Eligibility

Find out about EMDG eligibility criteria, how funds must be used and other grant conditions.

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Export Markets Development Grants is an eligibility-based grant program. You must meet all eligibility criteria to be offered a grant. EMDG Rules 2021 on legislation.gov.au sets the rules for the program.

You must read the EMDG Grant Guidelines.

About the program

The Export Market Development Grants Overview 2022 video provides an overview of the EMDG program, eligibility requirements and how to apply for the program.

Note: if you have any problems with the video content, please contact EMDG.

Eligibility

Eligibility requirements include:

  • your turnover for the financial year before the financial year in which the application is made is less than $20 million
  • you must be an Australian person as per the EMDG Rules 2021
  • you must have an Australian Business Number.

Read Section 4.1 of the guidelines for a complete list of eligibility requirements.

Eligible products

EMDG grant funds must be used for:

  • promotional activities to market eligible products in foreign countries, or
  • for training activities to develop skills in marketing for this purpose.

To be an eligible product, your product(s) must be of substantially Australian origin and be:

  • goods
  • services
  • events
  • intellectual property or know-how
  • software.

More information about eligible products

For more information, read:

Eligible expenses

We provide the EMDG grant for expenses in one or more of the following categories:

  • maintaining a representative in a foreign country
  • short trips to a foreign country
  • engaging a consultant to do research or promotional activities
  • short trips within Australia
  • foreign buyer visits
  • soliciting for business in a foreign country
  • providing free samples
  • producing and providing promotional and advertising material
  • intellectual property rights
  • if you are a Tier 1 applicant, obtaining export readiness training.

The EMDG Grant Guidelines have more information, including about ineligible expenses and designated connections.

Export of products to Russia and Belarus

Austrade is no longer accepting marketing or promotional expenses for the export of products to Russia and/or Belarus. This applies to marketing or promotional expenses incurred:

Austrade considers these expenses detrimental to Australia’s trade reputation. We are excluding them as an eligible expense under rule 47 of the EMDG Rules.

These changes will remain in place until further notice.

Turnover of less than $20 million

Annual turnover is the total ordinary income that you derive in the income year while running your business. If you are an SME exporter at the time you apply for a grant, your turnover for the financial year before the financial year in which the application is made must be less than $20 million.

More information

Applying for a new round

If you have accepted an agreement in a previous round

Grantees:

  • cannot enter multiple grant agreements with overlapping activity periods
  • can only apply for a new grant agreement during the final year of their current agreement.

For example, you wouldn’t be able to apply for Round 3 if you had an active grant agreement that extends beyond financial year 2022–23.

If you haven’t accepted an agreement in a previous round

You can apply in a new round if you:

  • have a pending grant agreement application for a previous round, or
  • haven’t yet accepted a previous round grant agreement.

Note that a grantee cannot enter into multiple grant agreements that have overlapping activity periods. For example, if you have been offered 2 grant agreements from separate rounds that cover the same year, you can only accept one of them. Once you have accepted one, we will consider the other withdrawn.

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