Grants and Assistance for Sole Traders
Grants are available at the national, state and local council level for sole traders that meet the government’s growth criteria. State-level grants are usually available for traders that meet the State’s development agenda. This could be regional development, focus on a particular industry, job creation or to fund research in a particular subject.
Federal grants are available for traders that meet national growth requirements like support for International trade, commercialisation of an innovative product, etc. In this section, we will discuss some of the grants available to individual traders and their eligibility criteria.
One of the state government-funded grants seeks to provide annual financial support to recognised and incorporated associations (Recognised Associations) representing individual traders in nominated consumer-relevant areas of the public domain. Under this grant, each member of recognised associations can get up to $250 per year and up to $25,000 per association. However, the association must consist of at least 25 members to be able to apply for this grant.
Another program designed by one of the Australian state governments to assist individual traders, provides up to 18 hours of individual business coaching. It aims at improving individual businesses and the professional development of sole traders. If you are an individual business owner keen to grow your business then this assistance program can help you.
Eligibility criteria:
- Can be from any business sector
- Must be registered with the concerned city council
- Must be operating for at least 12 months to up to 4 years
- Must be seeking entry into new or diversified Australian markets
There is one more program designed by an Australian Federal Government which aims at encouraging sole traders by providing them with tax offset of up to $1000 per year. The offset amount is worked out on the proportion of tax payable on your business income. The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) will work out the amount of your offset based on your business income.
To be able to apply for this grant, you must
- be carrying the business as a sole trader
- have a business turnover of less than $5 million
Above mentioned grants are only some of the many incentives provided by the Australian Government for sole traders. To know more about such grants and their eligibility criteria please speak to one of our advisors.
