Startup Grants & Government Support Map for Australian Founders

When investors give you capital in exchange for equity, they take a percentage of your company. Every time you raise a round, founders and existing shareholders are diluted — their percentage ownership decreases. Non-dilutive funding, by contrast, provides cash without any ownership transfer. Government grants are the most accessible form of non-dilutive funding available to Australian founders.

Unlike equity financing or SAFEs, government grants do not require founders to give up any ownership stake or incur debt. Grant funding preserves your cap table, can substantially extend your runway between priced rounds, and does not require you to report to investors or issue preferred stock with associated rights. At pre-seed and seed stage — when your equity is most valuable and your dilution tolerance is lowest — grants are an underutilised but powerful funding source.

Australia has one of the most generous government startup support ecosystems in the Asia-Pacific region. Federal programs, state-level grants, and the R&D Tax Incentive together offer pathways to hundreds of thousands of dollars in non-dilutive support for eligible early-stage companies. The challenge is knowing what is available, who is eligible, and how to apply competitively. This guide maps the key programs for you — noting honestly where programs are currently paused or uncertain.

Australian startup support operates at two levels:

• Federal programs are available to all Australian companies regardless of where they are headquartered. The key federal programs are the Industry Growth Program (commercialisation grants), the Export Market Development Grants (EMDG) (export marketing), and the R&D Tax Incentive (research and development). These are administered by the Department of Industry, Science and Resources (via business.gov.au), Austrade, and the ATO/AusIndustry respectively.
• State and territory programs supplement federal support with geography-specific initiatives. Victoria's LaunchVic ecosystem programs, Queensland's Advance Queensland Ignite Ideas Fund, and NSW's MVP Ventures Program each target startups headquartered in those states and typically have faster application cycles and more accessible grant amounts than federal programs.

The most important point: these programs are not mutually exclusive. A NSW-based startup can simultaneously receive: an R&D Tax Incentive refund, an EMDG grant for export marketing, and an MVP Ventures grant for commercialisation work. Stack them thoughtfully to maximise non-dilutive runway.

Important: As at May 2026, the Industry Growth Program is currently paused to new applications. Founders should check business.gov.au regularly for updates on when the program reopens or whether a successor program is announced.

The Industry Growth Program replaced the previous Accelerating Commercialisation program in 2024, supporting innovative Australian SMEs to overcome commercialisation and growth challenges aligned with the National Reconstruction Fund (NRF) priority areas. When open, the program offers:

1. Advisory Service: Connection with an Industry Growth Program Adviser providing specialist advice on commercialisation strategy, business model validation, funding avenues, intellectual property, market testing, and value proposition development. The Adviser provides a written report with prioritised actions — and this Advisory Service is a prerequisite for grant funding.
2. Grant funding (after completing the Advisory Service):

According to business.gov.au, eligibility for the Industry Growth Program Advisory Service requires:

• Entity type: company incorporated in Australia, co-operative, or incorporated trustee (not individuals, partnerships, trusts, or government agencies).
• An innovative product, process, or service in one of the NRF priority areas: value-add in resources; value-add in agriculture, forestry, and fisheries; transport; medical science; renewables and low emissions technologies; defence capability; enabling capabilities.
• Combined annual turnover: less than $20 million for each of the 3 financial years before applying.
• Must have an ABN and be registered for GST.
• Must not be exempt from income tax.
• Companies with 100 or more employees that have not complied with the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012 are ineligible.

The NRF priority area requirement is the most important filter: if your startup operates in a sector not on this list (for example, pure B2C consumer software without a clear NRF alignment), this program is not the right fit. Map your product language to the program's framework explicitly in your application — vague claims of general "innovation" are not sufficient.

The Export Market Development Grants (EMDG) program, administered by Austrade, provides financial assistance to eligible Australian small and medium enterprises for marketing and promotional activities to develop export markets. It is a matched funding model: you must match the grant amount with your own funds. Key program parameters for Round 4 (2025–26 and 2026–27) include total funding of up to $104.5 million per year across approximately 1,900 grants, awarded on a first-come, first-served basis.

