EMDG is changing
The information on this page is relevant for Rounds 1, 2 and 3. Changes are coming for Round 4. We will communicate this information when details, including guidelines, are finalised and released. To get regular updates, subscribe to the EMDG Update newsletter.
You must enter into a grant agreement to receive a grant from the Export Market Development Grants (EMDG) program. This is a legal agreement between a grant recipient and Austrade.
We offer grant agreements to all eligible applicants as this is not a competitive grant program.
Grant agreements will cover your eligible promotional activities for the term of your grant activity period.
Your grant agreement will state the:
We will email the primary contact on your application when your grant agreement is ready for viewing and signing in the EMDG Online portal.
If you listed an agent on your application, they will also get an email at the same time.
You must sign your grant agreement electronically in the EMDG portal within 21 days from the date of getting the offer. If you don’t do this, your offer may expire.
We may extend this period in some cases. Read the EMDG Guidelines for more information.
An agent can’t sign the agreement on your behalf. Only the primary contact in your application can sign the agreement.
We will notify applicants by email when the grant agreement is ready for:
When you get your grant agreement, check all details are correct and up to date. This includes:
If there is a change, send the request to EMDG.help@austrade.gov.au
We will counter sign and execute the grant agreement after we get your signed grant agreement. We can only make payments after we do this.
Use our EMDG portal to view and accept your grant agreement.
The EMDG portal uses the Australian Government Digital Identity System to verify users. You will use your Digital Identity, myGovID, to access the service.
Where you used to see ‘Login with myGovID’ you will now see ‘Continue with Digital Identity’. Once selected, you can then:
To access the portal you need at least a standard myGovID that’s linked to the business in RAM.
The instructions in the EMDG portal will guide you on how to accept your agreement.
For technical issues:
There are upper spending limits for travel costs. These costs include:
This will be set out in your grant agreement.
Each grant agreement will state the maximum grant amount per financial year.
We know there may be circumstances which can impact your grant agreement. This could include a change in your plans to market.
We may agree to vary your grant agreement. Contact us to discuss your situation.
Read about variations in the EMDG Guidelines.
A plan to market should be a living business management document. You can change and adapt it through the life of an exporting business, like a business plan. There are many types of eligible promotional expenses so consider other options if your plans, e.g. travel, must change.
Include an updated plan to market with your scheduled milestone reporting where you need to make changes, as per your grant agreement.
You will be eligible for a payment under the grant agreement, even if plans changed, if you show you still have an eligible product.
We will adjust your grant payments if you don't spend as planned. We will work with you to adjust the amount and timing of your grant payments per financial year. This will happen over the life of your grant agreement as needed to ensure the total maximum grant amount isn’t exceeded.
Notify Austrade as soon as possible if you:
There are 2 options you can choose in this case, depending on your circumstances.
You can ask to amend your grant agreement by removing the grant payment for the relevant period.
If your grant agreement:
You can withdraw your grant agreement and apply in future rounds if:
Funding for past and future rounds will depend on:
This could mean maximum grant amounts in future rounds may be lower.
You can log in to the online portal and reject the grant agreement if we haven’t executed it.
You can also ask Austrade to terminate your grant agreement if we have already executed it. Do this by contacting EMDG.help@austrade.gov.au. We will let you know when we have updated our records.
If you don’t get a grant payment for the relevant period, we won’t record that year in your EMDG grant history.
Contact us if your situation has changed, including:
We will work with you to ensure the best possible outcome.
If your primary contact has changed, send us the:
As the new primary contact, you will need to:
It is your responsibility to maintain the integrity of your business records. This is to ensure:
Read How to apply for more information about:
Contact us to discuss your situation if you didn’t accept your agreement within the 21-day timeframe. In some cases we can offer an extension, but this is not guaranteed.