Get Expert Help With Your Export Market Development Grant
Export Market Development Grants
The Export Market Development Grant (EMDG) is the Federal Government’s principal programme to assist Australian businesses to export its products, services and know-how overseas. Each year it helps some 4,000 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to start or expand their export business.
This entitlement-based program provides up to 50% of eligible expenditure to defray the costs associated with setting up an overseas office and employing an overseas representative, including the cost of overseas office rent and on-costs. The program also reimburses the cost of engaging overseas marketing consultants, attending trade shows and conferences, creation and dissemination of promotional literature and free samples, and IP registration and insurance costs.
The new EMDG rules apply to marketing spend from July 2021 onwards. The grant is approximately 50% of eligible marketing expenses with the maximum grant being between $40,000 and $150,000 per annum depending on the Tier you qualify for (and subject to scheme demand). Grant approvals will be for 2 or 3 years of planned spend, with grants being paid after milestones are achieved.
What’s Changing To The EMDG Grant Program In 2021?
From 1 July 2021, the EMDG reimbursement scheme will become a grant program. The new EMDG grant program begins on 1 July 2021. During the 2021-22 financial year, both the EMDG reimbursement scheme and grant program will run concurrently in the transition year.
How Much Can You Get From An EMDG Grant?
EMDG Grants will be available in 3 tiers. These are designed to provide businesses with different levels of support.
- Tier 1: for eligible SMEs who are ready to begin exporting – grants of up to $40,000 per financial year for 2 years.
- Tier 2: for eligible exporters who plan to expand their exporting – grants of up to $80,000 per financial year for 3 years.
- Tier 3: for eligible exporters who plan to make a strategic shift in their exporting business – grants of up to $150,000 per financial year for 3 years.
What Are The Conditions For Each Tier?
- Tier 1: You must be ready to export. You have not previously exported eligible products, and have appropriate skills in marketing eligible products in a foreign country, demonstrated by either a declaration by you that you have used Austrade’s export readiness tool or you have completed export readiness training
- Tier 2 : You must be expanding your marketing activities
- Tier 3: You must be making a strategic shift in your marketing activities – a change in direction in order to access a new market or market segment driven by your business goals.
What Can You Claim?
To qualify for an EMDG, your business must have promoted your product for export and your product must be one of the following:
- a good made in Australia
- a good made outside Australia where Australia will derive a significant net benefit from its sale overseas
- all services except those specified as ineligible in the EMDG Regulations
- a tourism service (including accommodation, passenger transport or tours)
- a conference or event held in Australia
- an intellectual property right that mainly resulted from work done in Australia
- a trademark that was owned, assigned or first used in Australia
- know-how that mainly resulted from work done in Australia
- Online marketing including Facebook, Instagram, Google, your website and more. Also brochures, magazine adverts, videos, store posters.
- Travel to meet international clients for a marketing purpose. Airfares, ground travel, accommodation, food and incidentals are eligible. Capped at 21 days per trip.
- Participating in an international trade fair, forums and conferences, to promote your product or service.
- Consultants engaged to undertake export market research or marketing activities.
- Training for your team to enhance your skills to market internationally.
Export Market Development Grants: Eligibility Criteria
Applicants can often find it difficult to understand how to apply the eligibility criteria to their business, in particular when setting up an office or representative overseas, or working within multi-entity group. We can assist in helping you identify eligible expenditure, eligible activities and which entity is entitled to make an EMDG claim.
To be eligible, the business must have:
- income of not more than $50 million in the grant year
- incurred at least $15,000 of eligible expenses under the scheme (first-time applicants can combine two years expenses)
- principal status for the export business (some exceptions apply, such as non-profit export-focused industry bodies).
The business also must have promoted one of the following:
- the export of goods or most services
- inbound tourism
- the export of intellectual property and know-how
- conferences and events held in Australia
If an application does not meet the Eligibility Criteria, the Department may reject the application and not consider it for any further assessment.
Further information can be found on the Queensland Government webpage.
What Are The EMDG Application dates?
You can apply for a grant under the EMDG program for eligible expenses incurred from 1 July 2021.
Grant applications open between 9am AEST on 16 August and close 5pm AEDT on 30 November 2021.
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