Export Market Development Grants
Round 3
Status: Open for applications from 9am AEDT, Wednesday 15 March 2023.
Closes 4pm AEST, Friday, 14 April 2023.
Find out how to apply to Round 3 of the Export Market Development Grants
Austrade’s Export Market Development Grants (EMDG) program helps Australian businesses grow their exports in international markets. These grants encourage small to medium enterprises to market and promote their goods and services globally.
About the program
We administer the government’s EMDG program. Since 1974, EMDG has assisted more than 51,000 unique small and medium size Australian businesses (SME) promote and market their products and services to over 180 countries world-wide. Most of those SMEs received multiple grants across the years for up to 8 years.
EMDG is an eligibility-based, demand-driven program. This means all eligible applicants receive a grant from the available funds. We do not base grants on the maximum grant tier caps. The grant amount depends on the:
- number of eligible applications in the round (referred to as demand)
- available program budget shared among all eligible applicants.
Types of grants for exporters
Grants are for eligible promotional activities undertaken by small to medium sized exporters and representative bodies. Small to medium enterprise (SME) exporters can apply for grants over 8 years in total (not necessarily consecutively). Representative bodies have no maximum grant years. Grants for businesses are available in 3 tiers with each providing a different level of support for SMEs as they grow their export markets. The tiers are:
- Ready to export
- Exporting and expanding
- Exporting, expanding and strategic shift.
Businesses don’t have to start at Tier 1 and progress to Tier 2 and 3. They can apply for any grant tier at any time depending on the business need.
The lengths of these grants reflect the different stages of an exporter’s journey. We will issue Grant agreements in Round 3 for 1 year. There is a possibility of extension subject to the availability of funds, and the maximum allowable grant term for the relevant tier under the EMDG Rules. Businesses can still access EMDG grants for up to 8 years.
Read more about the 3 tiers and grants for representative bodies.
How to get a grant
The EMDG program bases criteria on eligibility, not competition. All eligible applicants receive a grant. The process is as follows:
- Apply for a grant for eligible promotional activities you plan to undertake.
- After all applications are considered, Austrade offers a grant agreement to each eligible applicant.
- If you agree, you enter into a grant agreement with Austrade. Grant agreements will clarify the maximum funding amounts per financial year over the term of your grant agreement.
- You lodge a milestone report to request milestone payments as per your grant agreement. Your grant agreement will state:
When we make grant payments
We set the timing of payments by your grant agreement. Your grant agreement will state when you should provide your milestone report.
How we distribute funds
EMDG is an eligibility based, demand driven program. This means all eligible applicants will receive a grant from the available funds. Austrade will calculate how much funding will be given to all eligible applications based on the demand in that round. Each eligible applicant will receive a grant agreement with the grant amount approved.
You must match the dollar value of the grant monies you receive (this means you must spend double the grant amount to receive the grant).
Grant round updates
Round 1
Applications
Closed.
Milestone reports
The next opportunity for Round 1 and 2 grantees to provide milestone reports for expenditure incurred in the 2022-23 financial year, will likely be from July 2023. In line with feedback, we are working towards providing a broader window for report submission. We will provide further details once known.
Please remember that we must assess your milestone report before we can pay you. We will assess milestone reports in the order we receive them. Inaccurate bank account details will cause delays in payments so please keep this up to date.
Payments
For Round 1, we have made almost all payments to Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3 grantees, and Representative Body for eligible expenditure incurred in 2021-22.
At 6 March 2023, 4,715 Round 1 grantees had been paid $121.2 million in total. The remaining Round 1 grantees will be paid progressively over the coming weeks where milestone requirements have been met.
Round 2
Applications
Closed.
We have let most applicants know the outcome of their application. The Round 2 application period was open for 6 weeks and closed on 17 August 2022.
Grant Agreements
As at 6 March 2023, 2,739 Round 2 applications have been assessed. This is 99% of total Round 2 applications submitted (2,761). Austrade has been advising successful applicants and offering Round 2 grant agreements since early November 2022. Read more about accepting a grant agreement.
Milestone reports
The next milestone report for Round 2 grantees for expenditure incurred in the 2022-23 financial year will likely be due at the end of August 2023.
Payments
Please note that we must assess your milestone report before we can pay you. The online portal will likely open for milestone reports from 1 July 2023, and we will assess milestone reports in the order we receive them. Austrade will endeavour to provide payment as soon as possible following assessment and approval of the milestone report. Inaccurate bank account details will cause payments to be delayed so please keep this up to date.
Round 3
Applications
Applications open from 9am AEDT, Wednesday 15 March 2023 and will close at 4pm AEST, Friday 14 April 2023. View these videos to learn more:
Read more about these grants in the Overview of the questions and answers raised at the EMDG Round 3 Information session (DOCX 357KB) held on 1 March for new and returning applicants.
Changes in Round 3 include the following:
- Grant Agreements will be for 1 year with a possibility of extension subject to the availability of funds. This is to ensure we can better manage the available funding in future.
- We have updated the definition of strategic shift for Tier 3 grantees, based on feedback that the definition needed to be clearer and to focus on market diversification.
- Austrade requires businesses meet their taxation obligations and comply with all relevant Australian Taxation Office (ATO) legislation, rulings, and guidelines. During the assessment process we may ask businesses to provide evidence they have satisfied their tax obligations. We will use this information as part of the application assessment.
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