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NSW Regional Skills Relocation Grant

NSW Regional Skills Relocation Grant

  • Applications are open until: 15 December 2023
  • Grants: up to $12,500

The Department of Regional NSW administers the Regional Skills Relocation Grant to assist businesses in specific industries within regional NSW to attract skilled employees from metropolitan areas, interstate, or overseas to relocate.

Key Requirements

To qualify for funding, businesses must operate within an industry that aligns with key NSW Government policies, priorities, and strategies, including the 20-Year Economic Vision for Regional NSW, 2040 Economic Blueprint, and the relevant Regional Economic Development Strategy (REDS). Eligible industries drive growth in regional economies and are typically classified as ‘engine industries’, ‘emerging engine industries’, or ‘enabling industries’.

Examples of eligible industries include:

  • agribusiness and forestry,
  • resources and mining,
  • tourism (if regionally significant or iconic),
  • health and aged care (if serving out-of-region populations),
  • freight and logistics,
  • advanced manufacturing,
  • renewable energy,
  • and technology-enabled primary industry.

More information on eligible industries is available.

What is eligible for funding?

  • To qualify for funding, businesses must seek skilled workers relocating from a metropolitan area within NSW or from another location outside NSW to regional NSW.
  • The new residence must be at least 50 km from the original residence and within the same Functional Economic Region as the eligible business or within 100 km of it.
  • Eligible employees must be Australian citizens or permanent residents on their employment start date and have an occupation on the Commonwealth Skilled Occupation List for the Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 491 and 489). Other occupations may be considered at the Department’s discretion if there is a demonstrated need.

The grant covers relocation expenses such as:

  • furniture removal,
  • pet boarding for up to three months,
  • travel for employee and immediate family,
  • temporary accommodation for up to three months,
  • and furniture storage for up to three months.

Up to $1000 of the grant may be used to support an in-person candidate interview or pre-employment site visit if the candidate is successfully employed.

Eligible businesses can also claim up to $2500 as part of their total grant to access qualified recruitment services or HR professionals for tailored recruitment assistance for pre-approved roles. The business can apply for reimbursement once a candidate has been successfully employed.

What companies are eligible for funding?

To apply for this grant, a business must be a private or co-operative legal entity operating within an eligible industry. The business must either be relocating to or setting up in regional NSW and creating at least five new ongoing full-time equivalent jobs, or already operating in regional NSW and seeking to recruit eligible employees.

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.