Australian government support programs

Australian governments – federal, state and territory – support many types of investment in Australia. This includes industry-specific grants and programs to up-skill employees.

Exporting from Australia

The Australian Government also provides tax incentives for research and development (R&D). Some investors may be eligible for additional support if they plan to export from Australia.

State and territory government help

Austrade works in partnership with state and territory governments. Each of these provide their own assistance programs to businesses and investors. This enables us to co-ordinate assistance.

Individual state and territory governments:

• Australian Capital Territory
• New South Wales
• Northern Territory
• Queensland
• South Australia
• Tasmania
• Victoria
• Western Australia

Grants and assistance

The online Grant and Assistance Finder tool allows a business to search for government grants and assistance. This includes support for specific business activies, such as research.

Training staff in Australia

Australian Government programs help businesses train existing staff and improve productivity.

• The Australian Department of Employment offers incentives, financial assistance and services. They help businesses find and train skilled staff through Job Services Australia.
• Workforce Australia can help employers find staff. It also helps business to access programs that up-skill employees.
• A national registry of 5,000 training organisation helps employers find the right training programs. For more information, see Your Career.

Australian R&D tax incentive

The Australian Government provides incentives for commercial R&D, including Research and Development Tax Incentive.

• The incentive provides eligible companies with a tax offset for expenditure on some R&D activities.
• R&D activities conducted overseas are eligible under certain circumstances.

The tax incentive program is jointly administered by AusIndustry (an Australian Government agency) and the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). Businesses must register R&D activities each year with AusIndustry before making a claim towards the tax offset with the ATO.

Major Projects Facilitation Agency

The Major Projects Facilitation Agency (MPFA) helps companies with official approvals for large, complex projects. The MPFA identifies assistance programs that could benefit large, strategically important projects.

The MPFA:

• provides a contact point in the Australian Government
• helps establish working relationships with official agencies for approvals
• provides referrals, guidance and contacts for assistance programs
• helps identify Australian suppliers that are capable and competitive.

The MPFA is a facilitator. It helps co-ordinate official approvals processes. Where possible, it will try to ensure that state and territory approvals processes happen without duplication.

The MPFA can also help investors respond to specific obstacles. This includes policy issues raised during the approvals process or during project development. For example, the MPFA can forward issues to the relevant policy areas within the Australian Government.

Australian exporters