Australian Manufacturing Grants Guide: Spotlight on the $79.1M Transforming Queensland Program

Over the past few years, we’ve posted grant guides to help you secure funding for machinery upgrades. From COVID-era stimulus to state programs, our goal has always been to support you through the application process and give you the best chance of success.

Right now, multiple Australian manufacturing grants are open across both Federal and State levels. We’ve previously covered the Future Made in Australia agenda and other grant programs, and there’s more worth sharing this round.

We’ve also recently partnered with Avant Group, a specialist government grants consultancy, to bring you even more insight. Here’s a snapshot of what’s worth looking at right now.

Australian manufacturing grants currently available: an overview

At a Federal level, the Future Made in Australia agenda continues to back advanced manufacturing and clean energy investment, and the Industry Growth Program offers an advisory service plus grants of $50,000 to $5 million for eligible commercialisation and growth projects.

At State level, the following programs are worth exploring:

Victoria: Made in Victoria – Manufacturing Growth Program
NSW: Innovative Manufacturing Adoption Fund, plus energy efficiency support through NSW’s business energy programs
SA: Manufacturing Technology Adoption Program
WA: Local Battery Manufacturing Program and the New Industries and Innovation Fund
TAS: Advanced Manufacturing Productivity Grant Program
QLD: Transforming Queensland Manufacturing Grants Program and the Business Growth Fund

The Transforming Queensland Manufacturing Grants Program

The Transforming Queensland Manufacturing Grants Program is one of the most promising on this list for Queensland businesses. Let’s look at its benefits and criteria.

Queensland’s manufacturing sector contributes around $29 billion to the state economy and supports more than 171,000 jobs, and the Queensland Government is backing further growth through the Transforming Queensland Manufacturing Grants Program (TQMGP). The program offers a total pool of $79.1 million over three years, delivered through six competitive rounds, to help local manufacturers fund new equipment and software integration. Eligible businesses can apply for matched grants of $100,000 to $1.5 million, with a minimum 50% co-contribution required.

To access funding, your business needs to:

Be a small-to-medium business
Have operated in Queensland for at least 3 consecutive years
Have between 5 and 200 full-time (or equivalent) employees
Be able to co-fund at least 50% of the State Government’s contribution

Because the program is competitive and the funding pool is fixed, only applicants who strictly meet this criteria will be considered.

Navigating this criteria can be challenging, but it’s well worth investing the time and effort. We’ve seen how life-changing grant funding can be from our own experience, and this opportunity is no different.

How to make the most of a TQMGP application

While many manufacturers can apply for TQMGP funding, not every application succeeds. As we’ve seen from experience, successful applicants tend to prepare their applications in a particular way, and they’ve often come to us for help.

That was the case with Edencraft International, as we’ve outlined before, along with many other companies that secured funding through COVID-related grants in 2021. Those grants enabled customers to upgrade their machinery and optimise their shops at scale.

We’re more than happy to help you prepare your TQMGP application and give it the best chance of success. Get in touch with our team to get started.