Grants encouraging Asset Purchase
Grants for purchasing assets are offered with the intent of stimulating the Australian economy by supporting small business owners as well as individual business owners. During challenging economic times, these assistance programs offer massive relief to an already struggling business as well as new business owners. In this section, we will discuss about some of these grants and their eligibility criteria.
The Australian Government provides SMEs with an asset write-off up to $30,000 for the properties bought and used in the year of application. To be eligible for this grant, an applicant must be the owner of a small business as defined by the ATO.
Cyber Security Grants
One more grant provided by the Federal Government allows SMEs to claim up to $2,100 for improving their cyber security measures. To be eligible for this grant, a business must
- be certified as a small business
- have an ABN
- be registered for GST
- have less than 19 employees
- be a business incorporated in Australia/sole trader in Australia /business partner in Australia
One state government funded grant provides local manufacturing businesses with a matching fund of up to $120,000 to help them become energy efficient and improve the quality of their manufacturing process. To be able to apply for this grant, businesses must:
- have an ABN
- be located in the state providing the grant
- be registered for GST
The main aim of this grant is to support businesses that are looking for innovative ways to save energy by using energy-efficient equipment, conducting energy audits and at the same time being more productive. For this grant, funds are divided into three offers:
- offer 1 – Process optimisation (matching fund up to $50,000)
- offer 2a – installing or upgrading energy-efficient equipment (matching fund up to $30,000)
- offer 2b – Complex projects intended towards improving the energy efficiency of the plant (matching fund up to $70,000)
Applicants may apply for Offer 1 and for any of the 2a and 2b for a matching fund of up to $120,000.
There are a few states that help SMEs in the business services sector by granting them up to $10,000 in matching funds to digitalize their offices. These funds can be used to buy the necessary software; hardware and to pay for digital coaching required to improve their customer base.
To be eligible for this grant
- businesses must be registered with GST,
- have an ABN,
- have less than 20 employees
- be located in the state offering the grant and
- turnover should be less than 2 million.
Certain State Governments also have a few grants in place intended for business growth of SMEs. One such grant provides small to medium businesses with a funding of up to $50,000 to buy specialized recycling equipment. To be able to apply, a businesses must:
- have an ABN
- be registered for GST
- have a facility manager to manage waste at sites such as business parks, commercial buildings, etc
- headquartered in the state providing the grant
- have a recycler responsible for managing the waste
Above mentioned are only some of the many grants that federal and state governments are providing to support small business owners. If you would like to learn more about assistance programs, please speak to one of our advisors today!
