News and Updates

Politics counts… unfortunately

Another state election has passed and the Canberra mothership braces itself for the Federal version in May. I hate talking politics, I really do, but in the world of grants and incentives this counts. Why? Elections can change governments to a different flavour. Even if they remain, portfolios can change, Ministers reshuffled and policies inevitably change. That’s the part that affects things on the ground. Grants, funding, services, and infrastructure are all tools of policy delivery. Throw in an election promise or a budget (even a mini) and then you have the virtual bookends.

What's the truth behind grants? Why are they there? Can I really get one? These are the questions we hear all the time from small business owners when they start investigating grants. So let's debunk some common myths and get to the bottom of things.

Research and development has an image problem. For a lot of people, when a conversation turns to R&D, we tend to think of people in lab coats and safety glasses, pouring blue liquid in beakers into test tubes full of bubbling pink stuff. But when you think of R&D, you should be thinking about money. Here's why.

Launching a start-up company is like a game of snakes and ladders: sometimes you get the right combination of ingredients like a great team, a kickass idea, and the funds to climb those ladders. Sometimes it seems like the world is pitted against you and the snakes have loaded the dice!

Here are some quick updates on the Export Market Development Grant (EMDG) and results from Austrade's survey to businesses who have applied for the grant scheme in the last grant year. 

As the treasurer Scott Morrison handed down his 3rd budget, there was no surprise that there’d be some changes to the Research and Development Tax Incentive. Mr Morrison has been suggesting there would be a tightening of the rules for weeks now. Yesterday came the news:

Australia has strengthened in research and development (R&D) for 2017. The Australian innovation system report has been released which provides an analysis of key innovation indicators by exploring specific aspects of the system. 

As the title suggests, we've worked with a whole bunch of startups and have been part of some great success stories. In our journey with successful ventures, we have noticed a trend- a pattern even. There are a range of factors that contribute to the overall success or failure of the humble startup business.

Grants can be a good boost to your company’s bottom line via rebates. However, it is best to remember that governments set up grants as a sum of money to help its funding body deliver programs on the ground.

Find out how to become one of the hunreds of Australian companies taking advantage of EMDG. If you’re growing your business internationally and incurring overseas marketing expenses in the process, you may be eligible to claim back these costs through the Austrade Export Market Development Grant.