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SEQ Innovation Economy Fund

SEQ Innovation Economy Fund

The program application remains open until 13 December 2024.

  • Tier 1: Funding of $1 million to $5 million for minor capital projects, including refurbishments and/or plant and equipment
  • Tier 2: Funding of $5 million to $25 million for major capital projects, including new builds, extensions, refurbishments, and/or plant and equipment

A 50% cash co-contribution must be provided by the applicant and/or project partners

The South East Queensland (SEQ) Innovation Economy Fund provides grant funding to stimulate investment in capital projects that fuel the growth of innovation precincts, driving the creation of more knowledge-intensive jobs. With a total of $150 million available, the SEQ Innovation Economy Fund supports the development of new or enhanced infrastructure, as well as the acquisition of equipment and technology, all aimed at advancing priority industries and sectors focused on innovation and growth.

Key Requirements

In the SEQ Innovation Economy Fund, there are two funding tiers:

Tier 1 will fund $1 million to $5 million in minor capital projects, including refurbishments and/or plant and equipment.

Tier 2 will fund $5 million to $25 million in major capital projects, including new builds, extensions, refurbishments, and/or plant and equipment.

Applicants are limited to one application for either Tier 1 or Tier 2 funding.

What is eligible for funding?

Eligible project costs include:

  • Construction costs including:
    • all site works required as part of the construction
    • the costs of construction-related labour, materials and equipment hire
    • costs required to fully commission the Project Infrastructure
  • Project management costs including remuneration of technical or professional staff,
    engaged by or employed by the successful applicant directly related to managing the
    construction of the proposed infrastructure (for example the salary of a project manager
    for the approved project) but excluding executive duties and overhead charges
  • Costs required to purchase, install and/or commission fixed plant and equipment

What companies are eligible for funding?

To be eligible for the fund, the applicant organisation must be:

  • An eligible public or private sector entity
  • GST registered with an ABN
  • Operating in an eligible SEQ local government area
  • Trading for more than 12 months.

Priority industries include but are not limited to:

  • Defence and aerospace
  • Energy transformation
  • Agriculture and food processing innovation
  • Biomedical
  • Manufacturing across all sectors

Innovative growth sectors include:

  • Autonomous systems including unmanned aerial vehicles
  • Robotics and artificial intelligence
  • Nanotechnology
  • Biotechnology including synthetic biology technologies including mRNA
  • Quantum technologies

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.