Expand your business by exporting

Exporting can be a profitable way of expanding your business, spreading your risks and reducing your dependence on the local market.

Australian government research has shown that growth rates of output, productivity, wages and investment are consistently higher for continuous exporters. (Tuhin, R., & Swanepoel, J.A., 'Export behaviour and business performance: Evidence from Australian microdata', Department of Industry, Innovation and Science, Research Paper 7/2016, accessed January 30, 2019. Exporting exposes you to new ideas, management practices, marketing techniques, and ways of competing that you wouldn’t have experienced by staying at home. All this considerably improves your ability to compete in the domestic market as well. By going overseas, you can become more efficient and increase your productivity. Exporting companies have better growth prospects, highly skilled, highly productive staff and tend to adapt technology and best practice techniques faster.

Even if you have a limited domestic market, you should think about exporting - around a quarter of new exporters are born globals. Global brands can be built from small local companies – especially in rural and regional Australia.

This section will guide you step-by-step through exporting.

General info and advice

It’s important to consider if your business is ready and to be sure that you understand exactly what exporting entails before you start.

Exporting consumes time and money, and requires strong management commitment. In the initial stages management are usually diverted from existing domestic business but for many companies, this short term stress will provide longer term rewards.

Getting ready for export

Austrade services

Austrade provides a range of services and assistance to Australian exporters and education providers covering:

  • Information and advice on exporting and international business
  • International trade and education alerts
  • Services including market-entry and expansion assistance
  • Referrals to specialist service providers

The Find Export Markets and Export Market Profiles tools are a good place to start. Both products are new and will continue to grow as we add data about more markets and sectors and incorporate feedback from our clients.

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Export assistance

  • Take a course in export basics
  • Get your objectives right and commitment will follow
  • Talk to your finance advisor
  • Research your industry and competitors
  • Talk to an Export Adviser who can work with you through the process.

Call 13 28 78

Landing pads

Tap into the global startup ecosystem

Administered by Austrade, Landing Pads provide market-ready Australian startups with access to some of the world’s most renowned startup hubs including San Francisco, Tel Aviv, Shanghai, Berlin and Singapore. Applications are now open.

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Market profiles

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Export Grants

The Export Market Development Grants (EMDG) scheme is a key Australian Government financial assistance program for aspiring and current exporters.

Who can apply? Any Australian individual, partnership, company, association, co-operative, statutory corporation or trust that has carried on export promotion activities during the year for which they wish to apply for an export grant.

How does EMDG work?

Apply for a grant

You can apply directly or have a consultant apply on your behalf. In either case, applications must be submitted during the standard lodgement period between 1 July and 30 November each year.

Consultants meeting certain criteria can apply for the Quality Incentive Program (QIP). Consultants approved for this program can lodge on behalf of their clients for an extended period until the end of February each year.

Contact a consultant

‘It gave us the confidence to expand overseas, which helped us secure a lot of international business, to the point that about 80 percent of our revenue is now coming from international sources’

Franki Chamaki, Co-founder and Director, HIVERY

EMDG success stories

Australian Suppliers Directory

When it comes finding opportunities with overseas companies, Austrade knows how hard it is to stand out from the crowd. Which is where the Australian Suppliers Directory comes in. Now you can get your international business off the ground with far less effort and significantly less cost than it would take to do it yourself.

Register your company

FTA Portal expanded to boost Australian services exports

Australia's service sector can better access the full potential of our Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), with a recent upgrade to the award-winning FTA Portal

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