Manufacturing Modernisation Fund Round 2

Round 2 of the Manufacturing Modernisation Fund supports transformation in small and medium manufacturing businesses. It provides co-funded grants to transform manufacturing and to support job growth and a more highly skilled workforce. $50 million will be available for this grant opportunity from 2020-21 to 2022-23

The Modern Manufacturing Strategy

The Manufacturing Modernisation Fund is the first of the key initiatives to launch as part of the Australian Government’s Modern Manufacturing Strategy, which aims to help Australian manufacturers scale-up, compete internationally and create jobs.

Learn more about the Modern Manufacturing Strategy.

Closed
This grant is currently closed to applications
Application detail:

Please take account of time zone differences when submitting your application.

What do you get?

Co-funding grants of between $100,000 and $1 million, up to 25 per cent of eligible project expenditure.

Who is this for?

Small to medium manufacturing enterprises (SMEs) with up to 199 employees.

Overview

Round 2 of the Manufacturing Modernisation Fund supports manufacturers by co-funding capital investments and associated reskilling to:

  • adopt new technologies
  • encourage innovation
  • become more productive and competitive in the market and
  • create more jobs.

The program aims to support SMEs through:

  • investment in transformative manufacturing technology and processes
  • jobs growth and a more highly skilled workforce in the manufacturing sector.

Round 2 will run over 3 years (2020-21 to 2022-23) and supports transformative investments in technologies and processes including:

  • buying, constructing, installing or commissioning of manufacturing plant and equipment
  • integrating production-related software that is directly related to your capital investment
  • relevant training and skills development to assist you to integrate the new technology into your business, including upskilling and accreditation in advanced processes.
  • process design and engineering directly related to your capital investment
  • fit-out, alterations and/or extensions to buildings directly related to your capital investment.

The maximum project period is 2 years.

CSIRO is supporting the implementation of the Modern Manufacturing Strategy

Find out how CSIRO is supporting Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

Eligibility

To be eligible you must:

  • have an Australian Business Number (ABN)
  • be non-tax exempt
  • be registered for the Goods and Services Tax (GST)

and be:

  • an entity incorporated in Australia, including start-ups, and a trading corporation where your trading activities:
    • form a sufficiently significant proportion of your overall activities as to merit it being described as a trading corporation; or
    • are a substantial and not merely peripheral activity of your corporation.

You must also be:

  • a manufacturing small and medium-sized Australian enterprise (SME) with up to 199 employees (headcount)
  • have a minimum of $400,000 in eligible project expenditure
  • able to identify the level of Australian job creation expected from your project
  • able to demonstrate your project aligns with one or more of the six National Manufacturing Priorities:
    • resources technology and critical minerals processing
    • food and beverage
    • medical products
    • recycling and clean energy
    • defence
    • space.

You must also be able to provide evidence that:

  • the project is supported by your board
  • you can complete the project
  • you can meet the costs of the project not covered by grant funding.

For more information on eligibility please read the Grant opportunity guidelines.

Applying

How do you apply?

The Manufacturing Modernisation Fund Round 2 is closed to applications.

We assess your application against the eligibility criteria and then against the assessment criteria. Only eligible applications will proceed to the assessment stage.

The amount of detail and supporting evidence you provide in your application should be relative to the project size, complexity and grant amount requested. You should define, quantify and provide evidence to support your answers. The sample application form displays character limits.

The program delegate will make the final decision.

We will assess your application based on the weighting given to each criterion and we will only consider funding applications that score highly (50% or more) against all assessment criterion, as these represent best value for money.

  • Assessment criterion 1 Your project will improve Australian manufacturing competitiveness and Australian Job growth (50 points).
  • Assessment criterion 2 Capacity, capability and resources to deliver the project (30 points).
  • Assessment criterion 3 Impact of the grant funding on your project (20 points).

If your application is successful, you’ll receive a written offer. If you are unsuccessful, we’ll notify you in writing and give you the chance to discuss the outcome with us.

Successful applicants must enter into a grant agreement with the Commonwealth. The grant agreement will specify the reporting requirements, payment schedule and milestones necessary to receive payments.

We’ll make the first payment when the grant agreement is executed. We’ll make subsequent payments after we have received and accepted the required report.

Payments will be made by direct credit into a nominated bank account.

Need help?

Let us answer your question over the phone, email or live chat.

  • Phone:
  • Open Hours:
    Monday – Friday, 8am – 8pm across Australia
  • Website:

Information session

Manufacturing Modernisation Fund Round 2 webinar

This information session was offered to provide an overview of Round 2 of the Manufacturing Modernisation Fund, including eligibility requirements, key points from the assessment criteria and some general tips for presenting a strong application.

CSIRO is supporting the implementation of the Modern Manufacturing Strategy

CSIRO directly supports Australian SMEs offering access to research expertise, world-class facilities, funding programs, training, and commercialisation support.

Overview of CSIRO Support for SMEs

pdf · 0.44 MB docx · 0.04 MB

Learn how CSIRO has worked with businesses on technology and technology-based ventures or to understand how CSIRO can support your business:

  • Working With CSIRO – Information on CSIRO’s manufacturing research and development areas, and how you can work with CSIRO to improve manufacturing processes, develop new products, and explore new ideas to grow your business.
  • About SME Connect – CSIRO – Our national SME Connect team connects Australian small to medium sized businesses with Australia's research sector, facilitating and enabling innovation-driven partnerships through funding, support and resources.
  • CSIRO-Futures Reports – CSIRO’s future insights and reports to address challenging strategic and technical problems for businesses.
  • CSIRO: COVID-19 Recovery and Resilience – One of CSIRO-Futures Reports, focusing on the unprecedented challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the opportunities for job growth using science and technology.
  • Innovation Connections – CSIRO – Innovation Connections is a free one-on-one facilitated service to assist SMEs in establishing research priorities, locating researchers and providing access to funding to fast-track R&D projects.

For CSIRO enquiries phone 1300 363 400 or connect via https://www.csiro.au/

Key documents

Grant opportunity guidelines

pdf · 1.71 MB docx · 0.45 MB

Sample application form

pdf · 0.88 MB docx · 0.19 MB

Sample grant agreement

pdf · 0.70 MB docx · 0.15 MB

Frequently asked questions

pdf · 0.44 MB docx · 0.10 MB

Board CEO letter template

pdf · 0.21 MB docx · 0.10 MB

Accountants declaration template

pdf · 0.08 MB docx · 0.03 MB

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