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Funding for business to strengthen Australia's defence industry
Defence Industry Development Grants Program
The Defence Industry Development Grants Program will fund small to medium enterprises to build Australia’s sovereign capability, global competitiveness, technical superiority and national security. There are four streams within the program, including:
- Sovereign Industrial Priorities
- Exports
- Security
- Skilling.
You may apply at anytime the grant opportunity remains open. Applications will be assessed in batches. The closing dates for the current batches are:
- Sovereign Industrial Priorities stream - Friday 28 February 2025, 11:59 pm (AEDT).
- Skilling stream - Friday 31 January 2025, 11:59 pm (AEDT).
- Export stream - Friday 31 January 2025, 11:59 pm (AEDT).
- Security stream - Tuesday 31 December2024, 11:59 pm (AEDT).
What do you get?
Grants up to:
- Sovereign Industrial Priorities stream – $1,000,000
- Skilling stream – $250,000
- Exports stream – $250,000
- Security stream – $100,000.
Grants will cover up to 50% of eligible expenditure.
Who is this for?
- Small to medium enterprises (SMEs) located in Australia.
- Defence Industry Associations (for Skilling stream only).
About the program
The Defence Industry Development Grants Program (the program) will award grants over four years from 2024-25 to 2027-28. The program was announced as part of the Defence Industry Development Strategy.
The objective of the program is to build the industrial base Australia needs to achieve Defence outcomes in areas of strategic priority.
The Defence Industry Development Grants Program funds four distinct grant opportunity streams tailored to address the program outcomes:
- Sovereign Industrial Priorities
- Skilling
- Exports
- Security.
These four grants opportunities will be assessed in batches. We will regularly update the closing dates for each batch on this page. You can apply at any time.
All projects are due to be completed by 31 Mar 2028.
About the streams
The Sovereign Industrial Priorities stream will assist eligible small to medium enterprises (SMEs) to purchase manufacturing plant and equipment which is used directly to develop and/or deliver programs that are in line with the Sovereign Defence Industrial Priorities (SDIPs) described in the Defence Industry Development Strategy.
The Skilling stream helps Australian defence industry to upskill and train in priority trade, technical and professional skillsets to develop a workforce with the right mix of qualified and experienced personnel to meet Defence requirements. The program will enhance the capacity and capability of Australian defence industry workforce to deliver SDIPs described in the Defence Industry Development Strategy.
The Exports stream provides support for small to medium enterprises (SMEs) to overcome export barriers and help defence industry build scale and competitiveness in defence capability priority areas as identified by the SDIPs described in the Defence Industry Development Strategy.
The Security stream helps Australian defence industry improve and maintain security in priority areas as identified by the SDIPs and in line with the Defence Industry Security Program.
Check if you can apply
You can apply if you meet the eligibility criteria. The eligibility criteria are a set of rules that describe who we can consider for this grant. You can apply if you:
- are an eligible entity
- have an eligible project
- have eligible expenditure.
The rules are in the grant opportunity guidelines.
You can apply if you:
- have an Australian business number (ABN)
- are a SME with less than 200 employees or, for Skilling stream only, a Defence Industry Association (DIA)
- are registered for GST
- have an account with an Australian financial institution
- are non-income tax exempt
and are one of the following entities:
- an entity incorporated in Australia
- a company limited by guarantee
- an incorporated trustee on behalf of a trust.
You can’t apply if you are:
- an organisation, or your project partner is an organisation, included on the National Redress Scheme’s list of Institutions that have not joined or signified their intent to join the Scheme
- an employer of 100 or more employees that has not complied with the Workplace Gender Equality Act (2012)
- an individual
- a partnership
- an overseas organisation
- an unincorporated association
- an organisation not included in section 4.1 of the grant opportunity guidelines
- a trust (however, an incorporated trustee may apply on behalf of a trust)
- a Commonwealth, state, territory or local government body (including government business enterprises).
Partner with other organisations
You can partner with one or more other organisations that also meet the eligibility criteria. But you must decide who the lead organisation is.
The lead organisation must fill out the application form.
If we give your group the grant, the lead organisation:
- signs the grant agreement
- is responsible for making sure your group follows the rules in the grant agreement.
You must complete your project by 31 March 2028.
