The Australian economy has always banked on its export industry for its promising results. The Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade) working under the government, understands and caters to this opening up more opportunities in this arena. To make the export industry more fertile, it gives grants to businesses that are trying to commercially engage with foreign countries. This grant is called the Export Market Development Grant – one of the key Australian government programmes that works towards promoting the entrepreneurial front of Australia to the entire world.
However, the road to getting the Grant is set by various intrinsic bureaucratic details that need to be understood well to know if one is eligible. Moreover, filing the right application providing proper proof of eligibility is extremely important. This process can get hectic for amateurs and some guidance can do wonders to make your application stronger and thus increasing the chances of receiving the grant money. Platforms like Rimon’s EMDG guide you through the entire process. With their holistic understanding of the Export Market Development Grant and your business, their role in strengthening your application is phenomenal. However, the first step is that you need to find out if you are at all eligible for the grant. So, here is what makes you eligible for the grant.
- Revenue and Income Generation: For you to be eligible to receive the grant, the income of your business while functioning under the grant must be less than or equal to $50 million in a year. However, simply showing bank records and statements is not enough as the government demands a deep analysis of your funds. In this case, Rimon’s EMDG will help you by leading the way.
- Expense claim: The expense for which you’re claiming the grant must be at least $15,000 in a year. In case you are claiming the grant for the first time, the expenses of the first two years can be taken into account while calculating your expenses.
- Type of business: Your business doesn’t necessarily need to be a company for you to be eligible for the grant. Enterprises such as Partnership, Sole Trader, Trust, Co-operative, and Association can also make claims for the grant.
- Location: This goes without saying that because this is an initiative by the government of Australia to improve the export industry of that country, your business needs to be based in Australia for it to be eligible for the grant.
- Claimable categories: Not all kinds of expenses in the export industry are claimable. This grant focuses on bettering the soft power of the country and thus focuses more on the intangible prospects of the business. Expenses of an overseas sales representative, marketing consultants such as expenses on PR, marketing, and social media, promotion through Google Ads, photoshoots, magazines, etc are also included. Besides that, it also covers expenses around free sampling, trade fairs, intellectual property. You can find the full list here.
The government has made sure that only the truly eligible businesses receive the grant. Their application process includes a 6-week process that includes workshops as well. These many requirement-based qualifications can feel overwhelming and in the sea of information, one might get lost as well. That is why a source of assistance, like Rimon’s EMDG, might help you get through the administral complications so that you don’t have to lose out on such a great opportunity due to some silly mistakes.
Also, since the nature of each of these categories is extremely different from one another, the records that they need to present along with their claim is different. For example, for claiming the grant under the Sales Representative Category, one needs to provide documents on the employment agreement, duties, and responsibilities matching the role, proof of payment, and emails showing lead generation and business development, and more. However, for a business to claim the grant under the Promotion and Literature category needs to provide Google and Facebook analytics, proof of payment, and proof of advertising through images.
Although the process is a little complicated, it aims to support businesses of all scales-big, small or medium. So, if your business has planned expenditures in any of the above-mentioned categories, you are eligible to claim. It is only after a rigorous review of your application that you will be receiving the grant money.
Interesting Related Article: “ What Canadian Entrepreneurs Should Know About Government Grants“