WA New Industries Fund – Innovation Booster Grant

The upcoming cut-off date is 17 October 2024.
Applicants can receive a maximum grant of $40,000 per application. Successful recipients must contribute a net cash co-contribution of at least 20% alongside the funding provided by the WA government.

The Innovation Booster Grant (IBG) aids WA-based startups and small businesses in commercialising their innovative ideas or projects and expanding to generate employment opportunities. Funded through the $25.8 million New Industries Fund, the IBG is a competitive initiative of the Western Australian government.

Key Requirements

The IBG supports WA-based founders and teams in various endeavours:

Developing or improving commercially viable products or services
Creating minimum viable products (MVPs) for customer testing
Developing prototypes, processes, or systems to attract investment or customers
Engaging specialist consultancy services for IP, marketing, or commercialisation.
Solving technical challenges beyond their capabilities
Moreover, it contributes to job creation, new industry development, and diversifying the WA economy in line with the Diversify WA framework.

The maximum grant per application is $40,000. Successful recipients must contribute a net cash co-contribution of at least 20% alongside the funding from the WA government.

For instance, a $50,000 project would require the recipient to provide $10,000, supplementing the $40,000 grant.

For eligible recipients, funds are accessible for up to 12 months after grant approval, with 75% of the funding available immediately. Prior to receiving funds, recipients must sign a Financial Assistance Agreement with the Department. The remaining 25% can be claimed upon project completion, subject to submission of a final acquittal report to JTSI.

While the IBG program accepts applications throughout the year, specific ‘cut-off dates’ are set for downloading and assessing the latest submissions.

Applications cannot be altered after these dates. If your application isn’t ready for assessment, continue working on it without submitting. The upcoming ‘cut-off date’ for submissions in the 2023/24 financial year is 4 April 2024. Additional ‘cut-off dates’ will be announced for the 2024/25 financial year.

What is eligible for funding?

The items for which the applicant is seeking funding fall into one or more of the following four categories:

Research and Development:
- technical development
- compliance testing
- proof of concept
- product testing and validation
- laboratory verification
- certification
Product Development:
- engineering design work
- prototype development
- innovation design
- building a minimum viable product (MVP)
Technology Transfer and Intellectual Property:
- protection of intellectual property
- legal advice
- licensing
Commercialisation Support Services:
- innovation management and consulting
- commercialisation strategies (including marketing strategies for market entry)
- commercialisation feasibility studies

Please note: expenditure under Technology Transfer and Intellectual Property, as well as Commercialisation Support Services, must involve the use of an external consultant, such as an IP attorney.

What companies are eligible for funding?

Your business must be registered in Western Australia and hold a valid Australian Business Number (ABN) and/or Australian Company Number (ACN).
The innovative project being developed in Western Australia should have a total budget of less than $100,000.
Additionally, your business is expected to remain based in Western Australia for the next three years and employ between one and 20 individuals.
It must also demonstrate solvency and commit to contributing at least 20% of the requested project funding costs.
Furthermore, the IBG should not be allocated towards regular operational expenses. If your project involves eligible expenditure categories 3 (Technology Transfer and Intellectual Property) or 4 (Commercialisation Support Services), you must engage external consultants or suppliers.
The requested eligible expenditure should be designated for future services.
It is essential that you have not previously received or are likely to receive Western Australian government funding for the same project or initiative.
Moreover, you should not have previously been awarded an Innovation Booster Grant (previously known as the Innovation Vouchers Program) for the same project or initiative.
Applications should be submitted via the Good Grants platform.

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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