What is the Export Assistance Grant?
The Export Assistance Grant is a program that provides exporting businesses, or businesses who were exporting goods or services before the impacts of COVID-19, bushfires or drought with funding to help them access global markets.
Background
The NSW Government’s Export Assistance Grant provides grants to eligible businesses to assist them to recover from the impacts of bushfires, drought and COVID-19 on their export business and export development activities. These activities must enable exporters to access global markets and be undertaken from 1 January 2020.
The Grant is intended for export businesses that produce goods and services in NSW to sell to customers internationally. The eligibility criteria below seek to capture export businesses most affected by changes to international trading conditions, and those impacted by drought and bushfires. NSW is committed to supporting these businesses to be in a better position to innovate and take advantage of emerging opportunities in international trade.
Funding
If you are an exporting business, or if you were exporting goods or services before the impacts of COVID-19, bushfires or drought, you may be eligible for an export assistance grant of up to $10,000.
This grant will be provided as reimbursement of 50% of eligible expenses, up to a maximum of $10,000 per eligible business, for expenses already paid since 1 January 2020.
You can submit either one application up to the maximum of $10,000 or multiple applications of a minimum of $2000 per application each, totalling a maximum of $10,000.
Eligible Activities
Activities eligible for funding are:
- Marketing materials: design, trademark, copyrighting and printing costs for business cards, brochures, product sheets, presentations, banners and signage specifically for overseas markets. Costs associated with the production of corporate videos and online presentations for international markets. Overseas social media marketing, where it can be demonstrated this was used to market internationally. Translation costs for the above for non-English speaking markets.
- Website internationalisation: Expenses for an independent contractor to identify and make changes to prepare your website for international markets, such as language translations, products and expertise details.
- Pivoting to online delivery: Costs associated with converting face-to-face training content to online delivery including design, development, production and accreditation of online content for international audiences.
- E-commerce development: Costs of working with a third-party to develop and implement an international e-commerce platform.
- Market research: Costs of working with a third party (such as Austrade or verified international consultant) to conduct market research into opportunities and barriers in targeted overseas markets, and facilitation of business matching with overseas partners/buyers. (Travel, accommodation and per-diem expenses for a third party are not eligible).
- International tradeshows and trade missions: Includes cost of hiring exhibition space for an international trade show, entry and project management fees associated with participating in trade shows, trade missions and business programs including eligible international trade shows held in Australia. This could include online tradeshows and virtual/online business matching.
- Inbound business support: Costs of hosting incoming buyers in NSW such as hiring local facilities, economy domestic travel and standard accommodation for no more than two approved inbound buyers. (Food and beverage costs are not eligible).
- Costs to support compliance/localisation of products for export, such as new packaging.
- Costs to protect business in international markets including insurance and IP protection.
Eligible Applicants
An eligible business must:
- be an exporting business with an annual turnover of up to $100 million
OR
- be an exporting business with an annual turnover of greater than $100 million that can demonstrate export turnover has declined by more than 30% in the 2019–2020 financial year and have an intention to re-establish your export business in your established markets and/or diversify into new export markets
AND
- have an ABN registered in NSW and be registered for GST as at 1 August 2019
- be currently exporting or exporting prior to the impacts of COVID-19, bushfires and/or drought
- have a minimum of 3 full-time equivalent employees (3 FTE) at the time of application
- own the goods/services to be exported or be able to provide documented evidence that you are the agreed export supplier
- produce the goods/services to be exported in Australia, or be able to provide documented evidence that the business provides substantial value to NSW
- be able to provide tax invoices and receipts for the eligible activities being claimed.
Any grant monies received or subject to EMDG applications must be declared and/or deducted from the Grant at time of application.
Businesses who have submitted their EMDG applications for the 2019–2020 financial year must ensure that their application for this Grant includes the net amount, previously unclaimed through EMDG.
Timing
Applications extended to 30 June 2022, or until funds are exhausted.