Three funding tiers:

Grant agreements cover up to 2 financial years. Businesses can access grants over an 8-year period with total lifetime funding up to $770,000. Maximum turnover for eligibility is less than $20 million. Applicants must demonstrate the capacity to spend at least $20,000 of their own money on eligible activities per year. Sources: Austrade; BDO Australia.

EMDG covers a broad range of export development activities. Eligible expenses include:

• Maintaining a representative in a foreign country
• Short business trips to foreign countries for export promotion
• Engaging consultants for research or promotional activities
• Foreign buyer visits to Australia
• Soliciting business in a foreign country
• Providing free samples to potential foreign buyers
• Producing promotional and advertising material for international export
• Intellectual property rights
• Export training (Tier 1 applicants only)

Tier 1 requirement: Tier 1 applicants must demonstrate export readiness by completing an approved export training course or passing Austrade's free online Export Readiness Test before applying.

Round 4 timing note: Round 4 of EMDG opened in November 2024 on a first-come, first-served basis. Applications may have already closed as funding is exhausted by round. Founders should check Austrade's website directly for the current status and timing of the next round — do not assume the program is open based on this guide alone. Round 5 opening dates have not been confirmed at time of research. See also Grant Thornton's EMDG guidance for practical application tips.

Important update (March 2026): LaunchVic is being integrated into a new entity alongside Breakthrough Victoria, with the new entity expected to be operational by early-to-mid 2026. According to LaunchVic, the new entity will serve as a unified "front door" for innovation support, combining LaunchVic's ecosystem-building programs with Breakthrough Victoria's equity investment capability. LaunchVic programs continue as normal during the transition, but program terms, grant amounts, and application processes for the new entity are not yet fully confirmed.

Current LaunchVic programs (active during transition) include:

• 30X30: A fully subsidised (no equity taken) scaleup program for Victorian tech companies targeting unicorn status. Eligibility is restricted to companies that have raised AUD $10M+ in a single round, employ 50+ people, or generate $1M+ monthly revenue. Details at LaunchVic — 30X30.
• Basecamp: Pre-acceleration support for early-stage founders.
• CivVic Labs: Government-focused founder program.
• Sector-specific programs include [Re]Launch (ClimateTech pre-accelerator) and ACTIVATE (MedTech).

Breakthrough Victoria manages equity investments (not grants) from a $2 billion fund focused on later-stage commercialisation. The University Innovation Platform offers grants up to $150,000 for commercialising university research. Specific grant dollar amounts for most current LaunchVic programs are not publicly listed; founders should check launchvic.org/programs or book a direct call with LaunchVic for current terms.

Advance Queensland's Ignite Ideas Fund supports Queensland businesses with innovative products or services at the viable product stage to access new markets and attract investment. According to Advance Queensland, the fund operates in two tiers:

General eligibility: Business must be headquartered in Queensland; ≤50 full-time equivalent employees (not a subsidiary of a group with more than 50 FTE); must not have previously received government funding for the same proposed project activity; registered for GST.

Successful applicants also receive Ignite+ business development support — including assistance with sales, marketing, IP/legal, financial structure, investor connections, and mentoring.

Current status: Applications for the Ignite Ideas Fund are currently closed. Founders should check advance.qld.gov.au for the next round opening date. The Queensland Government also offers the Female Founders Co-Investment Fund and Industry Research Foundation programs. A current grants schedule is available at the Queensland Government's business grants schedule page.

The NSW MVP Ventures Program (MVPVP) is a competitive grant for innovative NSW-based startups and SMEs to progress products along the commercialisation pathway (TRL 3–9) and attract private investment. It is one of the most accessible federal/state grants for very early-stage startups because of its low turnover threshold. According to NSW Government and business.gov.au:

Key eligibility:

• Active ABN; must be headquartered in NSW
• Turnover: ≤ $400,000 in each of the last 3 financial years — making this accessible to very early startups
• ≤ 10 FTE employees (including founders)
• Must hold IP or rights to commercialise
• Project must be completed within 12 months (minimum 3 months)
• At least 80% of project expenditure must occur in NSW

Eligible expenses: Wages (capped at 50% of budget), consultant fees (capped at 50%), project materials, patent filing/regulatory compliance (up to $7,500), and domestic travel costs (up to $2,000).

