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

Overview

EMDG is an eligibility-based, demand-driven program. This means all eligible applicants receive a grant from the available funds. The grant amount depends on the:

• number of eligible applications in the round
• available program budget to be shared among all eligible applicants.

The total funding for this grant program is $157.9 million per year divided among eligible applicants across all rounds, including grant funding and funds for administration of the program.

Grants are for eligible promotional activities undertaken by small to medium sized exporters and representative bodies. Small to medium enterprise (SME) exporters can apply for grants over 8 years in total (but not necessarily consecutively). Representative bodies have no maximum grant years.

Grants for businesses are available in 3 tiers with each providing a different level of support for SMEs as they grow their export markets: 

Tier 1: Ready to export

• have not exported eligible products before
• have appropriate skills in marketing eligible products in a foreign country.

Tier 2: Exporting and expanding

• exporting eligible products
• seeking to expand export promotion activity for eligible products.

Tier 3: Exporting, expanding and strategic shift

• exporting eligible products
• seeking to expand export promotion activity
• ready to make a strategic shift in the marketing of eligible products in a foreign country.

Assistance for industry bodies and alliances extends to training members to become export ready. Representative bodies will continue to have access to financial assistance for promotional activities on behalf of their members in international markets.

Grant agreements in Round 3 will be offered for one year with a possibility of extension. Round 3 is for eligible expenditure that you plan to incur from 2023-24 financial year.

You cannot apply in Round 3 if you have an existing grant agreement from the previous rounds with overlapping activity periods.

The program provides the grant for eligible expenses in one or more of the following categories:

• maintaining a representative in a foreign country
• short trips to a foreign country
• engaging a consultant to undertake research or promotional activities
• short trips within Australia
• foreign buyer visits
• soliciting for business in foreign country
• providing free samples
• producing and providing promotional and advertising material
• intellectual property rights
• if you are a Tier 1 applicant, obtaining export readiness training.

How Austrade decide grant amounts

Austrade will decide the final grant amounts after they consider all applications. Grant amounts are determined based on:

• the number of eligible applications received in that round, and
• the total funding available, i.e. the grant pool is spread across all applicants.

The maximum grant amounts for Round 2 were: 

• Tier 1 – up to $10,000 per financial year
• Tier 2 – up to $18,000 per financial year
• Tier 3 – up to $28,000 per financial year
• Representative bodies – up to $50,000 per financial year.

Check if you can apply

Eligibility requirements include:

• your turnover for the 2021-22 financial year is less than $20 million
• you must be an Australian person as per the EMDG Rules 2021
• you must have an Australian business number (ABN).

EMDG grant funds must be used for:

• promotional activities to market eligible products in foreign countries, or
• for training activities to develop skills in marketing for this purpose.

To be eligible, a product must be of substantially Australian origin and be one of the following:

• goods
• services
• events
• intellectual property or know-how
• software.

Austrade requires businesses meet their taxation obligations and comply with all relevant Australian Taxation Office (ATO) legislation, rulings and guidelines. During the assessment process, they may ask you to provide evidence you have satisfied your tax obligations. Austrade will use this information as part of the application assessment.