (affiliates can include parent/subsidiary/shared founders/board relationships).
Matched funding (cash) required: 15% for targeted cohorts (regional WA / First Nations founded / female founded), 20% otherwise; matched funds must be cash held at application (no in-kind).

What is eligible for funding?

Grant funds may be spent on procuring external support services in one or more of these categories:

Research & Development: compliance testing; product testing/validation; laboratory verification; certification
Product Development: engineering design work; building a Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
Technology Transfer & Intellectual Property: IP protection; legal advice; licensing
Commercialisation Support Services: innovation management/consulting; commercialisation strategies (including marketing strategies to support market entry); feasibility studies; financial support (e.g., tax incentive advice, capital raising strategies)

(Also stated: support services can be WA-based or interstate/overseas; and can be publicly funded, not-for-profit, or private sector providers.)

What companies are eligible for funding?

Applicants must meet the following (summary of stated criteria):

Registered in Western Australia with a current ABN and/or ACN
Based in WA for the next three years
Employs between 1 and 20 people (including sole traders, private sector firms, partnerships and non-profit entities)
Solvent and able to pass due diligence checks
Has not previously raised significant capital ($5,000,000 or more)
Developing an innovative project/initiative in WA with total project budget < $100,000
Project/initiative is pre‑revenue
Has not received an IBG for the same project, and is not receiving/likely to receive other WA Government funding for the same project
Will co‑contribute required cash matched funding

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.

This grant is open

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