Assessment criteria: Innovation (new/significantly different, real market need), Commercialisation (commercial viability, alignment with NSW Industry Policy Missions — net zero, housing, local manufacturing), and Deliverability (team capacity, project plan, TRL progression).

The R&D Tax Incentive (R&DTI) is jointly administered by the ATO and the Department of Industry, Science and Resources (AusIndustry). It is the cornerstone non-dilutive funding mechanism for innovative Australian startups because it is available to almost all technology companies spending money on genuine R&D activities, it does not require a competitive grant application, and — for companies under the turnover threshold — it generates a cash refund.

Current rates (applicable until 30 June 2028, when 2026–27 Budget changes take effect):

For most early-stage startups with under $20 million in turnover: if you spend $200,000 on eligible R&D activities in a financial year, you can claim back approximately $87,000 as a cash refund — regardless of whether your company is profitable. This is real cash, returned to your bank account, with no equity given away.

Upcoming changes (from 1 July 2028), announced in the 2026–27 Budget and analysed by Baker McKenzie:

• The refundable offset threshold will increase from $20M to $50M in aggregated turnover — meaning many scale-ups will now access the more generous refundable rate.
• Maximum R&D expenditure threshold will increase from $150M to $200M.
• Minimum R&D expenditure threshold will increase from $20,000 to $50,000 (activities below this threshold must be conducted with a registered Research Service Provider). This change will affect very small startups spending less than $50K on R&D.

Note: These changes are subject to legislative amendment and will not take effect until 1 July 2028. Current rules apply until then.

Registration: R&D activities must be registered with AusIndustry before claiming the offset. Registration must be lodged via the R&D Tax Incentive portal within 10 months of the end of the income year.

Connection to ESIC and grants: The R&DTI connects to other programs in important ways. For ESIC purposes, if your R&D spending is ≥50% of total expenses, you automatically earn 75 points toward the ESIC 100-point test. For grant purposes, several programs (including the Industry Growth Program) require you to demonstrate TRL advancement — and R&D registration evidence is useful supporting documentation. Stack your R&DTI claim annually; do not treat it as optional.

Australian government grant programs are competitive and criteria-driven. Here are the most important principles for writing a winning application:

1. Read the guidelines in full before starting. Grant programs assess against specific criteria — typically innovation, commercialisation, and deliverability. Your application must directly address each criterion with evidence, using the program's own language. Vague or generic descriptions of your startup are the most common reason for rejection.
2. Use the correct terminology. Programs like the Industry Growth Program require alignment with NRF priority areas; MVP Ventures requires reference to NSW Industry Policy Missions; EMDG requires evidence of export readiness. Map your project language to the program's framework explicitly.
3. Demonstrate non-additionality risk. Most programs require you to demonstrate that the project would not proceed without government support. Document this specifically — describe what the counterfactual would be and how that changes your commercialisation outcome.
4. Co-contribution is often mandatory. Many programs require matched funding. Ensure your bank account evidences the required co-contribution before applying. MVP Ventures requires evidence of co-contribution at both application stage and funding agreement execution.
5. Know your Technology Readiness Level (TRL). Programs like the Industry Growth Program and MVP Ventures use TRL frameworks (TRL 1 = basic research, TRL 9 = fully deployed). Know where your product sits today and articulate how grant funding will advance it to the next TRL.
6. Apply early in grant rounds. Many programs — including EMDG Round 4 — are first-come, first-served. Round openings are announced publicly; set calendar reminders 6–8 weeks before expected opening dates.

Using advisers: For grants above $250,000 (Industry Growth Program commercialisation grants, large R&D claims), specialist grant advisers such as Treadstone, William Buck, and Grant Thornton often materially increase success rates. They understand the assessors' criteria, know how to frame technology claims in reviewable language, and have track records with specific programs. For smaller programs (MVP Ventures, Tier 1 EMDG, Ignite Ideas Tier 1), quality applications are achievable in-house — the criteria are clear and the amounts are within reach of a well-organised founder.