Your project must:
- be undertaken in Australia
- include eligible activities
- have the minimum eligible expenditure as outlined in section 5.1 of the grant opportunity guidelines for the chosen stream
- have a clear link to the grant opportunity objective/s and outcomes.
For the Skilling stream, your project must also:
- be aimed at increasing Defence related technical skills capacity or capability within your organisation (or an SME if you are a DIA) that is required to meet current or future defence capability needs that align to the Sovereign Defence Industrial Priorities (SDIPs)
- be delivered by a registered training organisation, a tertiary education provider (University or TAFE), a professional training provider, an appropriately qualified employee in your business or an original equipment manufacturer (OEM).
You can apply for a grant between:
- Sovereign Industrial Priorities stream - $50,000 and $1,000,000
- Skilling stream - $5,000 and $250,000
- Exports stream - $15,000 and $250,000
- Security stream - $10,000 and $100,000
Refer to the grant opportunity guidelines for information about what you can use the grant funding for.
How to apply
Check if you’re ready to apply for a grant
Finding a suitable grant opportunity is just the start of the process to get funding. The application process can take time and effort. Understanding the entire process will help you be grant ready and may improve your chances of getting funding.
Use our checklist to find out what it takes to apply for a grant.
When you're ready to apply
When the online form is available, you must submit your application through the online portal. You’ll need to set up an account when you first log into the portal. The portal allows you to apply for and manage a grant or service in a secure online environment.
First we check that you meet the eligibility criteria. Then we assess your application against the assessment criteria.
The assessment criteria are a set of rules that describe how we must assess each application.
Applications must score at least 65% against all criteria to be considered meritorious.
Meritorious applications will then be ranked competitively according to the score for assessment criterion 1.
Sovereign Industrial Priorities stream
- Assessment criterion 1: The extent to which your grant project will help your business contribute to one or more of the Sovereign Defence Industrial Priorities.
- Assessment criterion 2: Your capacity, capability and resources to deliver the grant project and its commercial benefits.
Skilling stream
- Assessment criterion 1: The extent to which your grant project develops the industrial workforce capacity and capability to service the defence industry sector in priority areas.
- Assessment criterion 2: Your capacity, capability and resources to deliver the grant project.
Exports stream
- Assessment criterion 1: The extent to which your grant project will help your business to expand existing or build new defence industry export capability in priority areas.
- Assessment criterion 2: Your capacity, capability and resources to deliver the grant project and commercial benefits.
Security stream
- Assessment criterion 1: The extent to which your grant project will help your business uplift or maintain the security controls needed to build defence industry capability in priority areas.
- Assessment criterion 2: Your capacity, capability and resources to deliver the grant project.
The amount of detail and supporting evidence you provide should be relative to the project size, complexity and grant amount requested.
The program delegate makes the final decision.
Apply now
Apply for the Defence Industry Development Grants Program now.
You will need to select the stream you are applying for after you enter the portal.
Before you apply, make sure you:
- read and understand the grant opportunity guidelines for your stream
- read and understand the sample application form for your stream
- read and understand the sample grant agreement for your stream
- review the Department of Defence guidance for applicants.
You must address all assessment criteria in your application. Assessment sub-criteria is detailed within the grant opportunity guidelines, and also through the ‘How do I demonstrate this?’ link below each assessment criteria in the application form.
Apply nowSample applications
The best way to understand what information you need to provide is to start an application. We have also provided a version to download at the bottom of this page.
Technical help
See our customer portal's frequently asked questions to help with your queries. If you can't find your answer, contact us for assistance.
As applications are assessed in batches, you must make any corrections to your application and resubmit it before the upcoming batch closing date for your stream.
Once the batch closing date is reached, you can't make any further changes to your application. If required, you may request to remove your application from the batch and resubmit it to be assessed in a later batch.
Contact
Need help?
Let us answer your question over the phone, email or live chat.
- Phone:
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Open Hours:
Monday – Friday, 8am – 8pm across Australia
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Key documents
Sovereign Industrial Priorities stream
Project budget template
xlsx · 0.06 MBSkilling stream
Project budget template
xlsx · 1.21 MBExport stream
Project budget template
xlsx · 0.06 MBSecurity stream
Project budget template
xlsx · 0.07 MBAll streams
Accountant declaration template
docx · 0.03 MB