Funding for Australian businesses to start or grow their exports in international markets

Overview

The Export Market Development Grants (EMDG) program provides matched funding to eligible Australian small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and representative bodies at different points in their export journey. Grants are to support marketing and promotional activities and training that help create, develop, expand and diversify to foreign markets for Australian products and services.

EMDG can provide support depending on the business goals, export status and ability to meet eligibility requirements for the following tiers:

• Tier 1 – businesses ready to export
• Tier 2 – businesses exporting within existing markets
• Tier 3 – businesses exporting to new markets
• Representative bodies – that support members to achieve export success.

Grant amounts

For this grant opportunity, up to $104.5 million will be available in 2025-26 and up to $104.5 million in 2026-27 for grant allocations.

Maximum grant amounts for each tier per financial year, 2025–26 and 2026–27, are:

• Tier 1 – $20,000 up to $30,000 per financial year
• Tier 2 – $20,000 up to $50,000 per financial year
• Tier 3 – $20,000 up to $80,000 per financial year
• Representative bodies – up to $50,000 per financial year for representative bodies that support SME members to achieve export success.

Check if you can apply

As a business applicant

For business applicants, to be eligible, you need to be an eligible Australian person and have eligible products and expenses as defined in the EMDG Rules. The EMDG Guidelines provide a simple description of the eligibility requirements.

Eligibility criteria for businesses require you to:

• have a valid Australian business number (ABN)
• have conducted your business under the same ABN for at least 2 years
• meet a minimum annual turnover (that differs for each tier) but is less than $20 million
• have the capacity to spend at least $20,000 per financial year, exclusive of the grant amount. This is your own money. This cannot be funding from other Commonwealth, state, territory or local government
• have a high-quality plan to market that is specific to your business. It must not be copied from another business, another EMDG application or a generic marketing plan
• be tax compliant and fit to receive a grant
• meet all other eligibility requirements.

As a representative body

To be eligible for a grant as a representative body you must:

• have a valid Australian Business Number (ABN)
• not be distributing income to members or shareholders
• have a high-quality plan to market that is specific to your business, if you are planning marketing and promotional activities. Your plan must not be copied from another representative body, business, another EMDG application or a generic marketing plan
• have a high-quality training plan, if you are providing export training to your SME members
• demonstrate in your plans how your activities benefit your SME members
• be tax compliant and fit to receive a grant
• meet all other eligibility requirements.