Export Market Development Grants scheme.

Author: Jeremy Szwider

1 April 2020 | Reading time: 2 minutes

Most businesses in Australia have been affected by the Covid-19 crisis. During these difficult times, when market confidence is at a low, access to government grants can give Australian businesses a much needed cash injection.

In this client bulletin, we take a look at the Australian Government’s Export Market Development Grants (EMDG) scheme.

What is the scheme?

The EMDG scheme is an Australian Government financial assistance programme for exporters of goods and services.

The goal of the scheme is to encourage small and medium-sized businesses to develop export markets, primarily by increasing their overseas marketing activities.

Who is eligible?

Australian individuals, partnerships and companies may be eligible if they:

  • export goods;
  • provide services overseas;
  • provide certain services within Australia to non-residents;
  • provide inbound tourism services; or
  • export intellectual property and know-how.

Also, that individual, partnership or company must have:

  • an income of less than $50 million for that year;
  • spent at least $15,000 on eligible export promotional activities, noting first time applicants may combine 2 consecutive years of eligible expenses to meet this threshold; and
  • carried on export promotion activities during the year for which it seeks the grant.

Austrade has provided a useful eligibility checklist, which can be found here.

What expenses can be claimed?

The following expenses can generally be claimed (up to defined limits):

  • Overseas intellectual property expenses, including applications to register trade marks, patents and copyright
  • Overseas representation expenses, being expenses incurred engaging someone to promote your goods or services overseas (usually for 12 months or more)
  • Marketing consultant expenses
  • Marketing visit expenses
  • Free sample expenses
  • Trade fairs, seminars, and in-store promotion expenses
  • Promotional material and advertising expenses
  • Overseas buyer expenses

What expenses cannot be claimed?

The following expenses generally cannot be claimed:

  • Expenses that relate to trade with New Zealand or North Korea
  • Capital expenses
  • Non-promotional expenses, such as those relating to product development and manufacturing costs

What could you get?

  • A payment equal to 50% of your eligible expenses (minus the first $5,000 of those expenses) provided that the eligible expenses total at least $15,000.
  • Each applicant may receive a grant of up to $150,000 (subject to available funds).
  • Each applicant is eligible to receive 8 grants in total.

Contact Bespoke if you would like to discuss the EMDG scheme further.

For details of all of our COVID-19 tips and updates, visit the Bespoke COVID-19 Hub.