Avoiding grant dependency: Grants are an excellent way to extend runway and reduce dilution, but they are not a substitute for a sustainable business model. Key risks to manage:

• Program discontinuation: As demonstrated by the Industry Growth Program pause and the Ignite Ideas Fund closure, grant programs can be paused or wound down without warning. Do not build your financial model around grant income that is not yet approved.
• Milestone obligations: Most grants require milestone reporting and acquittal documentation — evidence that you spent the money as promised. Build this into your project management from the start. Failure to acquit can result in repayment obligations.
• Time cost: A competitive grant application can take 20–60 hours to prepare. Calculate the opportunity cost before applying for smaller grants, particularly if you are pre-revenue and every founder hour is critical.
• Don't submit and forget: Many programs require progress updates and final reports. Assign a team member to own grant compliance from day one of a grant approval.

Use this checklist to build your non-dilutive funding strategy:

• ☐ Claim the R&D Tax Incentive first: If your company spends money on developing new software, hardware, or processes, register with AusIndustry within 10 months of your financial year end. This is the lowest-effort, highest-value non-dilutive mechanism available to most Australian tech startups.
• ☐ Check Industry Growth Program status: Visit business.gov.au to check whether the program has reopened. If your product aligns with an NRF priority area and your turnover is under $20M, flag this as a priority application when it reopens.
• ☐ Assess EMDG eligibility: If you have any international customers, export pipeline, or export development activities, check your eligibility for EMDG at Austrade's EMDG eligibility page and register for Austrade notifications on round openings.
• ☐ Check state program eligibility: Based on your state of headquarters, review: LaunchVic programs (VIC), Advance QLD Ignite Ideas Fund (QLD), or MVP Ventures Program (NSW). Set a reminder to check these pages every 2 months for new round openings.
• ☐ Know your TRL: Identify your current Technology Readiness Level (1–9). For commercialisation grants, you typically need TRL 3+ to apply and must articulate how the grant will advance you to the next level.
• ☐ Map your grant calendar: Create a 12-month calendar of grant programs relevant to your company, with expected opening dates, closing dates, and eligibility criteria. Treat grant applications as pipeline items, not ad hoc activities.
• ☐ Model your co-contribution: For each grant program you plan to apply for, calculate the required co-contribution amount and confirm it is available in your bank account or committed in your budget before applying.
• ☐ Build your evidence library: Assemble a folder of supporting documents you will need repeatedly across grant applications: ABN/GST registration, company financials (3 years), IP registrations, team CVs, product documentation, R&D registration evidence, and customer/market validation data.
• ☐ Consider a grant adviser for large applications: For any single application above $250,000, get at least one quote from a specialist grant adviser before deciding to apply in-house.
• ☐ Set up acquittal tracking from day one: For every approved grant, assign a team member to own the milestone reporting and financial acquittal process. Create a simple tracking document at grant approval stage.

Generally yes — Australian grant programs are not mutually exclusive, and stacking non-dilutive funding from multiple sources is a legitimate and common strategy. For example, a NSW startup could simultaneously: receive an R&D Tax Incentive refund (federal), an EMDG grant for export marketing (federal/Austrade), and an MVP Ventures grant for commercialisation (NSW state). The key restriction to watch is that some programs require you to demonstrate that project expenditure is not already funded by another government grant for the same activity. Read each program's guidelines carefully on this point. Generally, grants covering different activities or different expense categories are stackable. When in doubt, disclose all grants received and applied for in your application — assessors appreciate transparency.

Technology Readiness Level (TRL) is a 1–9 scale used by many government grant programs to describe the maturity of a technology:

• TRL 1–3: Basic and applied research — concept proven in a lab or on paper.
• TRL 4–6: Technology development — prototype built and tested in a relevant environment.
• TRL 7–8: System demonstration — prototype demonstrated in operational environment; system near complete.
• TRL 9: System deployment — technology deployed and operating at scale in a real commercial environment.

