Council are committed to supporting local and regional initiatives that provide opportunities for economic growth and job creation for all Australians. 

Below you will find a list of current grants open to Central Queensland. For more information, please visit https://www.industry.gov.au/

Cyber Security Skills Partnership Innovation Fund Round 2

The $70.3 million Cyber Security Skills Partnership Innovation Fund is part of the Cyber Security National Workforce Growth Program, a key element of the Cyber Security Strategy 2020.

Around $60.1 million will be available for this grant opportunity for grants between $250,000 and $3 million over two years to:

• increase diversity in the cyber security workforce
• the creation of new and innovative ways to improve the quality and quantity of cyber security professionals in Australia
• improve collaboration between industry and the education sector to build the quality and availability of cyber security professionals in Australia support industry and academia to attract, train and place cyber security talents into their businesses

Information about the program, including the grant opportunity guidelines and a link to the online application form, is available at http://business.gov.au/csspif.   Applications close at 5.00pm AEDT on Monday, 6 December 2021.

Tourism and Hospitality Sector Hardship Grant

Grants of up to $100,000 are available for a range of eligible tourism and hospitality operators facing significant financial hardship as a result of COVID-19 travel restrictions and interstate lockdowns.  The $80 million program will support these businesses to continue offering a viable product and be in a position to retain and ramp-up their workforce as interstate tourism markets fully open. To be eligible, you must:

• be operating in Queensland in the tourism and hospitality sector (check the eligible ANZSIC class codes).
• have an annual turnover of over $75,000 and employ at least 1 employee in your Queensland operations.
• have experienced at least a 70 per cent decline in turnover for your Queensland operations over a 7-day consecutive period between 1 July 2021 and 30 September 2021 compared to the same period in either 2018-19, 2019-20 or 2020-21.
• have experienced significant impacts in relation to COVID-19 travel restrictions and interstate lockdowns to your Queensland operations.

Applications are currently open through the QRIDA portal and will close 6pm Monday 22 November 2021. Completed applications will be processed in the order they are received.  Guidelines and FAQ documents can be found here.

Preparing Australian Communities - Local Stream Grants

Applications will open on 10 December 2021 and close on 6 January 2022 for the Preparing Australian Communities - Local Stream. The program is one component of the overall Preparing Australia Program targeting support to locally identified and locally led projects that will improve the resilience of communities against natural hazards. Round 1 will focus on projects that will improve the resilience of communities against bushfires, flood and tropical cyclones. 

The program is open to applications for projects all around Australia and will prioritise selected Local Government Areas (LGAs) based on their level of comparative hazard risk, informed by the Australian Climate Service and state and territory governments.   The intended outcome of the grant opportunity is to support communities to undertake disaster risk reduction and resilience initiatives that provide public benefit through reducing:

• the impact of future natural hazards on Australian communities
• the burden (cost and time) of recovery in communities following future disasters.

A total of $600 million is available over six years for the overall Preparing Australia Program.   For this grant opportunity, Round 1 of the Preparing Australian Communities Program – Local Stream grant opportunity, $150 million is available from 2021-22 to 2024-25.

Business Research and Innovation Initiative (BRII) – Automatic Mutual Recognition of Occupational Registration (AMR) Feasibility

This grant opportunity aims to support the new national scheme for Automatic Mutual Recognition (AMR) of Occupational Registration. AMR makes it easier for workers who need to be licenced or registered for their job to work elsewhere in Australia. It removes the need for a worker to pay and apply for a new licence or registration when working in another state or territory, saving them time and money. It aims to create a more mobile workforce to help businesses grow, enable workers to take up interstate work, contributing to Australia's economic recovery and resilience.

• Stage 1: Feasibility Study – grants of up to $70,000 to address one of the identified challenges.
• Stage 2: Those who have completed a successful feasibility study will be invited to apply for a proof of concept grant of up to $675,000.

The challenges for supporting the implementation of AMR Feasibility Study grant opportunity are:

• Challenge 1 - Improving information matching and exchange between jurisdictions to address information sharing challenges for occupational registrations and licences subject to AMR
• Challenge 2 - Improving information matching and exchange between jurisdictions for the building and construction industries
• Challenge 3 - Improving information matching and exchange between jurisdictions for security, property, transport and liquor and gaming industries
• Challenge 4 - Improving uptake of the opportunities available through the Automatic Mutual Recognition of Occupation Registration (AMR).

The guidelines and a full explanation of the four challenges can be found here.  Applications close 30 November 2021 (4pm Qld time).

Cooperative Research Centre Projects (CRC-P) grants

Cooperative Research Centres Projects (CRC-P) Grants provide funding for short-term research collaborations.  Round 12 is open to all industry sectors, however, it has a focus on supporting projects that align with the National Manufacturing Priorities. Applications that address mRNA-based therapeutics and the priority technologies under the Technology Investment Roadmap – such as clean hydrogen and energy storage – are particularly encouraged.

Projects must:

• develop a product, service or process that will solve problems for industry and deliver real outcomes
• benefit small to medium enterprises (SMEs)
• include education and training activities.

Matched funding of between $100,000 and $3 million available. Grants are for up to 3 years.  Full guidelines are available at business.gov.au. Applications close 16 November 2021 (4pm Qld time)

National Soil Carbon Innovation Challenge - Feasibility Study Grants

The Minister for Industry, Energy and Emissions Reduction has launched Stage 1 of the $50 million National Soil Carbon Innovation Challenge, which aims to fast-track the development of lower-cost, accurate technical approaches to measure soil carbon.  The Challenge will have multiple competitive grant rounds, to support feasibility studies, proof of concept testing, and validation and deployment through on-farm trials. 

• Stage 1 of the Challenge provides grants of up to $100,000 to applicants to conduct three-month feasibility studies into new technologies.  The minimum grant amount is $50,000, with $1 million available for this grant opportunity.
• Stage 2 will be opened in the coming months, with $49 million in grants available to support proof of concept activities and validation and deployment of proposed technologies, until June 2024.

Applications open 10 November 2021 and close at 5.00pm AEDT on Friday, 10 December 2021.  Information about program, including the Stage 1 grant opportunity guidelines and sample application form, is available at https://business.gov.au/grants-and-programs/soil-carbon-measurement-innovation-challenge

Innovate with nbn™ Grants Program

nbn™ together with the Regional Australia Institute (RAI) are partnering to recognise and showcase regional and remote businesses who are:

• Innovators or entrepreneurs inspiring others in their community
• Champions of digital adoption
• Continuing to facilitate the digital capabilities and benefits of the nbn™ network
• Advocates of supporting regional businesses

Each grant category aims to recognise and celebrate regional businesses who are overcoming challenges with innovation, connectivity and networking within their communities. The program will award one grant of $10,000 to an organisation or business project aligned with each of the seven categories. Additionally, one regional/remote business will be recognised and awarded with the ‘Innovate with nbn™ Champion award’ worth $25,000. All businesses applying will need an Australian Business Number (ABN) to qualify. 
Applications close: 30 November 2021

Apply at: https://www.innovatewithnbn.com.au/