Cheat sheet: How to secure an Accelerating Commercialisation Grant

The Accelerating Commercialisation Grant gives SMEs and entrepreneurs access to up to $1 million in matched project funding, alongside an expert from AusIndustry that will work with your business to guide your commercialisation process.

It exists as part of the broader Entrepreneurs’ Programme run through the Department of Industry, Science, Energy, and Resources.

To get access to the grant, you first need to receive ‘Commercialisation Guidance’ through AusIndustry, which gives your business a facilitator from the department. They will give you tailored support, including feedback before applying for the grant, and help to develop your commercialisation strategy.

How much can I get?

Since its launch in 2014 and first round of funding in 2015, some 531 businesses have received money through the grant. The lowest amount funded through the grant is $40,000, while 47 businesses have been funded the maximum allocation, $1 million.

In total, it has paid out $259.9 million to date.

The funding amounts are two-tiered. Businesses can get up to $1 million, but researchers working with universities, institutes, or government departments/agencies are capped at $500,000.

Who’s eligible?

At the top line level, you need to have a novel product, process or service that you want to commercialise for either overseas markets, or Australia.

Then, you need to meet the turnover test. Your combined annual turnover for each of the past three financial years needs to be lower than $20 million.

Your company must also be:

• Non-tax exempt
  
• Registered for GST
  
• Incorporated in Australia, and a trading corporation, where your trading activities “are a substantial and not merely peripheral activity of the corporation”

You also need to provide evidence of your ability to fund 50% of the eligible project expenditure, demonstrated through either a funding strategy, bank statement, or loan agreement. This includes an Accountant Declaration that confirms your ability to fund the project. 

Crucially, this 50% of the project funding can not come from any other government grants, or include in-kind (non-financial) contributions.

While you do not need to have the money sitting in your account while applying, you need to demonstrate the ability to fund your potentially successful application.

Who’s not?

You are not eligible to apply if you are:

• An individual
• A partnership  
• An unincorporated association  
• 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)  
• A non-corporate Commonwealth entity

Because its focus is on commercialisation, once you’ve made your first sale on the product/service you’re working on, you are disqualified from the grant — which is something to consider if you’re on the cusp of launching.

The grant also doesn’t cover basic research or technical experiments, or products you are developing for internal use only to increase the profitability of your existing services.

Looking to iterate an existing product with the grant? The department considers that not novel, and therefore, ineligible.

What is the government looking for?

Grant applications will be assessed against five criteria, adding up to a total of 100 points.

1. Impact of the grant (16 points)

You need to demonstrate that you are unable to access sufficient funding for the entire project, and that it is unreasonable to obtain all the funding from alternative sources.

You also need to show the positive impact the grant will have on the size, scale, or timing of your project, and the broader economic benefits gained through the project. 

Whether your product or service targets or participates in one of the department’s defined growth sectors: advanced manufacturing, food & agribusiness, medical technologies and pharmaceuticals, mining equipment, technology and services, or oil, gas and energy resources.

2. Management capability (24 points)

Here, you should describe your team’s track record, access to appropriate personnel, experience, and your governance arrangements.

3. Market opportunity (20 points)

You need to prove that your product or service is novel, along with the customer problem you intend to solve. You need to show your target market by customers, size, structure, pricing strategy, and position.

You also need an IP strategy, which aligns with the market opportunity.

4. Value proposition (20 points)

You need to provide evidence why customers will want to buy your product or process, your likely competitors and competitive advantage, market research you’ve undertaken, and that your product is either functional or technically viable.

5. How you plan to deliver (20 points)

This includes a project plan: activities, milestones, budget and deliverables. And an execution plan, including your path to market.

Then, your operation plan, including the business and delivery model, human resources, marketing, finances, manufacturing, and how you’ll manage risk.

You need to include how you plan to address structural or market challenges, and how you’ll manage intellectual property, including your own, and any you need access or ownership to while delivering your project.

How to apply

You can apply for both the grant, and guidance at any time, with the process usually taking 3-6 months from application to completion. The department will consider it in ‘6 to 8 week cycles’.

You can apply for the grant and commercialisation guidance through the business portal on business.gov.au, here. If you don’t have a login for the portal, you can register here.

There are also semi-regular information sessions on the grants, which you can find and register for here.

Here’s a sample application you can look through.