For the Industry Growth Program's Early-Stage Commercialisation grant, you generally need to be at TRL 3–6. The MVP Ventures Program targets TRL 3–9. Most early-stage startups with a working prototype sit around TRL 4–6. Be honest about your TRL in applications — assessors are experienced and will probe it. Document your TRL with evidence (test results, pilot customer deployments, or technical validation reports).

Yes, though the range varies by state. The NSW MVP Ventures Program Stream 2 specifically targets regionally headquartered businesses, offering a higher grant amount ($75,000 vs $50,000) and a reduced co-contribution requirement (25% vs 50%) — a significant advantage for regional NSW founders. Advance Queensland's programs are available to all Queensland businesses regardless of location. Some LaunchVic programs have historically been Melbourne-centric, but the new integrated entity is expected to broaden its reach. At the federal level, the Industry Growth Program (when open) and R&D Tax Incentive are available to all Australian companies regardless of location. The federal government's business.gov.au grants finder allows you to filter by location to identify programs available in your region.

Unfortunately, first-come, first-served programs (like EMDG) can close rapidly once a round opens, and competitive programs (like MVP Ventures) have defined application windows. If you miss a round, your options are: (1) wait for the next round and apply immediately when it opens — set a calendar reminder and have all your supporting documents ready in advance; (2) check whether a related program exists (for example, if the Industry Growth Program is paused, check whether state-level commercialisation grants are open); (3) explore R&D Tax Incentive registration as a year-round, always-available alternative that does not depend on grant round timing. The best preparation is to build your grant evidence library (financials, ABN, IP documents, R&D registrations, team CVs) in advance so that when a round opens, you can submit within 48 hours rather than spending 3 weeks gathering documents.

In most cases, no — grants are not loans and do not need to be repaid simply because the startup does not succeed commercially. However, there are specific circumstances where repayment obligations can arise:

• Failure to meet milestone conditions: If you received grant funding to complete specific project milestones and you fail to deliver those milestones without an approved variation, the granting agency may require repayment of some or all funds.
• Misuse of funds: Spending grant money on ineligible activities (activities not covered by the grant agreement) can trigger repayment demands and, in serious cases, clawback provisions.
• False or misleading application: Providing false information in an application can result in full repayment obligations plus potential civil or criminal penalties.

As long as you spend grant funds on the approved activities, meet your reporting obligations, and communicate proactively with your grant manager if circumstances change, commercial failure alone does not create a repayment obligation. Always read the grant agreement's acquittal and variation clauses carefully before accepting any grant.

Grant statuses change frequently. The following reflects primary-source verification as of mid-2025 — always confirm current status before applying.

Industry Growth Program (IGP) — PAUSED
As of May 2026, the IGP is paused to new applications per business.gov.au. The MYEFO (December 2025) removed $102M in uncommitted IGP funding, significantly reducing the remaining pool. Prior to the pause, 96 grants totalling $143M had been awarded. The IGP offered $50k–$250k for early-stage projects and $100k–$5M for commercialisation and growth, both on a matched-funding basis and within National Reconstruction Fund priority sectors. Monitor business.gov.au for reopening.

Export Market Development Grants (EMDG) — Round 4 CLOSED
Austrade has confirmed no round is currently open and no Round 5 date has been published. Round 4 (opened November 2024) was dramatically oversubscribed — Tier 2 applications closed within 8 days of opening. EMDG provides tiered grants ($20k–$80k/year) for export market development activities, with a lifetime cap of ~$770,000 over 8 grant years. An independent EMDG review was underway as of late 2025 — monitor austrade.gov.au for Round 5 timing.

R&D Tax Incentive — OPEN (ongoing)
The foundational R&DTI program remains open year-round. Companies with ≤$20M aggregated turnover receive a 43.5% refundable tax offset on eligible R&D expenditure. Registration with AusIndustry is due within 10 months of your income year end. See business.gov.au R&DTI. Specialist lenders like Radium Capital can advance 60–80% of your expected refund during the year, eliminating the 10–18 month wait.

