Changes to the EMDG program

In July 2021, the original EMDG reimbursement scheme became a grant program, providing upfront funding certainty through one-year grant agreements, allowing applicants to plan promotional activities with confidence.

Through the new EMDG grant program, grants are available across 3 tiers, with each tier providing a different level of support to SMEs as they grow their export markets:

 

• Tier 1: This tier is for first-time exporters, providing funding of up to $10,000 per financial year.
   

• Tier 2: This tier is for businesses who are expanding their export promotion activities and provides funding of up to $18,000 per financial year.
   

• Tier 3: This tier is for those who are expanding their export promotion activities as well as making a strategic shift (e.g. targeting a new country or offering a new product or service). Funding of up to $28,000 per financial year is available.
   

• Representative bodies are also able to apply for grant funding of up to $50,000.

 

Grantees must spend at least an equal amount of their own money on eligible expenses (i.e. you must spend double the grant amount).

 

Eligible expenses include:

 

• Maintaining a representative in a foreign country - Maintaining a representative in a foreign country (for more than 6 months in a financial year) to:

  • conduct research into the market in that country for your eligible products, or

  • undertake promotional activities to market your eligible products in that country.
     

• Short trips to a foreign country - Up to 21 days’ continuous travel for you or your representative, between Australia and a foreign country. (This includes expenses such as airfares, accommodation expenses, incidentals, ground transport and food.)
   

• Consultants - Engaging a consultant to undertake either:

  • research into the market in a foreign country for your eligible product, or

  • promotional activities to market your eligible product in that country.
     

• Short trips within Australia - Up to 21 days’ continuous travel within Australia for you or your representative, to undertake activities relating to marketing your eligible product to potential foreign buyers. (This could include expenses such as food and accommodation, transport, and participation in trade shows in Australia where buyers for overseas markets are present.)
   

• Foreign buyer visits - Up to 21 days’ continuous travel between Australia and a foreign country, and within Australia, of a prospective foreign buyer of your eligible product so you can undertake promotional activities to market your eligible products to that buyer. (This includes expenses such as airfares to and from Australia, accommodation, food and incidental travel expenses.)
   

• Soliciting for business in foreign country - Expenses for activities undertaken by you or your representative to solicit for business in a foreign country for your eligible products, where undertaken in a foreign country. This could include expenses such as trade show exhibits.
  ​

• Free samples - Providing free samples of your eligible product either:

  • to a person in the foreign country

  • if your eligible product is tourism services, then in Australia to a person from the foreign country.
     

• Promotional and advertising material - Producing and providing material to promote or advertise your eligible product in the foreign country. (This includes expenses such as website design and build costs, virtual events, social media marketing, Google advertising, and design and printing of brochures.)
   

• Intellectual property rights - Seeking the granting, registration or extension of intellectual property rights of your eligible product in a foreign country.
   

• Training activities (Representative bodies only) - If you are a representative body, delivering (or arranging to be delivered) training to members of the represented group so they can better market their eligible products in foreign countries.
   

• Training activities (Tier 1 applicants only) - If you are a Tier 1 applicant, obtaining training so that you or your staff can better market your eligible products in foreign countries. 
   

Eligibility Criteria

 

To be eligible:
 

• you need to have an annual turnover of less than $20 million

• you must be an Australian person within the meaning of the EMDG Rules, and

• you must have an Australian Business Number.
   

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 such marketing.

 

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

 

If you meet the above criteria, please get in touch with our team to discuss how we can support you to access grant funds. Call us on 1300 438 347 or send a message via the form on the Contact us page.