State grant statuses as at mid-2025 (verify before applying — statuses change frequently):

CSIRO Kick-Start — OPEN (rolling basis)
CSIRO Kick-Start provides dollar-matched funding of $10,000–$50,000 for Australian SMEs and startups to undertake R&D activities with CSIRO researchers. Projects run for a maximum of 12 months. Eligible companies can undertake a second project provided total funding across both projects does not exceed $50,000. This is non-dilutive matched grant funding — CSIRO co-invests research expertise while you co-invest cash. Applications are open on a rolling basis via business.gov.au.

CSIRO ON Accelerate — CLOSED (2025 cohort full)
CSIRO ON Accelerate is a 3-month deep-tech commercialisation program for research teams. The 2025 cohort applications closed July 2025; the bootcamp runs October–November, culminating in a Showcase event in June the following year. Non-dilutive: program value is >$150,000 per team, with up to $80,000 cash distributed to high-performing teams from a $400,000 pool. Eligibility requires a researcher at an Australian university or PFRO (or recent PhD graduate within 24 months). Join the expression-of-interest list at CSIRO ON Accelerate to be notified of the next intake.

In December 2025, the Victorian Government announced that LaunchVic would be merged into Breakthrough Victoria as part of a budget cost-cutting review. The startup community responded with significant criticism — multiple founders described the decision as "devastating" for the Victorian ecosystem, given LaunchVic's role in early-stage ecosystem development, diversity programmes (including the Alice Anderson Fund for female founders), and deep-tech grants of up to $400,000.

What Breakthrough Victoria now offers (per breakthroughvictoria.com):

• Research Translation & Pre-Seed stream: $150,000 non-dilutive grants for early-stage research commercialisation
• Venture Capital stream: $1M–$5M direct equity investments into growth-stage ventures
• Growth Capital stream: $10M–$15M direct equity for scaling businesses
• Also invests in VC funds and university commercialisation programs

Breakthrough Victoria is open year-round for eligible companies. Victorian startups previously reliant on LaunchVic programmes should check breakthroughvictoria.com and launchvic.org for transition arrangements and any continued programs inherited from LaunchVic.

Several Australian accelerators provide genuine investment capital, not just mentorship or workspace:

Key difference from grants: accelerator funding is equity investment (you give up a share of your company) rather than a non-dilutive grant. The trade-off is access to a structured network, mentors, and follow-on capital — which often delivers more value than the initial cash for founders at the pre-seed stage.

These hand-picked videos and podcast episodes go deeper on the topics in this guide. We've favoured Australian creators, advisers and founders, with a few standout global explainers where the concept is universal. Each link was checked to confirm it is live at the time of publishing; treat any figures, tax rates or thresholds mentioned in older clips as point-in-time and cross-check against the current rules above.

Watch

• How the Research and Development Tax Incentive can help you — BusinessGovAu (2022). Official animated explainer from business.gov.au on the R&D Tax Incentive — who qualifies, what offsets are available, and how to apply. Authoritative and concise.
• R&D update | Webinar | Business Essentials — RSM Australia (2025). 56-minute deep-dive webinar by RSM partners covering the full grants landscape for SMEs and startups: Industry Growth Program, CRC Projects, R&D Tax Incentive mechanics, eligibility thresholds, and how to write a winning grant application. Ideal for founders ready to apply.
• Unlocking the R&D Tax Incentive | RSM Australia — RSM Australia (2025). Concise explainer on the two R&D tax offsets (refundable 43.5% for sub-$20M turnover companies; non-refundable for larger firms), what counts as eligible expenditure, and how pre-revenue startups can access a cash refund.
• R&D Tax Incentive Mashup — BusinessGovAu (2020). Official government video featuring four real Australian businesses explaining how the R&D Tax Incentive de-risked their innovation. Good for founders looking for concrete examples of how the scheme works in practice.

Listen

• Steve Dowling – The Grant Sherpa helping entrepreneurs get a leg up! — Entrepreneurship.AU with Christo (2024). Australian podcast episode with grant specialist Steve Dowling (Grant Helper), who has secured $30M+ in government grants. Covers where to look, how to structure applications, and common pitfalls — directly actionable for startup founders.